Little Switzerland

Blue Ridge Parkway – Little Switzerland, NC

“Don’t go around saying the world owes you a living. The world owes you nothing. It was here first!” – Mark Twain

First off Mark Twain was centuries ahead of his time in his thinking and quite frankly he was a badass! His brutally blunt observations and opinions on life cut through all the B.S. and got right to the heart of the matter. Dear God could we use some more people like him today!!! He has been described as both a Realist and a Naturalist. I think me & him would have gotten along just dandy.

The world may not owe us anything but its easy for us humans to surely appreciate the beauty that it holds. This is certainly the case in the Blue Ridge mountains around Little Switzerland, NC. The Fall season has always been my favorite. How could it not be? The clear cool fresh air, the vibrant & almost surreal blue skies, the red, yellow and orange transformation of the foliage, the apple orchards buzzing with harvesting activity & the smell of fresh burning outdoor wood fires. Man I could take 11 months a year of that. Scratch that…make it 12 months a year. But what probably makes the Fall season so nice is that it doesn’t last a very long time. It makes it just that more special.

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Crabtree Falls is one of my very favorite waterfalls anywhere in the Appalachians. Can you spot my wife in the lower right hand corner of the image to note the scale of these falls? 

The nearby Tanawha hiking trail is not too shabby either.

Do you ever just look up when your hiking?

Altapass apple orchard located directly on the BRP is high on my list as well.

Linville Falls is no slouch either however.

The valley gorge above Linville Falls is even more breathtaking.

Or just a simple ride down the Parkway.

Or perhaps a mountain lake Kayak excursion.

Or maybe exploring the countless unnamed babbling brooks.

Or endless overlook vistas.

Do river gorges do it for you?

If any of the above speak to you perhaps you need to visit Little Switzerland in the fall as well. I hope that you do. The world owes us nothing…but perhaps we owe it a little something . Respect, care & proper guardianship perhaps? I believe so. But its pretty hard to care for our planet if you never go out and experience it and all that it has to offer!

Remembering Roan…

Roan Mountain, TN

With summer temps hitting Georgia recently (was 87 degrees yesterday) I suddenly had a longing for the cooler temperatures we’ve mostly enjoyed this Spring. I had almost forgotten that I live in the deep south this year because it’s been so nice and so abnormally cool this Spring. Having said that I came across some forgotten images I took in November of 2011 on a hiking trip with my wife to the Little Switzerland area of the Appalachians in North Carolina. One of the days we drove over to the border with Tennessee to hike up and along the Appalachian Trail along the Roan highlands. It was the second week in November but up at the high peaks about 5,000′ elevation and above was a fresh 1″ or 2″ of the white stuff on the ground. It was something we didn’t realize we’d run into on this hike since we hadn’t seen snow anywhere on the trip up to this point…but we loved it!

Roan highlands is one of the more beautiful sections  anywhere along the the A.T. It is well-known for its open bald mountain ridges which gives you 360 degree unencumbered views of the surrounding valleys in all directions. You feel like your on top of the world! Also it is probably even more well-known for its amazing June blooms of native Rhododendrons that fill these open highland ridges.

The Roan highlands is not just one mountain peak but five.

• Roan High Bluff 
  
• Roan High Knob  
• Round Bald 
• Jane Bald  
• Grassy Ridge Bald  

Located literally on the border of TN/NC along the spine of the Blue Ridge Mountains on route 143/261 you can park at the trailhead parking area known as Carvers Gap. Parking at the “Gap” already puts you high up over the surrounding valley’s below at 5,512′ elevation. Once there you can either hike west through the trees on the A.T. up to the top of Roan Mountain High Knob at 6,267′ elevation or you can hike east over three open balds to the top of Grassy Ridge Bald at an elevation of 6,165′ elevation. We decided to do both! lol

We first started hiking west through the snow-covered trees.

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The sun was low in the sky and it cast a very amazing contrast with the green trees & white snow along the trail.

Did I mention the trees??? lol

I believe it was my wife that caught sight of this frozen spider web string.

Then I spied this frozen leaf.

