THE SKYLINE

I have recently started the groundwork for my spring mini trip of 2024 and was revisiting this years adventures when I realized I never shared my stops along Skyline Drive in western Virginia from back in June. 105 miles worth of twists and turns through the forests of the northern Blue Ridge Mountains and Shenandoah Valley. I have driven it many times, just never spent any time on it actually exploring. I had keyed up a couple of locations for late spring/early summer and this is the one that won out. I think it was because it was the shortest drive from home and it was somewhat familiar. And dark skies, at least darker than NJ. Big Meadows Lodge was my base of operations for the 5 days/nights of sightseeing. And much like my luck has been so far this year, sans for a few hours, cloudy skies at night were prevalent. So daytime adventures dominated my time and it appears that I have lost, misplaced, or even thrown out my notes so we are winging it.

The fear of going on a waterfall hunt in the summer is that there is always a chance of limited water, I was going in the beginning of June, everything should be good right? Nope. It seems like I was late to the party. The flow of water had dramatically decreased. I do not think I took into account that this was a southern trip. But you know what? It is still an adventure and I am still back in nature exploring. Cannot beat that.

June 10th. First shot, Land Run Falls. A group of cascades of which I came away with this single shot. Not much of a sight really, but certainly a sign of things to come.

Any sunset off the Parkway is magnificent to watch.

And as the clouds roll in, we are stealing the last of the colors

June 11. First stop, Dark Hollow Falls. Just down the road from where I was staying. Trickle Trickle. Something tells me I will be repeating this trip in the future. Only much earlier in the season.

From there it was up to Stony Man Summit and some amazing views. This is a shot of the parkway cresting the peak, winding through the mountains.

June 12 – If memory serves me correct this was my long hike day, and the day I chose to do Overrun Falls. It was a great walk, everything was dry. Everything was dry or very minimal flow for the highest waterfall in the park. I did not take a single photo during the day. Sure there were probably shots to be had, but I am at the point where if I cannot print and hang it, that little button does not get pressed. And from the looks of things, It appears the sun did not have a great personality this evening and settled quietly behind the clouds. But the majority of those clouds would clear a few hours later!

Big Meadows Lodge is aptly named due to the very large field across the street from the property. There are always three things that will attract me to a location, well, besides the location. Price, comfort and food. The food was amazing! Healthy portions, deserts were from Blackberry heaven. Centrally located right in the middle of Skyline Drive. Back to the meadows.

For 90 minutes the sky was illuminated with nothing but stars and I took full advantage of it. I even got in my first ever Panorama of the Milky Way. A six image stitch. No matter the weather or the dryness of the whole trip, this 90 minutes was worth the wait and made it a successful venture.

June 13 – No idea why I only had one image from this day but I do know that this hike to Rose River Falls took about 5 hours round trip. That may explain it. I am thinking the evening was totally overcast here as well. April. Need an April trip. April 2025 sounds good. Who wants to come?

My final day brought me to Blackrock summit. A short hike, wild scenery. Rocks and boulders all over. Almost as if a landslide created the area. But it is at the peak, how? After some research it turns out all the rocks once formed the seabed an ancient ocean. Here is a little history link for you on the area. Ain’t history grand! This view is looking down at one of the rock fields. You can also look up and see many, many more!

And of course the panorama. I don’t remember how long the hike was, but I know I stayed at the top a while just mesmerized by the views.

The quintessential mountain sunset, east coast style. At least that is what I refer to the next couple images as. Haze forming in between the peaks, green turns to blue as the sky sets aflame, the sun descending upon the horizon.

Thank you for stopping by! Till the next one.

Phil

The Old Stand By – North Edition

This years spring escape waits somewhere in the background, so I am jumping to my fall trip that has recently concluded. Suffering from a lack planning motivation, I chose to participate in visiting a familiar territory. One which I did not have to think about too much, and one which the only worry I had was figuring out where to stay. The Old Standby- North Edition, is Acadia National Park. A spot that I have visited a number of times over the past five years. To make things a little different this time I chose to stay on the “quiet side” of the island, away from the mass gatherings and hordes of people taking in the majesty of this location. My base of operations was Acadia Wilderness Lodge , a collection of six yurts set in a most beautiful woodsy location just north of Bass Harbor Head Light.

Travels keyed in on photography are always a crap shoot when it comes to weather and this one was no different. My first full day found me taking a drive around the park, and up Cadillac Mountain. The overcast skies provided me with little opportunity, but the views were still fantastic. This is one of my favorite scenes going up the mountain.

Cannot resist a panorama of the area

Looking down on the town of Bar Harbor. I have never walked across to that island when the tide is low. Perhaps next year that will be on the agenda

I cruised around a bit, as always it was very crowded so I did not stop as there was nothing new for me to see and I did not like the weather. And right on time, as soon as I got back for lunch the rain came. The skies cleared up for days 2 and 3, so I did some location scouting around Tremont and got a plan in place. I could not resist a stop at Bass Head Light. The parking lot is very small, there was quite a line to get to a spot so once I did park I hung out for a bit taking in the atmosphere.

