Peaceful Sunday Kayak

09 Sunday Jul 2017

Posted by Ronald Parks in kayaking, Photography

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Dams, Deer Creek, fishing, kayaking, mills, nature, photography

Headed up to Deer Creek early this morning for an early kayak adventure. Not a lot of people there, which is the way we like it. Some people fishing off the bank. We saw lots of fish way up stream.

Heading up stream. Fisher-people to the right, casting in our direction.

Something swam across our path. I thought it was a beaver at first…

it was this raccoon. He swam to this side to get a drink!

There were so many red-winged blackbirds. What a variety of sounds they make! Mullein plant to the left. We did see a couple hawks, but they were too far up in the tree for me to get a good shot. I usually just take my underwater camera when kayaking. it doesn’t have a good telephoto lens on it.

Speaking of underwater – I just stuck it under, next to the kayak and saw a bunch of trout.

You do have to pay attention for the submerged logs.

Kathy collecting for our souvenirs. Only had to get out twice for shallow water. Water felt good.

This was as far as we were able to go – too shallow. Almost 2 miles up. You can practically drift all the way back to the mill.

Odd looking cocoon. Three leaves weaved together to make a pouch. Like a pea pod. There were a bunch in this tree.

Pretty little flowers.

Glad we went early. A crowd showed up. Nice day enjoying ourselves, nature and God.

Early Evening Hike

13 Tuesday Jun 2017

Posted by Ronald Parks in Hiking, nature

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Camping, Hiking, kayaking, nature, photography, Trails

Saturday evening was a nice time to take a short hike at Marshy Point Park. Little did we know at the time, we would see these same spots on our kayak adventure the next day, from a different perspective.

Looking out from the dock at the osprey nest and footbridge.

Walking along you come to an overlook and you really have to look over to see.

The footbridge to other trails. Molly and Kathy waiting patiently for me to catch up…before it gets dark.

From the footbridge, looking towards Dundee Creek.

A trail we have never taken. 1/2 mile we should be able to complete before the sun goes down and they lock us in.

The paths are pretty well maintained.

A stool with a tree growing around its legs.

Where mud may be, they built these little walk ways.

A camping area.

A path back to the water.

A red-wing blackbird making noise.

View from the path. We will get up close and personal here tomorrow.

Not sure who this is.

Love new growth just popping up.

Part of a swamp. Never did see the pond.

Here comes the darkness.

Mr Owl, are you in there?

Nope, I’m in here. Kathy said he was caged up because he is blind in one eye.

FYI a map of the trails. There are a lot of them here and we have only been to a couple.

Half Moon Cay (but I think it is pronounced key??)

07 Wednesday Jun 2017

Posted by Ronald Parks in kayaking, nature, Photography, vacation

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Bahamas, Hiking, kayaking, LIFE, nature, Travel

The next part of our Bahama Cruise was to a private island. Reading some history of this place, it was originally called Little San Salvador. It was purchased in 1997 by Holland American Line. It is a wild bird reserve and tourist play spot.

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The cruise ship drops anchor and a tender comes to take you ashore.

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Welcome! Thank you, glad we made it!

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Not sure if this was a real fort or not?

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Waiting to catch a bus to the other side of the island for some adventure!

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The upper right of this map is our destination.

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The bus dropped us off and now we are waiting for our tour guide to give us an ecological tour. I’m so excited!

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And the roosters in the tree are excited!

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And we are off – heading towards land over yonder.

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Nice group of us on the tour. Kathy kept them smiling. I will say though, it is a little hard kayaking in a two person kayak. I kept hitting Kathy’s paddle.

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About here is where the guy next to us fell out of his kayak.

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Everyone was picking him up and holding him (or her).

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Under our feet were thousands of these jelly fish. Our guide picks one up and says, don’t worry, they won’t sting you. Well, it stung this little girl that was with her father. He was pissed and she was pretty much done for the rest of the journey. Poor kid.