While the sun was out at the start of the climb as we reached the summit of Roan High Knob we found ourselves in the clouds with nothing but white everywhere.

Since we reached our goal of getting to the summit and there were no long-range views to be had from here we turned around to head back down…but where did the damn trail go??? 

After finding the trail back down to Carvers Gap we headed right out to the east and up the open and wind blasted trail to the top of Round Bald. The sun had returned by this time and this section of the hike was completely different from the one we had just traversed to the west over the last few hours.

At the top of Round Bald we got our first clear, long-range view of the valley below. Only the high peaks had snow as you can clearly see. Amazing location!

There was still fall color on the trees some 3,000′ below us down at the valley floor.

We continued hiking over Round Bald, then over Jane Bald and then 1/2 way up Grassy Ridge Bald where we found this rock outcropping. From here we turned around to not only see the two mountain peaks we had hiked over earlier and to view the amazing valley below, but also to just stop and take it all in one last time before heading out to our next hiking destination for the day. 

This is not the last time we’ll ever be here. In fact next month we’ll be back, except this time I don’t think we’ll see any snow!

Chasing Waterfalls & Sunshine

Virginia Hawkins Falls – Upstate S.C.

“Life is a journey, not a destination” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

The Blue Ridge Parkway is that rare stretch of amazing motorway along the spine of the southern Appalachians that allows someone like me to do exactly what I enjoy most. Namely motorcycle riding, hiking, exploring & photography all in one shot. It’s an uninterrupted 469 mile long, black top, shock & awe campaign that can touch your soul, if you slow down and let it. There are countless pull offs, overlooks, hiking trails, waterfalls and wonders of nature to see both right on and just off the parkway. My motto is “Ride hard & stop often!”. I try to remember Emerson’s words above to remind myself that life is in fact a journey and its that journey or experiences we have along the way that defines us. If we’re in a rush to get to our destination we tend to miss out on so much along the way.

With that being said I took the day off work, got up earlier than I care to even admit to myself and set out on a day ride to the mountains with sights set on 9 or 10 stops I wanted to make. Some included short hikes to majestic overlooks and some others to amazing waterfalls. The air was surprisingly clear, crisp & cool with bright sunshine that felt more like Fall than mid-May. This was not a photography trip, but rather a stop & smell the roses, get off the beaten track, enjoy life, de-stress, screw the weekly routine and see all that I can in one day “trip”, and I just happened to snap a few pictures along the way. 

I encourage everyone to ride, bike, drive, walk, hitch hike or run nude (whatever floats your boat) down the Blue Ridge Parkway at some point. But do me a favor and slow down, stop often, take a deep breath and enjoy all that it has to offer. There is so much to see & explore!

After riding in the early morning darkness for 2-1/2 hours I made my way up hwy 276 from below Ceasar’s Head in South Carolina and stopped at the popular Looking Glass Falls right on the side of the road. With good waterfall this Spring the flow was quite nice. 

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After enjoying the falls and talking to three other people who had camera’s and tri-pods in action I began climbing up in elevation on my way up the Blue Ridge Parkway (BRP). Heading west on the parkway from the hwy 276 junction you only go a short distance to milepost 417 and park at the overlook. Across the street from the overlook there is a small ground level trail marker (there is no sign for the falls). It is a rugged 1/2 mile hike to the falls & of course a 1/2 mile hike back up to the overlook. Along the way the side of the trail was very green with vegetation.

I could hear the roar of the falls getting louder and soon enough I came down the stairs and saw the bridge going over it. I had it all to myself to enjoy as no other soul was around.

It’s called skinny dip falls because in the summer people will hike down here and swim. The upper falls creates a deep swimming pool and people jump off the boulders into the water here to cool off. Plus at over 5,000′ elevation and with the cold mountain water I can only imagine that a couple of dips in these chilly temps would do the trick! Just below the main falls the stream turns 90 degrees and runs under the walk bridge and there is a second clear emerald-green pool as well.

