Tag: Photography

Good Bye, Shenandoah. Hello, Blue Ridge Parkway!

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After finishing the Bear Mountain Rock Scramble hike, we continued heading South on Skyline Drive.  We stopped at several scenic overlooks before leaving the park.

Before starting our trek down the Blue Ridge Parkway, we stopped in Waynesboro, Virginia, to get gas and stock up on groceries.  In order to maximize the amount of time we could spend enjoying the Blue Ridge Parkway, we decided to go car-camping for two nights during our drive south.  We made reservations well in advance of our trip for the campgrounds — one night at the Peaks of Otter campground and one night at the Linville Falls Campground.  Prior to the trip, we planned out which hikes we thought we’d like to do, so that enabled us to figure out how many miles we thought we’d be able to drive along the parkway each day, which helped us choose what campgrounds to make reservations for.  We ended up arriving to both of our campgrounds after dark, but we felt that that helped us to make the most of our daylight hours.

We entered the Blue Ridge Parkway via the North entrance near Waynesboro.  Our first stop was a mile marker 5.8, the Humpback Rocks Visitor Center.

After getting a magnet and sticker from the visitor’s center, we made a couple of PB&J sandwiches (to eat while hiking) and set out on our first hike of the Blue Ridge Parkway leg of our trip — Humpback Rocks.  The hike was a short one, only 1.6 miles out and back, but the steep grade made it a bit more challenging than we expected.  The views from the top were totally worth it!

After completing the hike, we continued driving south along the Blue Ridge Parkway.

Our next stop was White Rock Falls.  It was an easy-to-moderate 2.5 mile hike that began at the Slacks Overlook parking lot.  The falls were rather unimpressive but could definitely be lovely in a different time of day (we were there in the afternoon) or with a larger volume of water (maybe in the spring time).

There was lovely foliage to admire along the trail.


Maple


Sassafras


Oak

We continued our drive south.  This was one of the prettiest sections of threes that we came across during the entire trip.

Shenandoah National Park – Part 2

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We picked out the hikes that we wanted to complete during our trip ahead of time.  We put quite a bit of thought into how many miles we thought we’d be able to hike (and drive) in a day.  We also tried to pick hikes that featured different things (waterfalls, good views, interesting terrain, etc.).  There are a ton of hikes to pick from, so having a game-plan ahead of time will allow you to make better use of your time.  The three hikes that we did on our first day in Shenandoah definitely reflect our thoughtful planning process.  We chose one with good views, one with good trees, and one with a waterfall.

Hike With A View

Our first hike of the day was Stony Man.  We started in the Stony Man parking area and took the Appalachian Trail to the Stony Man Trail.  We spent some time taking in the views at the Stony Man summit and then headed back to the parking lot.  The views were amazing, and the total hike distance was only 1.4 miles, so it was definitely worth the time/effort.  One of my favorite things about the view from the summit was getting to see Skyline Drive winding through the trees down below.

 Squirrel on Stony Man Trail

View from Stony Man Summit

Skyline Drive via Stony Man Summit

Skyline Drive via Stony Man Summit Continue reading →

Shenandoah National Park – Part 1

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After a wonderful day in Pennsylvania’s Somerset Country, we got up early the next morning and headed out to Shenandoah National Park.  It was about a 2.5 hour long drive, so we were able to spend most of the day in Shenandoah.  Our route took us from Pennsylvania, through Maryland and West Virginia, and into Virginia.  I always get a bit of a kick when I cross a state-line, because, being from south Texas, it’s not something that I ever did on any regular basis while growing up.  Taking photographs from a moving vehicle (especially when you don’t have a good feel for when you’re going to pass the signs) is easier said than done, but I managed to get a photograph of each of the “welcome to…” signs as we crossed the state-lines that morning.

State-Line Signs

Shenandoah National Park was established on December 26, 1935, though the park was authorized back in 1926.  According to Wikipedia, 500 families were forced to give up their homes for the creation of the 105-mile-long Skyline Drive.  We started our journey through Shenandoah at the northeast entrance in Front Royal and drove south along Skyline Drive towards Waynesboro.  We received a map when we paid our entry fee and entered through the north entrance.  Once we made it into the national park, we stopped at the Dickey Ridge Visitor Center to stamp our National Parks Passport book and to pick up a few souvenirs (including the vintage-looking vinyl cling in the following collage) before making our way further into the park.

If you’re planning a visit to Shenandoah, be sure to check the park website beforehand to check for road closures, trail closures, ongoing forest fires, burn bans, etc.

Shenandoah National Park Signs

It didn’t take us very long to make our first friend in the park.  While we were driving along, this leaf fell and got stuck on our windshield.  For some reason, we were both very amused by this…maybe it’s the lack of trees where we live.

Our Shenandoah Friend Continue reading →

Laurel Highlands – Pennsylvania

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We hadn’t initially planned to visit the Laurel Highlands, but we found ourselves in need of an area to stay for two nights that was between Cuyahoga Valley National Park and Shenandoah National Park. The Laurel Highlands region of Pennsylvania was the perfect spot. We stayed at the Quill Haven Bed and Breakfast in Somerset.  We highly recommend staying there — both for comfort and the good location…and the wonderful breakfast — if you ever find yourself in need of a place to stay in the area.