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After kayaking we headed to the beach for a while. Rental bungalows.

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A bar disguised as a pirate ship. Is nothing sacred?

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My sentiments exactly.

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Time to just chill and enjoy…

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…or you can swim out and watch your girlfriend look for sea glass.

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Walked around some; this guy was making a lot of noise.

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Interesting but kind of weird.

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The only thing you should leave when visiting a place like this…

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We leave you in peace.

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Nice night to snuggle on deck and watch Jason Bourne! Yes!

Chincoteague Va.

29 Monday May 2017

Posted by Ronald Parks in Hiking, nature, vacation

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birds, Hiking, kayaking, light house, Museum, nature, ocean, photography

Nice Memorial Weekend in Salisbury and Chincoteague. Again the weather was not cooperating for kayaking, but always a nice day for a hike.

Hung out at the visitor center a bit. Watched a film on the two distinct herds of horses and ponies. One in Maryland and one here. Down here they manage the size of the herd with birth control and an auction to benefit the volunteer fire department.

Hiked over to the light house. Too many people in line to go to the top. We will come back on a week day.

Sailors memorial behind the light house.

I always liked a B&W of various light houses.

Kathy’s mom hiked with us today.

It struck me as odd that the light house was on the bayside and not on the ocean. Pooling on the beach after high tide.

Windy and chilly. But lots of people on the beach. A few swimming. Safety zone flag.

On the opposite side of the ocean shore is Toms Cove. Some kayakers and bird photogs.

Clams, mussels and birds in the marsh.

Digging for dinner.

The brownish orange guy was chasing everyone out of his way.

Pony tails – nice gift shop. But we didn’t see a single horse or pony the whole time!!

Back on the farm – always a favorite view. It amazes me that the pines grew in such a straight line, about 20 deep…until Kathy’s father told me they didn’t just grow that way. He planted them that way! Ha! Dummy me!

Getting There – Days 1, 2 and 3

17 Wednesday May 2017

Posted by Ronald Parks in Photography, Travel, vacation

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Bahamas, Baltimore, cruise, kayaking, photography, ship, vacation

For Christmas I gave Kathy and myself a cruise to the Bahamas. Since Kathy is the one who showed me how to kayak and we have been going whenever we can, I thought how cool would it be to go kayaking in the Bahamas. So on Sunday we headed to the cruise ship Carnival Pride and set sail.

I think the worst part of any cruise is the waiting. It seemed like forever to get to the gang plank to get on board. It was fairly cool out so standing in line wasn’t too bad. Our boarding time was about 1pm and the boat set sail just after 5pm. Above we see them loading supplies and fueling up.

One mistake I made booking this cruise was to get an obstructed balcony (cheap bastard!) Next time will be a full balcony. The sign on the window said not to open door, but we did. Nothing like sleeping with the sound of waves breaking.

The suitcases were delivered really fast, so we unpacked and headed to one of my favorite sights – to see if the ship will pass under the Key Bridge without hitting it!

Yes it did!

Roamed around some – Kathy with a ‘K’ behind her.

One of these days I’m going to get out to that fort.

From the Key Bridge to the Chesapeake Bay Bridge – moving right along.

Raining off in the distance.

Chilling in a hammock.

Heading out into the open sea.

The water was unbelievably blue! Two and a half days at sea. Lots to do, plenty of food. Lots of sun and sunburn! (for me, not Kathy)

Time To Retire Yet?

06 Monday Feb 2017

Posted by Ronald Parks in Hiking, kayaking, Recovery

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GOD, Hiking, kayaking, meditation, nature, Peace, photography, Retirement, spirituality, Work

Every time I go to the Eastern Shore with Kathy, I get this gnawing feeling in my gut, telling me it’s time to retire and move down here. It is just so peaceful.

Daydreaming with the moon and the windmill.