Just a couple of miles down from here is Graveyard fields. I’ve stopped here many times in the past and I really like the lower falls especially. I didn’t stop at these falls today because I’ve photographed it many times before, however I would encourage all who hasn’t seen it to stop and do so. The trail is on the far east end of the parking facility. It’s about a 15-20 minute hike down to the falls. Once you cross the bridge take a right and you’ll shortly descend stairs & the falls will be on your right. Here is a pic from last November when I took a bike trip with my wife. It was fogged in at the time & it gave off an eerie feeling.

Just past Graveyard fields at milepost 420 I took a right on the spur road called “Black Balsam Knob Rd”. You ride up about a 1/2 mile and you’ll see a trailhead parking area on your right. Park here & take the “Art Loeb” hiking trail east for .8 mile all the way to the top of the aforementioned Black Balsam knob for spectacular 360 degree views overlooking the BRP down in the distance. The trail starts in the trees but you quickly climb above treeline and go straight up to your first bald with terrific views. Continue up farther to reach the second taller summit of Black Balsam.

After returning down to my parked bike I rode just another short 2 miles on the BRP and parked on the left at mile marker 422 for “The Devil’s Courthouse”. This is another 1/2 mile hike up pretty steep terrain to an established overlook. The views from this 5,800′ peak were nothing less than spectacular as well!

After this it was time to do more riding. The next 30 miles of the BRP I rode non-stop and being on a Monday wouldn’t you know I didn’t have a single car, truck, bike or motor home in front of me the entire way. I twisted the throttle a little more aggressively, leaned the bike over in the perfect corners and even scrapped a few footpegs as I motored along in 3rd & 4th gear at about 75mph through the countless sweepers. Now that was fun! My next stop was at one of my favorite overlooks at milepost 451 at “Watterrock Knob”. There is a hiking trail from the parking lot up to the top but even from a few feet from my parked motorcycle you can enjoy these views. It was very bright outside and you can see why these mountains are called “The Blue Ridge”.

After 3 straight overlooks it was time to find some more cascading water. Just about 1.5 miles off the BRP on hwy 19 is “Soco Falls”. It has no sign so you have to know what to look for. If you’re traveling from the Parkway there is a gravel roadside pull off on your left. Once you get out you’ll hear the falls. It is a short, but very steep climb down first to a wooden deck overlook spot of the upper falls. However continue down after viewing from here to the mid-point and the very steep descent to the river bottom if you like. The falls look completely different from each vantage point.

Now if you know anything about trying to take photographs of moving white water…in the middle of the day…with a bright overhead sun lighting up the falls…well it’s a major challenge! (ie It sucks!!!). The falls always turn out way too overexposed & washed out. So I don’t typically even try to photograph waterfalls during midday when it’s sunny. It’s almost a complete waste of time because it’s so hard to get a decent picture & exposure. That being said these next two waterfalls I’m not real crazy about my photography but I wanted to post them anyways. It was the best I could do based on the conditions. I stopped down my camera exposure a full -2 stops, and had my variable ND filter cranked all the way up and the slowest shutter speed I could get that even looked somewhat ok was about 1/20 a sec. Again not my best work, but it’s all I could do. I would recommend you seeing them in person however. Here is Soco Falls from the midpoint location. It’s actually two different streams cascading down the same canyon location.

After visiting Soco Falls for a solid 25 minutes I headed back down the BRP and saw three elk grazing on the side of the road and started heading towards Cherokee, NC. I took a side road just a few miles in because I had never been down there before and came upon Mile High Campground by accident. At an elevation of 5,280′ there are primitive drive up campsites you can reserve. I stopped at this campsite to check it out because it had unspoiled views of the Smoky’s from this mountain edge location. Nice spot!

Would be nice to unzip your tent in the morning and see the sun rising over those mountains eh?

I also saw three of these 500+ lbs. Elk in this area!

After checking out the campground some I backtracked and continued down the rest of the BRP to Cherokee and about 4 miles north of its end point on Hwy 441 is Mingo Falls. There is a clear parking lot for the falls with a trailhead sign & stairs. You park, walk up approx. 150 stairs and then the trail levels off and it’s just a short 5 minute walk from this point. At 120′ high Mingo Falls is quite impressive. Again with the bright sun hitting the falls I did the best I could with the camera. 

