Turkey Point at Elk Neck

06 Friday Oct 2017

Posted by Ronald Parks in Hiking, nature, Photography

Tags

Chesapeake Bay, Hiking, Lighthouse, meditation, nature, photography, susquehanna, Trails

With Kathy at her sister’s for a week, I figured I’d see if my daughter wanted to go kayaking or hiking. She chose hiking so we went up to North East, Md. to Elk Neck State Park. Nice day for a hike. A little warm then started cooling off with the clouds moving in. I haven’t done this hike for about 5 years. Always nice to revisit places. This was a two part hike:

First we stopped at the lighthouse lot and walked the paths. Round trip here was about 2-1/2 miles.

A few of these signs scattered about.

With good reason. My daughter, Jules, has an app on her phone that measures distance. She said this cliff was 72′ up. This view is looking N.W. towards Havre De Grace. The head of the Chesapeake Bay.

Nice path. The fields on both sides have grown over some since the last time.

Not sure what this was.

Jules staying away from the hawk viewing sign. Multiple wasp nest on this thing. We did see a couple eagles while roaming around.

Finally made it to the lighthouse. Five years ago I was able to go inside. Not today.

We followed the light house trail down to the bottom. Another area seriously grown over. Use to be able to follow this trail south to an area just under the light house and look up the cliff.

So we headed the other way. So nice and peaceful listening to the water lap against the rocks. I could sit here for hours.

A little beach up ahead.

Driftwood and seashells.

Back up top.

No pee-call here! This spot-o-pot had a lot of stink bugs in it. Most fell off the roof, onto the toilet, when I opened the door.

Onto the next leg of our hike – Rogues Harbor and the Beaver Pond. This was a short hike. When we got to the upper left there was a detour around a ravine. I’ve done this hike before and it takes quite a while. We could see enough from our vantage point on this side. The trail does go all the way around the pond.

First stop though was at the marina bathrooms. Looking east across the Elk River.

Buttonwood Beach RV Resort. From this view it looks like sardine villa. From Google Earth, they are well spaced and looks like a nice place to set up an RV (or trailer home)

Unknown ruins.

Swim? I don’t think I would put my kayak in here!

If I did, it would take a while to rinse it off! Beaver Pond.

Lots of trail markers and maps at each entrance.

Beaver House.

It won’t be long before these invasive phragmites take over the whole pond.

Little cutie. There were a group of these right here. Good eyesight for as small as they are. And they could jump about 3 feet.

No bridges to burn on this trip…

Cromwell Park

27 Wednesday Sep 2017

Posted by Ronald Parks in Hiking, nature

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Cromwell Park, Hiking, Loch Raven, nature, photography

Saturday it was a nice day for a walk in the park, followed by a visit to the Greek Festival. Kathy’s friend’s dog Jay joined us.

First stop was to check on the renovated lime kilns. Amazing job these guys have done.

This is what it looked like in 2006.

And then in 2011 when they were just starting to work on them.

Now and…

Then.

Another shot from back then.

Our favorite little house has gone thru some changes over the years. This is 2015.

This was last year. I asked what happened to the windows and they said they took them out to restore. I like that they removed the weeds from around the house but…

This was Saturday and it is all growing back. Sad.

New benches around the park.

And a new foot bridge.

A new pond.

Jay and Molly chillin in the shade. It was rather warm.

A path we had never taken.

After a couple miles, Jay wanted to cool off. Molly not so much.

Mine Bank Run was really dried up.

So when we found a puddle, Jay took the opportunity to cool off.

Always a Favorite

25 Monday Sep 2017

Posted by Ronald Parks in kayaking, Photography

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kayaking, nature, photography, water

With a lot that needs taking care of this week, we were still able to find the time to go kayaking. We decided on somewhere close. It was a beautiful day to be out on the water. We have been to Dundee creek many times and each time we take a different path.

Today’s trip kept us mostly along the shoreline, checking out the hidden coves. A little over 3 miles and two hours on the water. Beautiful.