Our day in Somerset County was jam-packed and wonderful. We started our day with a self-made-tour of three covered bridges.  It is worth noting that the first bridge featured, Barronvale Bridge, is the longest covered bridge in Somerset County.  It is also worth noting that you can drive over the last bridge, Lower Humbert Bridge; we took advantage of the opportunity to drive over it, and I photographed Bryan’s car in the bridge.

 Barronvale Bridge


Barronvale Bridge

Barronvale Bridge

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Cuyahoga Valley National Park

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Cuyahoga Valley National Park was the first stop on our trip.  Cuyahoga Valley National Park is located in northeast Ohio and is about half an hour away from Cleveland.  It was originally established as a National Recreation Area in 1974.  It received its National Park designation in 2000.

We did three different hikes during our day at the park.  First on the list was Blue Hen Falls.  Blue Hen Falls was fairly small, about 15 feet tall according to the National Park Service website and is formed by a small stream.  The sandstone shelf that forms the waterfall, however, is picturesque, and the hike to the water fall is short, so it’s worth seeing if you’re visiting the park.  It was especially pretty during October because many of the trees in the area were changing colors.

Blue Hen Falls

Blue Hen Falls

Brandywine Falls was beautiful, though it wasn’t exactly the type of hike we expected.  A well-maintained boardwalk leads to the falls, and a road is visible above the falls (I did my best to take my photographs at an angle that hid the road).  It felt a little more commercialized (and a little less “wild”) than we expected.  In addition to walking to the waterfall, we continued on to complete the entire Brandywine Gorge Trail.  There wasn’t much to see on the trail, and we would recommend just seeing the waterfall and spending your time hiking elsewhere.

Brandywine Falls

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Château de Chaumont – Part 2

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The is the second post in my series of posts about Chateau de Chaumont.  The first post focused on the outside of the chateau, and this post features photographs from the stables.

The stables at Chateau de Chaumont were designed by Paul-Ernest Sanson and were built in 1877.  At the time, they were the most modern stables in all of Europe; to me, they even looked modern for today’s standards — they were also beautiful.  The stables were divided into multiple sections — there were stalls for “half-blood” horses (carriage horses), saddle horses (full-blood horses), and ponies.  There was also a small, indoor riding arena where horses could be worked on lunge lines.  The Chateau de Chaumont website has a ton of information on the stables.

This is what the stables look like from the outside, as you approach them from the chateau.

The round “thing” to the right of the photograph below is the indoor arena.

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Château de Chaumont – Part 1

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After we finished up at Château de Chenonceau, we headed over to Château de Chaumont.  At Château de Chaumont, we bought tickets for both the chateau and the International Garden Festival (which is adjacent to the chateau).

Château de Chaumont is located in Chaumont-sur-Loire, a small commune in France’s Loire Valley.  According to Wikipedia, the chateau was founded in the 10th century by Odo I, Count of Blois.  In 1560, the chateau was acquired by Catherine de Medici.  When her husband, Henry II died, Catherine made her husband’s mistress, Diane de Portiers, give her Chateau de Chenonceau in exchange Chateau de Chaumont.  In 1840 the French Ministry of Culture classified Chaumont as a historical monument.  Marie-Charlotte Say purchased the chateau in 1875.  She restored the chateau and planted gardens, and her husband commissioned the stables.  The donated Chateau de Chaumont to the French government in 1938.

I’m planning on creating several posts with photographs from Chateau de Chaumont.  This post will feature photographs from the outside of the chateau.  A second post will feature photographs of the chateau’s beautiful stables.  A third post will feature photographs from the International Garden Festival (that one may actually require two posts).

The buildings that we passed as we made our way to the chateau were lovely!  This building, covered in beautiful, red and white roses, caught my eye.

The grounds around the chateau were beautifully landscaped.  I was particularly excited to see these entirely white foxglove.  I planted one foxglove in my garden a few years ago, and it did well that year, but it never came back.

The photograph below was taken just outside of the chateau — you can see part of the chateau on the left-side of the picture.

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Château de Chenonceau – Part 4

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One of my favorite things about Château de Chenonceau was all of the fresh flower arrangements that could be seen throughout the chateau.  Many, if not all, of the flowers used in the arrangements are grown in the chateau’s gardens.  The arrangements are also put together at the chateau.  I don’t really have anything else to say about the arrangements…except for pointing out the fact that they’re absolutely beautiful!  I figured this would be a good time to try out WordPress’s “gallery” feature.  Some of the thumbnails are rather small, but I think that you should be able to click on each photograph to open it up so that you can view a bigger version of the photo.

Also, if you’re interested in Château de Chenonceau, be sure to check out my other three posts on the chateau!

Château de Chenonceau – Part 3

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I’ve previously published two other posts about Château de Chenonceau – one post with photographs of the outside of the chateau and a second post with photographs of the inside of the chateau.  This post features photographs from the grounds surrounding the chateau.  In addition to the chateau, there were several other buildings and gardens on the grounds that we spent some time looking at.  Unfortunately, I don’t know much about the grounds, so this post will be somewhat lacking in terms of information.  I do, however, hope that you enjoy the photographs despite the lack of information.

I have no idea what this building was, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen something oozing with so much whimsical charm.  It was also a picture well-suited for Instagram’s signature square format.

Unidentified Incredibly Charming Building

Much of the area surrounding the chateau is devoted to maintaining the many gardens.  They were in the process of digging up the spring flowers and replanting the gardens with summer flowers while we were there.  These crates contained the summer-time plants for the gardens.

Crates Full of Fresh Flowers

Firewood

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