It was now time to start looping my ride back towards my home in Georgia. But I couldn’t resist making one last stop at “Silver Run Falls” just south of Cashiers, NC. It is just a short 5 minute easy level walk to these falls from the roadside gravel trailhead parking spot. You can walk right up to the edge of the falls and I’ve been here in the summer and seen people standing under these 20′ falls and letting the cool water pour over them. Just a real pretty location that many people don’t seem to really know about.

All in all it was a great day out exploring, riding, hiking & taking some pictures. The totals for the day were 630 miles covered on the motorcycle, 4 mountain miles hiked, six waterfalls visited, three overlooks traversed, three elks spotted, countless curves negotiated, a few footpegs scrapped and lots of doing what I enjoy. 

With the Blue Ridge Parkway there is so much to see. But 1/2 of it requires you to do a little walking. Not everything in life can be seen from a parking lot inside your air conditioned SUV that requires no effort. If you simply just drive or ride the BRP and never make any stops and never explore the overlooks or waterfalls that are usually anywhere from just 5 min to 30 min walks then I really think your truly missing out. Don’t be afraid to get outside of your comfort zone and try something a little different. And with the information age of the internet it just takes a few minutes to locate & research some new points of interest to check out. I just hope I can inspire of few of you to do just that. 

Remember life is not a destination but a journey. I truly hope you’re enjoying you’re journey!

Added Video Content (Looking Glass Falls, Black Balsam Knob, Skinny Dip Falls & The Devil’s Courthouse)

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Callaway Gardens

Wow…what a nice day! Where should I begin? Probably with us getting up at 5:30am earlier today (Mothers Day) to drive an hour away for our 2nd 5k road race this Spring at Callaway Gardens in Pine Mountain, GA. The weather was beyond Thunderdome awesome! Clear blue skies, light breeze & 72 degrees. At the 7:50am race start time it was a perfect 56 degrees for running. The course was spectacular as it meandered into the woods and around the lake. Somehow both me & my wife recorded personal best run times. We are both 39 yrs old so we are in the 35-39 age group. I ran 25:40 and got a third place trophy for men in my bracket. My wife got FIRST PLACE for women in her age bracket with a 26:43 time! We didn’t expect anything like this today! Not too shabby for only her second 5k race ever. However I must say they had her mistakenly listed in the 40-44 age women’s bracket. So as I finished just ahead of her I turned around to see her cross the finish line and they called out her name as she finished and said she was 40 yrs old over the loudspeaker …and all I heard was my wife yell out at the top of her lungs “I’M NOT 40!!!!”. LOL …Long story short we got that little situation corrected later and she got the appropriate award for her correct age bracket.

After the race we were given free tickets to enter the Gardens and so we spent the next 3hrs out in perfect Springtime weather walking the various trails. We took in a free 30min outdoor birds of prey show, went to the butterfly house, walked the rhododendron trail and walked along the lake. It was a great day & now it’s time for me to go outside and fire up the grill to cook dinner. But in the meantime here are some images of our day at Callaway Gardens. I hope you enjoy them!

Organic Symmetry

I captured this motorcycle trip shot of my wife on top of Craggy Gardens overlook on the Blue Ridge Parkway in North Carolina. I liked the balance of her longing gaze going off into the distance along the spine of the road we just traversed opposite the stacked stone cairn seemingly doing the same thing.

Motorcycling Georgia’s Coastline

Georgia’s entire 100 mile long coastline along Atlantic Ocean is comprised of barrier islands. It is a very unique coastline and unlike any other stretch along the eastern seaboard of the United States. The islands are composed basically of dune and beach-ridge sands. They were shaped—and are still being altered—by wind, waves, currents, tides, and a slowly rising or stable sea level. From north to south going from the South Carolina border down to the Florida border the barrier islands of Georgia are Tybee, Little Tybee, Ossabaw, Wassaw, St. Catherines,  Sapelo, Wolf, Blackbear, Sea Island, St. Simons, Little St. Simons, Jekyll, Little Cumberland, and Cumberland.

