It’s a long weekend for those of us on Federal holiday schedule … Columbus Day weekend. With the extra time, I decided to go a bit farther afield than I normally travel.

A good friend of mine has always said great things about George Washington National Forest (and nearby Jefferson National Forest). Due to a slight trail mixup (and poor signage) I didn’t have enought time to do the ever-popular Signal Knob hike, but did an abbreviated version that went over Meneka Peak instead.

Great hike, but about two weeks too early for any real foliage. I will have to come back a little later next year.

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Meneka Peak, near Front Royal, Virginia

Things turned out so well when we decided to visit The State Arboreatum of Virginia based soley off its brown sign on I-66 that we decided to follow the brown signs to Sky Meadows State Park.

It was fall festival, which filled up the parking lot a bit, but once we got out on the trails there was no real sign that there was anyone else in the park at all.

As the name implies, the best bits of the park are the meadow sections. Grass, sky, clouds … probably the closest I will get to a real “prairie” this close to the Atlantic.

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Sky Meadows State Park, Virginia

After all that driving, it appears that the preserve was closed. Unfortunately, I kind of had to pee (and the gate was unlocked), so I decided to take my chances.

We walked around a bit, saw yet another snake (NOT poisonous) and I was incrediably impressed with the preserve. It was well signed, very good literature, and obviously well cared for.

As we were leaving, the preserve keeper came over to shoo us away (nicely, of course) … and we talked for a while before we drove off. Not that I am not already a donor, but if I wasn’t I think the whole experince was enough to inspire me to get my checkbook out.

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Patagonia-Sonoita Creek Preserve, Arizona

The first hike was so good that I decided to come back, take a wrong turn, get stuck in the desert after dark and anger not one, but two venomous western rattlesnakes. Mmmmmmm.

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Saguaro National Park, Arlzona

After the disasterous hike this morning, a small group of us who were staying through the weekend broke off and hit the western branch of the Saguaro National Park.

We all had our role — Simon was on amphibian patrol, Steve pretended he could analyze animal poo and Jonathon evaluated the sharpness of cacti needles. Oh, and I ran around taking pictures, all the while rediculously underestimating how far away we were from the summit.

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Saguaro National Park, Arlzona

I always seem to go shooting between 1 and 4 pm, which is great for getting a good night’s sleep, but pretty lousy for pictures. Looking for a place to hit at sunset, I took a chance on Stony Man Cliffs, soley because it faced west. Not spectacular, but much better than doing it in the dead of the afternoon.

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Stony Man Cliffs, Shenandoah National Park, Virginia

I took my last flex day of the summer, and went for one final hike. hawkbill moutain is the tallest peak in the shenandoah national park and almost all of the trail’s rise (1372 ft) is in the first mile. once up there, the view is stunning … 360 degrees of the valleys to the east and west.

hawksbill mountain, shenandoah national park, virginia
http://www.flickr.com/photos/unclevanya/sets/…4257/

Spent the day hiking around “Shotgun Recreational Site” outside of Springfield, Oregon (don’t bother Googling “shotgun” and “Oregon” … nothing useful turns up. Fantastically large trees.

The picture here isn’t actually of the park (or “Recreational Site” as it were) but was of sunset on the drive back to Portland.

Shotgun Park, Oregon
http://www.flickr.com/photos/unclevanya/sets/…6808/

I made my third shooting trip in three days today. It was miserably hot, and while I was pleasantly surprised at how big Prince William Forest Park was, I was startled at its lack of photogenic-ness (at least the Pyrite Mine Loop). A butterfly flirted with me for a couple of minutes (highlight of the afternoon), but then grew bored with me and flew off.

Prince William Forest Park
http://www.flickr.com/photos/unclevanya/sets/…6003/

It’s Friday / Flexday season at work again finally, and I took the day to hike part of the Cedarville State Park, located about 15 miles southeast of the District. Interesting park, with lots of recreational opportunites, like fishing, boating and archery. Not a heck of a lot to look at, but there is pleant of it there to wander around.

Cedarville State Park, Cedarville, Maryland
http://www.flickr.com/photos/unclevanya/sets/…4168/

Hiked another Nature Convervancy preserve, this on called the Fraser Preserve near Great Falls, Virginia.

It’s a nice hike, relatively flat and easily navigatable … except for one tiny little problem. Apparently, the trail crosses onto the property of a neighboors who doesn’t like the Conservancy much. There is a 5-string barbed wire fence blocking off fifteen (yes, 15) feet of the circuit trail. How much do you have to hate conservationists (not to mention the baptists that co-own the preserve) to do that?!?

To make matters worse, everything around that part of the path is swamp-land, so you have to go all the way back past the river and use the government access road to get across the property … just to get to where the blue blazed trail picks back up.

When you do make the trip, you’ll have the opportunity to stand at the barbed wire fence and stare at the neighboor has he fishes away on his fancy-pants barbed-off stream. I did, and it was a heck of a lot of fun … tho he didn’t seem to enjoy it that much.

Fraser Preserve, Great Falls, Virginia
http://www.flickr.com/photos/unclevanya/sets/…9698/

Roosevelt Island is certainly a nice hike, but not one of the most photogenic places in Washington. A dog was doing some dead-waterfowl retrieval drills, but not much exciting beyond that.

Roosevelt Island
http://www.flickr.com/photos/unclevanya/sets/…0121/

Something like my fourth trip back to this hike, located about 20 minutes north of Baltimore. Still far and away my favorite. First trip in cold weather, though … and I think it was my first trip where it didn’t rain.

Susquahannah State Park
http://www.flickr.com/photos/unclevanya/sets/…2099/

For some reason, I love hiking around abandoned farmland. It must be my hippie upbringing, but my favorite hike (Susquahannah State Park) is also around the same type environment. I must have spend half an hour walking around an old abandoned barn on the Merkle property.

Speaking of which, I should really do Susquahannah again. I don’t think I have been there since I got the new camera.

Merkle Wildlife Sanctuary
http://www.flickr.com/photos/unclevanya/sets/…5020/

Not much of a hike to and from, but the payoff (the falls themselves) was amazing. I’ve never had much chance to play around with shutter speed near water before, and that in itself was a lot of fun. Hokie, but fun.

South River Falls
http://www.flickr.com/photos/unclevanya/sets/…0293/

Hiked the Old Stone Fort Trail in Harpers Ferry National Park. Outstanding hike. While the views weren’t particularly great, the breastworks, trenches and other relics of the Civil War add a terrific historic element to the trek. Overcast day, which was great for the cloud shots, but lousy for pretty much everything else.

Maryland Heights, Harpers Ferry NHP
http://www.flickr.com/photos/unclevanya/sets/…6746/

Assateague Island National Seashore
http://www.flickr.com/photos/unclevanya/sets/1719883/

Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge
http://www.flickr.com/photos/unclevanya/sets/1719339/

Spent New Year’s on the Eastern Shore, just outside of Ocean City, Maryland. My brother gave me a number of his old black and white photography textbooks from college, so I spent a good amount of time trying the B&W setting on my 20d.

Assateague Island National Seashore (B&W)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/unclevanya/sets/1720017/