Enjoying a moment of solitude at the end of a long day backpacking. Little Stoney Creek, in GWNF along the VA/WV border. Little Stoney Creek drains the basin between Little Sluice Mountain (east) and Mill Mountain (west), and was a welcome sight after spending the day high and dry among the ridgetops. We also happened…Read more Little Stoney Creek
Images
Dam 5, Potomac River, C&O Canal
Dam 5, C&O Canal towpath along the Potomac River. Built in 1835, the dam raised the river level enough to fill 22 miles of the canal. It's a great place to stop and rest after a day of biking the towpath!
Potomac River, C&O Canal
Dawn along the C&O Canal towpath. The Potomac River is still, just above Dam 5. This is looking south into West Virginia, from Maryland.
Reynisdrangar, Vik, Iceland
Legend has it that two large trolls spotted a three-masted ship adrift in the sea, and waded out to tow it to shore. As so often seems to happen with trolls, they mistimed their efforts, and were caught by the rising sun, which turned them to the basaltic sea stacks that remain today. This view…Read more Reynisdrangar, Vik, Iceland
Bumblebees and Azaleas
Azaleas are a "garden" flower, or maybe a nice shrub to line the driveway - but occasionally, walking through the forest, you see these relics alongside daffodils, indicators of a more human-cultivated past. They bear testimony that a homesite used to stand here, and the plants, and the bees that love them, thrive long after…Read more Bumblebees and Azaleas
Springtime in the Swamp
Springtime in the Swamp! New shoots coming up, the duckweed and lilies are greening, and the beavers are busy!
Laugavegur and Grænagil
Standing by a steaming sulfur vent, looking across the chaotic jumble of a lava field, into Grænagil, the Green Canyon. Laugavegur Trail, Landmannalaugar, Iceland.
First Day of Spring, 2021
Happy to start to see some glimpses of normal human interaction again. These guys sure were happy to see each other. A great (but cold!) two nights out camping.
Spring Sailing
Daylight savings time is not yet here, and so the evenings come early, and the water is COLD (about 40 deg F / 4.4 deg C), but it's hard to pass up a strong March breeze. The spring season is officially underway - maybe, finally, an indication of normal life returning.
Blackwater Falls, Davis, WV
Blackwater Falls always runs dark. The tannins from decaying leaves and evergreen needles in the water stain it the color of tea. Contrast that with a fresh snowfall, a hard freeze and enormous icicles, and you have a pretty sight, indeed! (Note the figure on the balcony at left, for scale)
Skogafoss, Iceland
Skogafoss is one of the most famous waterfalls in Iceland. Aside from its impressive size, it gives the impression of an incredible volume of water that disappears into a stream that's no more than a foot deep. By walking right up to it, you can feel both awed, and tiny.
Slateford Creek Falls, PA
A cathedral of ice in the Delware Water Gap area, PA.
Puffins!
As I'm reminiscing on last summer's trip to Iceland (and working up videos, etc), I'm uncovering some photos that just make me smile. On the cliffs above Reynisfjara, a black sand beach with impressive caves and balsatic columns outside Vik, on Iceland's southern shore, dozens of puffins were nesting. These pudgy little birds were impressively…Read more Puffins!
Honu in Maui
Honu are Hawai'ian Green Sea Turtles. Diving in ~25 feet off Lahaina, on Mala Wharf - a steel and concrete pier that collapsed and sunk in a hurricane - we found a flat slab of concrete that served as a turtle cleaning station. At one point there were six turtles "parked" on the slab while…Read more Honu in Maui
Waikiki Sunset
I do love the snow, but memories of the tropics are great too! I liked the way the setting sun shone through the spray off the waves at Waikiki Beach.
Flying Squirrel Outdoors 