Separated from the mainland by a four- to six-mile-wide band of salt marsh, tidal creeks, and estuaries. Georgia’s barrier islands are under various types of ownership and management. Jekyll, Sea Island, St. Simons, and Tybee islands are developed and connected to the mainland by bridges and causeways. Much of Jekyll is a state park. The other barrier islands are accessible only by boat. Of these, Blackbeard, Wassaw, and Wolf islands are national wildlife refuges. Little Tybee, Ossabaw, and Sapelo are owned by the state of Georgia. The Cumberland Island National Seashore is managed by the National Park Service. Little Cumberland, Little St. Simons, and St. Catherines are privately owned. There is no continuous north to south highway that takes you along the water’s edge like you might find in Florida or California. You have to ride or ferry east to each island, explore it, back track, head up the coast and then check out the next one. In a way I’m glad for this because it keeps human encroachment to the environment down to a minimum. 

Most of these barrier islands are nature preserves and are protected sanctuaries for various types of wildlife from wide varieties of migrating bird populations as well as sea turtles. The local seafood is terrific, the constant sea-breeze is refreshing & the different micro environments you see are outstanding. Great bike trip to take with your significant other on to share. Take your time, check out each island, get off the beaten path and see something new. This is the antithesis of riding to a “Bike Meet” in Daytona or Sturgis (Barf)…thank GOD!!!! 

Simple shots in your backyard

Last night about one hour before sunset I heard the owl’s calling outside in my backyard. I could see one of the young owls at the top of a large hardwood tree flapping it’s wings. Just a little over a week ago it was light-colored and had the immature downy coat of feathers and now it looks like a mini-adult owl with dark feathers and was displaying some more adult type behavior. It’s moving quite freely up & down the tree and even over to a close nearby tree on the other side of the creek. I don’t think it will be more than a few days before it flies for the first time. Unfortunately I could not get in a good position to take any decent pictures of it. But since it was a very pleasant evening & I had my camera with me I decided to walk around my yard & see what else I could shoot.

I came across this huge mushroom that had to be 4″-5″ in diameter.

And then a split open acorn that the squirrels had forgotten to take care of…

…and this really vibrant little wild flower. There was actually a cool little green spider on top of it but as soon as I tried to kneel down and take a shot he spun around the underside of it and hid on me. We played chase for the next 10 minutes as I tried to coax him to stop hiding on me but in the end he just refused to cooperate.

And finally in the failing light I took a last image of the creek.

After 30-45 minutes of being outside before dusk, having heard the owl’s hooting, and just strolling out in the yard with my camera taking shots of simple images we walk by all the time without hardly noticing them I realized why I enjoy outdoor nature photography so much. It’s very relaxing to me. I feel at peace being outside, feeling the wind, smelling the air and just getting lost mentally in doing something that I find enjoyable and doesn’t require my brain to think. It’s a way for me to decompress after a long work day or a long work week and once you start taking pictures outside there is no schedule, no time frame, no deadline, no time crunch, no thoughts of worrying about the next task that is required to do for the day. It’s just you & nature. If you haven’t tried it yourself yet…you should!

My “bridge” camera & things to consider

My Fujifilm FinePix HS20EXR “Bridge” Camera

Let me first start by saying I don’t consider myself a real photographer. I don’t know what I am other than just a regular guy that enjoys the outdoors and over the past 2yrs nature photography has become much more of a personal interest to me. And quite frankly its the main reason I started this blog in late 2011, just to give myself some place to post some of the photo’s I was starting to take on my hikes & motorcycle rides.