The water was really calm and smooth – like butter. This is the first small cove heading north from the launch area.

Moving on, Kathy stops to look at a couple Isis. The one on the post, all the way near shore, did not move for quite a while. We could not get close enough to them for a good photo shot.

Moving on to the next little cove. I don’t believe a lot of people venture into here. Lots of spider webs.

Not only spiders but tree obstacles as well. But worth the silence and seclusion once inside.

A whatchamacallit hanging from an abandoned dock.

The one cove, upper left had these invasive guys growing. Kathy said her goldfish love eating these things.

My sun-goddess oblivious to the paddle boarders. We went early and it was getting really hot out by 11am.

Decided to go over to the osprey nest. I guess these guys moved on to Argentina? I did wave to the Marshy Point Osprey Cam.

The Marshy Point Nature Center, which is a very nice place, is just beyond the woods.

Another great day to be kayaking.

Random Labor Day 2017

18 Monday Sep 2017

Posted by Ronald Parks in nature, ocean city, Photography

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Farm, Museum, nature, ocean city, photography

Trip to Salisbury and Ocean City

Looking thru the screen.

Losing a feather.

Brave Molly chasing the heron away from the pond. The heron likes to eat all the fish in the pond.

The old barn and the shed.

He decided to land on top of the barn for a while.

Kathy’s photo of a knot hole in the barn.

And her photo of a morning glory.

My view of the mg.

A walk through the cornfield.

Rows of corn on the sandy soil.

Kathy looking at something…

How the corn holds on for dear life.

Corn on the cob.

Picture of Kathy taking a picture of me.

Turkey feather.

Spider.

Milkweed.

To the ocean Hon.

Rides not being…Hmm…grammar question. Would it be ‘Not being ridden’ or ‘not being rode’?

If you get a chance, go in the Life Saving Museum and look at the collection of sand from around the world.

Across the inlet. No ponies today.

Need more light.

It.

Two sisters shopping.

Favorite art store.

Vacations in B/W

14 Thursday Sep 2017

Posted by Ronald Parks in National Parks, Photography

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glass plate negatives, Hiking, Lantern Slides, National Parks, nature, photography

I could not imagine going on vacation and seeing everything in black and white, although I do sometimes convert my photographs to b/w. On occasion, while sorting and documenting the museum archives I come across photographs that are in unmarked files, no explanation as to why they are there. The only thing I can figure is that they were someone’s personal photos and left within objects donated to the museum or gathered up and packed away by mistake before they were archived.

I found the below photographs with their negatives in an old lantern slide envelope. They are 2-1/2″ x 3-1/2″ prints. There are no dates but they have a short description on the reverse side.

Grand canyon of the Yellowstone from Inspiration Point, Yellowstone Park (Note falls in distance)

Old Faithful (car gives an idea to the date of this photograph – early 1900s?)

Angel Terrace, Mammoth Hot Springs, Yellowstone Park. Back then people needed to be told to stay off the natural wonders, so as not to ruin them for others to enjoy.

Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone from Inspiration Point. Two of the photos I found had a glare to them, like they were taken through the windshield of a car?

View of the Lower Falls of the Yellowstone.

At foot of Uncle Tom’s Trail. Lower Falls of Yellowstone. Enlarging this photo doesn’t do it justice. Although I scanned it at 1200, it looks fuzzy. The actual photo is crisper. I never was one to like the effects some photographers do to moving water, making it all fuzzy looking. I like seeing what is being seen and not special effects.

Minerva Terrace. Mammoth Hot Springs, Yellowstone Park.

Kilgore Falls and Kayaking (Doggie Style)

12 Tuesday Sep 2017

Posted by Ronald Parks in Hiking, kayaking, Photography

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Dams, dogs, eden mill, Hiking, kayaking, Kilgore, mills, nature, photography

It was a nice day to head up to Eden Mill for some kayaking, but first we stopped at Kilgore Falls, on Falling Branch, to do a little hiking. Early enough and cool enough out that there wasn’t a big summer crowd there.

