We spent a couple of weeks in Louisiana exploring some of the swamplands there and I have to say it was an extremely rewarding experience. The mosquitos would greet me each morning in the hundreds as I would prepare the kayak for launch. However, once on the water they mercifully left me alone to enjoy the beauty of the cypress swamps.
During my second visit to the Upper Falls in West Virginia, I decided to venture down from the main falls. It had rained and the rocks were on the slippery side. After a few slips and slides I was able to get down and was treated to some real visual treats. I could have spent hours here exploring all the nooks and crannies but the setting sun hastened my departure.
The Spanish Moss and fall color leaves lit up beautifully as the first morning sun light hit these beautiful and majestic cypress trees in Louisiana. It was a significant effort each day to unload my 80 lb kayak from the jeep roof rack in the dark, surrounded by hundreds of mosquitoes but once on the water it was like being in pure heaven drifting below the beautiful veils while enjoying the peace and tranquility of the swamps.
All our preparations outfitting our kayaks bore fruit when we finally arrive at Caddo Lake. We got up early and were on the water at dawn but were greeted to an overcast sky. We were still excited as this was our first day on the lake. As the explorations continued the clouds suddenly departed and everything was magically beautiful.
We had the opportunity to make an unscheduled two week stop in West Virginia due to my truck breaking down and needing extensive repairs. It was a great opportunity to explore some of the beautiful waterfalls in the area. At Sandstone Falls, I had the place to myself after the few fisherman left for the evening. This is one of my favorites from the area.
The last few days have been a mad rush getting up early in the morning, driving to the launch site, getting the kayak unloaded and rigged, and then kayaking in the dark to location. The rewards however, have been worthwhile as this morning there was fog and a few clouds in the sky that lit up predawn.
During our travels to the northeast, my truck broke down due to a fuel pump failure. This forced a two week stay in West Virginia as the truck was repaired. To make the best of a bad situation I took the opportunity to visit some local waterfalls. This is the Sandstone Falls located on the New River near the town of Hinton.
Thick clouds had shown up and the winds had picked up when I arrived at Dolly Sods. The clouds were low and thick enough that it seemed certain that there would not be any interesting light happening. I was in the process of packing up and heading back to my truck when some amazing light started to happen. Then it was a mad scramble to find some interesting foregrounds of which there was no shortage.
Perched on the precipice of the Eastern Continental Divide and high on the edge of the Allegheny Plateau sits the Bear Rocks Preserve. The wind-swept landscape with unpredictable and often severe weather lived up to its reputation when I visited. Thick clouds suddenly rolled in and the winds picked up easily to 50 mph.
As falls colors are peaking in different parts of Maine, I decided to visit some of the waterfalls nearby. Step Falls is a spectacular long chain of descending horsetails and cascades that lies a few miles outside of the eastern border of Grafton Notch State Park. Water flow was a bit on the anemic side in spite of considerable rainfall a couple of days ago. The low flow did help create some nice swirls in the nearby tide pools.