Of course it was high tide so the vantage point was less than ideal, but it was cool playing on the rocks. I did go back later in the day, but the line was just as long and I chose not to wait in it. I wanted to try this location for some Milky Way photos, but the high tide would have again disrupted the viewpoint. So the next best thing was wait for a break in foot traffic and hit it from the other direction.

The best thing about staying so close was going back for lunch and dinner. AWL has food packages you can pre-purchase and make yourself. Everything is cooked on the grill, there is no stove or Microwave inside the yurts. This was awesome. One thing to be aware of, if you end up staying here bring your own lobster pot. The one provided was way too small. Of course I made it work. A little pre-boil and finish off on the grill.

I went to Seawall Picnic area for my night adventures. Essentially just a little coastal area with parking and a few tables. It was perfect, lots of room, very few people and good angles for the most part. I had been watching the sky all day but became a bit worried come time for sunset. Above that could line though the skies were opening up nicely.

Transitioning to darkness, this first shot in this group surprised me, I thought nothing of it when it was captured 20 minutes after sunset. I was grabbing some base images of the foreground for blending (of which I am terrible at) and for some reason I decided to process it. I am very pleased with the result, never thought it would process out like this. It is almost like a NJ Milky Way. With the sky having cleared up, I was able to capture a few decent shots after it got totally dark out . It was getting chilly, and I was already layered up pretty good, so I called it a night and went back to make a burger by lantern light.

18:54
19:39
19:50

Back in June I was down in Virginia doing some exploring, and my knee started bothering me while going downhill. Went to see the doctor when I got back, besides telling me I was getting older, he put me on a no hike and no squat restriction for the rest of the year. It has been strengthening up and there is a better balance now in both my legs due to the exercise changes I made. So, I needed to walk, could not stay stationary any longer. There was a couple of mostly flat trails leading out to the ocean in the area so I succumbed to my desires. Turned out OK and I felt great. A little twinge in a couple of spots to remind me, but for 3.5 miles I was happy. An inlet view looking towards the ocean, sun flare and all. It was great getting stretched out a bit. Need to keep progressing and get ready for next spring. West Virginia or the Adirondacks. Which one?

In the evening I took a ride over to Seal Cove to a spot I found earlier in the day. No seals to be found, but the weather was setting up nicely for a few hours of clear skies.

I wanted to be more adventurous, but I also did not want to piss the locals off so I stayed in one spot rather than going 100 yards to my left where all the boats were moored. I think that may have been a really good set up, but this was what I ended up with instead.

One of these days I am going to take the time and nail the foreground. The benefit here was a street lamp near the entrance to the dock that illuminated 30 seconds of the rocks and water for me. The clouds were building and rolled in shortly after this capture so my night was done. Short trip, well worth it, highly suggested.

Thank You for stopping by. I will get this years spring trip up soon. Till the next one!

Phil

A Relaxing Finale

The last day of my scouting mission and I was done drove out. A bit too much time behind the wheel for my liking, but we had achieved mission success and created some plans for the future. This trip was back in June, here it is now the middle of August and I was doing my best to remember everything I felt and saw. Not an easy thing to do. I am going to be adjusting a few things for the next trip and at least make notes and rough drafts of a day so I do not struggle to recall the activities. The moral of this admission is I had no clue what my first stop of the last day was, I had to look it up. Sights near Watoga…. As soon as I saw it though, it all came back.

Beartown State Park is one of the smaller parks in the area, but aside from a boardwalk taking you through the rock formations, it is also one of the least developed. I have been to Rock City in Tennessee and while it is similar, Beartown has no commercial appeal at all. Pure Nature.

The limestone formations are numerous and I wondered how much refuge was taken here during the civil war. I was loving the erosion and the dens scattered throughout. Whether they be for bears or foxes. One of my favorites however was the gnome homes…

Or fairy hideouts. Whichever imagination you choose. I was amazed by the slabs and angles that have developed and for a few of them, as in the first image, I wondered how the formation remained upright.

Beartown State Park was only a thirty minute drive from Watoga, just past my next and finale destination of the trip. I know I missed quite a few sights in the immediate area and I will eventually take them all in, they have been noted.

Droop Mountain Battlefield State Park was the location of the final Civil War battle in West Virginia. It was also the states first official state park, christened in 1928. Apparently it is also haunted. Maybe that is why I felt watched the night I was there. The lookout tower is open and accessible, providing a panoramic look down at the valley below.

I did a little hike around the park, seeing preserved trenches, tree breaks, following the literature along the way. Along the way I saw this jutting out of the ground, perhaps trying to escape from the ghosts under ground. No other tree was like it. Not something you see everyday.

Another overlook half way through the trail.

After I was done playing in the woods it was time for slow stroll through the onsite museum. More education and tons of artifacts depicting the era. I walked out of there cringing at the brutality of the period. That is probably the age coming through.

Finally, exploration complete. Three distinct areas, all beautiful, full of wonder and greatly recommended. I am spending a couple days on the Blue Ridge before heading over in October, hoping for skies clear and dark…

Thank for stopping by!