Little streams every where. Not big enough for a kayak, but a reminder that there are larger ones around…

Even just watching the nails back out of the boards they hold up, gives a sense of peacefulness, not found where I am today.

I know that peace comes from the work we do with our spiritual selves. That Peace can come no matter where you are. But for me, I can get too distracted with the busyness of my work and everything around me in the city. It’s bad enough I have never learned through meditation how to quiet my mind and listen to that ‘Still Small Voice’ within. Rock and Roll oldies still play in my head, like them or not! That is why I started to hike years ago and in the last year or so, taken up kayaking; to help quiet my mind. No matter where I go, there I am…but when I’m down the shore, it feels good – physically, mentally and spiritually.

Random

30 Wednesday Nov 2016

Posted by Ronald Parks in Hiking, HISTORY, kayaking, Photography

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golf, Hiking, HISTORY, kayaking, nature, photography

NASSAWANGO IRON FURNACE:From 1828-1850 the Nassawango Iron Furnace was in its heyday. Many workers – miners, sawyers, colliers, molders, draymen, and bargemen – labored to make iron. They gathered bog ore from Nassawango swamp, brought clam and oyster shells up the canal via the Pocomoke River from the Chesapeake Bay, and made charcoal in the Pocomoke Forest. These raw materials were loaded into the Iron Furnace from the top, heated to 3,000 degrees, and the two resulting liquids were drawn off at the bottom of the furnace. Slag was cooled and tossed into the swamp. Iron was poured into molds and loaded onto barges which were towed down the canal by mule to waiting ships for transport to Baltimore, Philadelphia, and New York.

It was closed! Closed on October 31st.

Left there and went to Milburn Landing on the Pocomoke. Glad I don’t have to rake all those leaves!

The landing. A couple reviews I read said it doesn’t get crowded. Kayak time!

After that we found an abandoned golf course – Nassawango. The club house.

Leader board?

I prefer Putt-Putt

But I don’t remember seeing one of these at Putt-Putt? Ball warmer?

Then heading back to the farm we spotted a couple eagles – and this is why I’m not an animals in nature photographer!

Inside the barn. Nice visit with Kathy’s family.

Almost Done

19 Wednesday Oct 2016

Posted by Ronald Parks in engineering, filtration, water history

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Baltimore, Dams, engineering, FILTRATION, kayaking, Lake Montebello, Montebello, Public Works, water, water history

Construction Management sent me this photo and asked if I know what lake this is! If you ever need a pond or lake dredged, these guys do it right. And ahead of schedule.

That cove on the right hasn’t been cleared in about 40 years! I need to bring my kayak to work! For inspection purposes of course!

Dundee Creek

30 Friday Sep 2016

Posted by Ronald Parks in kayaking, Photography

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boats, bridges, Gunpowder Falls, kayaking, nature, Parks, photography

After our vacation to the Eastern Shore, we returned to one of our favorite kayaking spots – Dundee Creek. My first time there was to paddleboard. I did not like that at all. Just couldn’t find my center of balance and I kept falling off. The following week, Kathy showed me about kayaking. I had never done that before. I enjoy it immensely! So peaceful and relaxing. Dundee Creek merges with Saltpeter Creek and then into the Gunpowder River and then onto the Chesapeake Bay.

Before heading out to open water, we always like to head into the cove. Calm waters that dead-end at a stream and bulkhead.

As many times that we have been here, neither one of us noticed this little opening.

Nice and quiet. Looks like some logs up to the right.

I went up and moved them out of the way.

Kathy was then able to pass under the trees, along the shoreline.

Once through, I let Kathy go first – you know, in case there were alligators, wild boars or Adrienne Barbeau.

We found our own little cove. Not very big but nice.

After a while there, we headed out towards Marshy Point. This is the Marshy Point Osprey Cam. It is shut down now – the osprey have all headed south. This is fun to watch when they come back. So is the Osprey Cam on the Chesapeake Bay.