Down East Road Trip – Niagara Falls

Exploring the Canadian and American Sides of Niagara Falls from Land, Air and Water.

One of the big name destinations on our Down East Road Trip was our two-day, one-night trip to Niagara Falls. We had never been to Niagara – so everything proved a surprise to us – and while much of our stay was truly epic, truth be told, not all of the surprises were pleasant. The experienced proved a timely example of the good and bad things that come when a natural treasure such as Niagara Falls is not protected from commercialization.

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Down East Road Trip – Cuyahoga Valley National Park

Aug21

A Park Frozen in Time, Nestled in the Heart of Urban Ohio

Cuyahoga Valley National Park - Brandywine Falls

As we have come to discover as we’ve embarked on a few of these National Park survey trip over the years, there never seems to be quite enough time. Of course, this is a product of how we plan our road trips – with a desire to sample as many parks as possible – and more often than not it leaves us with hopes of revisiting these parks on an extended or dedicated trip in the future. Such was certainly the case with Cuyahoga Valley National Park.

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The Great Eastern Adventure – Virginia Falls and Farms

Dec30

Part two of our Great Eastern Adventure continues with a trip through the heart of the Virginia Mountains – with its rolling hills and shadowy valleys. In one such valley, just outside of Abingdon, VA, I found the above waterfall carrying the previous day’s rainfall along its rushing flow to the Atlantic. As I traveled along the back roads of Appalachian Virginia, I discovered a wide variety of tableaus, from a bright orange 1956 Chevy truck sitting alongside a railroad siding, to snow-capped mountains and rushing trains. And, as seems to be my habit, I ventured to my favorite Americana Barn, the dappled sky to the east providing nice contrast to the brightly lit barn and shadowed hills beyond (below).

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Be sure to check out a slideshow of images from this shoot below.
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Exploring East: Travels Along the Atlantic States – Maine Moose

Jul12

Moose! One of the joys of visiting Rangeley, Maine has to be the sunset drives up Rt 16 toward the Canadian border. This road is known for moose sightings – so much so that in the 10 or so times we’ve done the drive, only once did we not see a moose. More typically, as with our last evening in Rangeley this year, you will see several moose each time you go out. This year, it seemed the moose were more skiddish than in previous years, but the young female pictured above was more than happy to eat from the boggy terrain with an ever-increasing audience. By this point, the rain was falling substantially and I suspect that deadened the sound of cars enough to give her a sense of ease. So, we spent 20 minutes watching her, shooting some video and snapping lots of photos in the dimming light.

On the way home, we stopped at Coos Canyon – a breathtaking series of falls slicing through the granite walls of this gentle Maine valley. With a healthy helping of rain over the past week, the falls were surging like I hadn’t seen before, making for a bit more of a blur on the water than I had hoped, but after a bit of tweaking, I was able to dial in the desired look. Above, is the upper falls – a more gradual, pool-filled falls that runs the better part of a football field. In the slideshow below, you’ll see the more truncated and violent lower falls. As always, enjoy – and of course, feel free to download as HD desktop wallpaper below!

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Falling for the Mountains – Foliage Fools Part 2

Oct23

Well, it seems you have stumbled upon part two of our adventure in the mountains of North Carolina. Above is the view from the top of Upper Creek Falls, just outside of Linville, NC. It’s about a mile hike to this site along some moderately steep trails, but we did it with our whole family, kids and all, without too much of a problem and limited whining (mostly from me). The reward at the bottom was pretty amazing, with the water flowing along this gigantic, lightly rolling granite outcropping which tapers into a 60 foot waterfall – without a rail in site (slightly stressful with a pile of kids anxious to look over the edge). But with the fall colors in full array, it was certainly a worthy hike!

It seems there was quite the large contingent of chipmunks around the house where we stayed. This little guy caught my eye – if you notice, his color is considerably lighter than a typical chipmunk. Scientifically speaking, it probably has something to do with gamma radiation or a radioactive spider. Enjoy – and of course, feel free to download as a desktop wallpaper!