Phil

New River Gorge

Day three found me going two hours in the opposite Direction to New River Gorge. Made famous by the Bridge spanning the New River, a bridge that I could not find a suitable location to photograph. They exist in multitude, I was just unwilling to take the time to go find them. This is a detail I shall not miss on a future trip specifically to this area. All in all this location was my favorite as far as general feel and potential. Of course I do have the right to change this once the isolated trips begin.

The kick off point was the Canyon Rim visitor Center, one of four in the region and a required visit to intake the history of the area. After quite some time there I did the suggested drive along Fayette Station Road to gain some more insight into the history of the gorge. It was also taking me towards my first fall of the day, Kaymoor Falls.

You can reach out and touch this one as you walk up the trail, which is closed further up, or so a sign says. Pretty wild thing coming straight down the cliff almost out of nowhere. I would have loved to see where this originates, but having already entered a trail closed area I let it be. It runs underneath the trail and down into the stream below which is very accessible but very sloppy photogenic wise. Still was a fun hop and great to see.

From here I traveled to the ghost town of Drummond. A nice short stroll down the old tracks past some historic buildings, a trip down to the water, but no photos to be had. Stopped into the museum which was very interesting, and had a chat with the ranger. I was hoping for more but worth the stop nonetheless.

This day was highlighted by the magical, 1500 foot wide Sandstone Falls, an incredible location with a photograph to be had within every nook and cranny of the park. There is a boardwalk that takes you out to a viewing platform. The view from the platform is a bit blocked, the real fun begins when you leave the boardwalk and enter the world of rocks and roots, and some trails.

This next photo is the first thing you see when you are at the start of the off board trails. It just gets better after that.

I’m surprised I did not grab a panorama of this section. Next time

The 1500 feet is not exactly straight across. It is a bit jagged with much debris on one side.

One of the little nooks accessible by rock hopping through the water. It was at just the right level where I did not get wet.

I think I spent about an hour here wondering about or just watching the water. Lots of people fishing from shore, some families with kids playing in the pools and even a couple of guys precariously anchored just below the falls casting their lines as well. It was getting late and rain was coming so I started headed back. I had one more quick stop to make and by that time the drizzle had begun. This next photo is a popular one but I just could not pass it up.

Glade Creek Grist Mill in Babcock State Park. This may be my base of operations next year if I can get the family to come with me. The park, not the mill…

Day three concluded. One more day to go. Thanks for stopping by!

Phil

Blackwater Falls – Day Two

The day two destination was the area of Blackwater Falls. It was just over a two hour drive from where I was staying, which would normally be a no go in my book, but since I was on a mission of exploration and discovery I accepted my fate. This was initially to be my base of operations until I decided to take in more of the area. I am already planning a trip back here in October. There are so many sights to see and things to do I think I may be making a few trips over the next couple of years. Might even get lucky and coral a dark sky or two.

More steps to these falls. 214 to be exact. But they were dry! A couple of different viewing platforms on the way down, no free trailing here. Gorgeous, but almost a commercial feeling to it because of the way the entrance is set up. There are a couple of other vantage points as well I just chose not to go there.

Pretty great idea building a park within an area of so many amazing sites. The next set of falls is close by, right next to Blackwater Lodge. A short jaunt through the woods on a slightly covered trail. This was a day of the walk, no hiking needed which was much appreciated. Free to roam on this one to get the best vantage point. I was able to get to two of the four on this run. I could hear the third one clearly but it would involve a bit of bushwhacking to get to and being unsure of the access limitations no further off-trailing to be had.

Lots of room to roam
Wall Art!

The name of the first one is Elakala Falls. I do think they each have there own name but they are all in an area entitled Shays Run. This next one was a bit difficult to get in front of. That gap is not as narrow as it appears.

After I was done admiring the falls I went out to Lindy Point. Parking is a bit tight, but most people do not stay long so spots open up frequently. Another short trail brings you out to this:

While there is an actual platform to hang out on, there are also rock ledges accessible on either side for other vantage points should you desire. And if you are young and adventurous, you can jump four feet across to get to one of the tower formations for the perfect angle. This is a great lunch spot or in my case a spot to take in various snacks.

Douglas Falls was an interesting ride. Bringing you through a older town and wondering if you are going the right way you get to a dirt road, then a bit later passing some old coal ovens you get to park and walk 100 or so yards. Follow the stream…

There was much more to explore but I wrapped it up early so I did not have to drive back in the dark. Made it back to the cabin for dinner and still feeling the energy I decided to go suffer the night skies. I knew the clouds would be interfering with me for the duration so I went out before the moon set just to check it out. This is the Droop Mountain Battlefield lookout tower. I spent some daylight hours here so more to come on this front. This is 30 seconds of moonlight. If I had more patience I would have gone out later in the night when it had set, or perhaps if there were no clouds I would have just stayed and waited a couple of hours for the moon to go away. If…

Reservations made for October! Super excited to go back. Thanks for stopping by!

Phil