So back then after years of being just a point & shoot type picture taker I wanted to learn more about photography and I also wanted to get a better camera. After about 6 months of trying to decide if I wanted to jump into the DSLR world with it’s array of expensive cameras and it’s even bigger array of more expensive lens and potentially large amount of gear to haul around I stumbled on this new type of camera now referred to as “Bridge” cameras. And it is exactly that, a middle ground or bridge between the full-fledged DSLR camera and the more generic point & shoots. In the end I decided that for me I wanted a camera that had all the features of a DSLR (Full manual mode, Aperture mode, Shutter Mode…etc) & would allow me to take both Macro (close up shots) as well as have a built-in zoom lens for long distance shots all in a compact affordable package where I didn’t need to carry expensive lens. Something that would fit in my motorcycle top case and also not break the bank. The FujiFilm FinePix HS20EXR camera for under $400.00 is what I purchased in September of 2011 and it’s the only camera I own and take pictures with. While this camera looks & acts just like a DSLR it has a fixed non-changeable lens. 

This camera can probably best be described by the often used phrase “Jack of all trades & master of none!”. It does just about everything well but any good DSLR with a specialty lens will probably do a better job for a specific type of photography. But for your average person where photography is a hobby and where you want to have the ability to take some very nice pictures these bridge cameras may be exactly what you’ve been waiting for. Here are just a few examples of the types of images you can take with this camera.

Mountain Vistas

Water Mirror Shots

Long Exposure Shots

Macro Shots

Super Macro Shots

30x Zoom Shots

There really isn’t a type of shot you can’t take with this little camera. And that brings up my next point. How do I take my photos? What am I looking for? What have I learned up to this point? There are many, many points to consider but for the sake of simplicity there are three main categories to make sure you address:

LIGHTING: One thing I’ve learned about outdoor nature photography is lighting. It’s a HUGE part of taking a decent picture. Don’t shoot directly into the sun, shoot at a 90 degree angle if possible for example. Don’t try to take long exposure images of moving water in the middle of the day with a bright sun, overcast days are better and early morning light or late evening light when the sun is low on the horizon is even better. Also us a neutral density filter (ND filter) and remember that you can always turn down your camera’s exposure by a 1/3 of a stop at a time if needed.

COMPOSITION: Or in other words framing a shot correctly. What does that mean? Well when you’re looking through your eyepiece or the LCD screen, before you press the shutter button are you happy with what you see? Are there distracting images in the foreground (human clutter)? Or on the top of the image (power lines)? Is there too much going on in the image and your eye doesn’t even know what the subject matter is? In many occasions simpler is better. Also in most cases use the “rule of thirds”, ie if your taking a picture of the mountains and your sky is unappealing use 2/3 of the image for the mountains to make that the focal point and only 1/3 for the sky. What if the sky has a dazzling array of clouds with sunset colors bouncing off them. Then make the sky the focal point by using the top 2/3 of the image and the mountains only the bottom 1/3. 

POST PROCESSING: Now what the heck is this? Well in age of digital images and computer photo editing to really take your well composed & correctly lighted images to the next level and make them “pop” just a few brief minutes in an editing program can really do the trick. You don’t necessarily need an expensive program either. Most modern HD capable photo editing programs (even some free online editors) offer a wide array of photo enhancements. A word of caution is not to go crazy and overdo it and make your images look unrealistic. But simply running your image through a “Sharpen” or “Tone map” filter and adjusting the settings might give your image a little boost. Or adjusting the color “levels” or perhaps adding a light “Foliage” boost will bring a good photo to an even more enjoyable image to view. These are just a few examples but really just spending some time & playing around with your images and getting the look you desire will really take your images to another level than just simply the raw image straight from the camera.

FINAL THOUGHTS: Good pictures don’t take themselves. And expensive cameras & lens don’t automatically mean you’ll get great images. There are some terrific photographers that take amazing images with just their I-Phones! It’s not always about the gear. To me photography is about the one pressing the shutter button. I feel like I have a TON to learn yet but that doesn’t mean I or you can’t take some very nice images or that we can’t grow & learn & improve in our picture-taking ability. So be realistic in your abilities, decide what type of camera is right for you at this point, read & research online about the basics of taking a good shot and go out as often as you can and experiment!

Our Barred Owl family

For the past several years we’ve had a set of mating Barred Owls living in our backyard. And they are back again this year with a new family of two young owlette’s. Barred Owls or “Hoot Owls” are a large common species of owl that inhabit many areas in North America. It has one of the most distinctive and pleasant hoot’s of any owl. A full-grown adult ranges from 16″ – 24″ in height and has a wingspan between 36″ – 48″ which makes them quite impressive. It has a pale face with dark rings around the eyes, a yellow beak and brown eyes. It is the only typical owl of the eastern United States which has brown eyes; all others have yellow eyes. The upper parts are mottled gray-brown. The underparts are light with markings; the chest is “barred” horizontally while the belly is streaked vertically. The legs and feet are covered in feathers up to the talons.

They appear to have nested in a void in a beech tree about 30′ off the ground just a few feet from the creek. Based on what I’ve read on the internet many times they nest in voids created by pleated woodpeckers and with the amount of woodpeckers on my property that would not surprise me. Also with the amount of mice, squirrels, possums, bats and other food sources that my creek attracts it’s no doubt the reason they continue to nest here every year. 

So last night me & my wife were sitting in the backyard about 1 hr before dusk and she spots the above pictured adult on a high branch with the setting sun hitting her backside. I run and grab my little 30x zoom bridge camera…its times like this I wish I owned a mack daddy DSLR with a large telephoto lens!!!! …and my wife grabs my tri-pod. I get as close as I can and zoom out the full 30x and capture another image of the adult.

Then I notice another owl flapping it’s wings in what apparently is the nesting tree. It has two small owlette’s and one is practicing and exercising its wings in the nest.

I go around the side of the tree and snap my final picture.

The entire time the adult owl is watching us intently and then gives one of her distinctive hoots. The owlette’s turn their heads into that direction and focus intently on the adult some 75-100 yds away in a different tree. I would estimate the adult size to be in the 22″ – 24″ height range. I decided not to linger around the base of their nest tree any longer and put the camera away and head back up to the house to let them go back to their natural behavior. 

I found this YouTube video online (courtesy of “Canadawild”) and this shows our Barred Owl and you can hear what we hear most every night in our backyard.

Vogel State Park

Trahlyta Falls – Vogel State Park – Blairsville, GA

Cool crisp morning air, warm sunny afternoons, cerulean blue skies, lush green valleys, clear mountain lakes, the rushing sound of whitewater, the aroma of thick cut hickory bacon cooking on a cast iron skillet, drinking hot coffee overlooking the lake watching the sunrise, wood fires at night, owl’s hooting, geese making effortless water landings and miles of hiking trails…welcome to Vogel State Park!

The above aptly describes not just some romantic thought in your mind of getting away & getting in touch with nature while you’re at work trapped in an office (ok, well that is true) but it also truthfully describes my last weekend with the family as all six of us got away for Spring Break. Somehow…someway…the weather Gods looked favorably upon us and gave us perfect weather for three straight days that felt more like mid-October with clear blue skies, low temps in the 40′s at night and highs in the upper 60′s in the afternoon. My kind of weather!

Vogel State Park sits at 2,500′ elevation in the valley below 4,460′ high Blood mountain in the Blue Ridge mountains of north Georgia. It contains 233 acres and is the State’s second oldest park being founded back in 1931. The famous 2,200 mile Georgia to Maine Appalachian Trail goes right above the park along the ridge line of Blood mountain. It also boasts Trahlyta lake (Try-Lee-Tah) which has Trout, Bass, Bream & Catfish stocked in it each year for fishing. The north end of the lake has the beautiful 110′ high Trahlyta falls which empties into Wolf creek. An easy 1/2 mile walking trail circles the entire lake. For more serious hiking the rugged 13.2 mile Coosa Backcountry loop trail that connects to the A.T.  right from inside the park is available as well. This trail (which I did about 10 yrs ago) has some serious elevation gain of over 2,000′ and will test your endurance for sure with multiple up & down ridge crossings.

Spring usually comes about 3 weeks later here than at my home in metro Atlanta which is further south and only around 800′ elevation so the tree’s & flowers where just getting cranked up this weekend. Here are some images of our trip, I hope you enjoy them.