Nice, well worn trails to the falls.

Two paths across the water. I took the easier one since I was carrying Molly in one hand and the camera in the other.

Molly, a poop bag and an alien t-shirt. Life is sweet!

An unobstructed view.

Speaking of aliens, did you ever see the Star Trek episode with Frank Gorshin – Let That Be Your Last Battlefield?

We finished our hike and then headed to the mill for Molly’s first kayak adventure. She was well behaved and only got jumpy once. (When I say jumpy, I mean, we thought she was going to jump ship)

Heading up stream, waiting for me. Another kayaker suggested I move my truck. Shouldn’t park in front of the mill. I thought the mill was closed.

Right after she peeked over the side and realized she was on the water, she panicked some. But calmed down.

The barn and shed upstream a ways. The water was higher than normal. We were hoping to go further up, but…

…just past the farm the water was only a couple inches deep. I got out and walked up some to see if it was deeper upstream. To the curve, it was not.

We brought the kayaks together to drift downstream at an easy pace. Molly decided to jump in my kayak.

Only turtles we saw.

And this guy. We did see a couple deer driving the back road to the dam, but that was it for wildlife.

Speaking of wild life, when I went to get the truck, this guy, in his mastiff taxi, was pulling up! Another weekend of wonderful adventures!!

Tuckahoe

28 Monday Aug 2017

Posted by Ronald Parks in kayaking, Photography

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bridges, Hiking, kayaking, nature, photography

I’d like to thank https://kayakingdelmarva.com/ and Bill Gross from Facebook for telling me about this place. It was really, really nice. Kathy says it is second only to Assateague Island kayaking. I believe she is right! The map below shows our route. I would say it was more like 5 miles total (we did zigzag around a bit on the way up but took a straight shot back) We were there for about four hours.

According to Google Maps, we were in 3 different counties. The ramp is in Caroline. Once we crossed to the other side of the creek we were in Talbot. Then heading north, zig-zagging back and forth in Queen Anne’s. Not sure exactly how far we went because Kathy’s phone lost the location signal. I do know that a plane doing somersaults over our heads was somewhere heading towards Ridgely Airfield. I know we weren’t that far up.

The boat ramp. Nice little secluded area. A man and his son were fishing there and two girls were swimming.

I found this painted rock in Baltimore and brought him for the ride. Left him on the bench to be found and enjoyed by another. When we came back 4 hours later he was gone – tossed in the water! I rescued him! And found 2 others that I just left on the ramp.

Heading under Main St. Don’t forget to duck.

I see you. A lot of times Kathy and I will drift off in different directions. I went into this little cove to check things out.

Next is the first railroad bridge.

Those are some old trees.

There were a lot of trees down in this creek. It was a giant obstacle course. Lots of underwater limbs you have to look out for. But it was fun!

Route 404. It sure is taking the state a long time to finish this road.

The next RR Bridge.

Baxter.

Tarzan swing.

Underneath the power lines is this diesel tank and pump?

The changing of the leaves. Fall is coming early to Tuckahoe Creek. It will be so nice to come back here in the fall!

Kathy getting a close up of a flower. Her phone takes better pics than my camera.

Inside the flower.

This thing jumped up on her kayak and she started beating it with her paddle! Actually, she retrieved it out of the water and wanted to keep it. I broke it when I dropped it in the grass – sorry…

This was a point where Kathy went to one side of the island and I stayed the course. Was able to duck under this.

It was unbelievable the number of turtles we saw.

Upstream a little farther, another tree in the way. Kathy doing the limbo.

Little hands on shore. We did get out to look around some. It is very muddy. Took a while to scrub the kayaks later on.

This became the end of our journey north. Probably could have went under it, but we were already at 2-1/2 hours.

Blockage on the other side of the creek.

A friend of Donald Sutherland?

Heading back with a different perspective.

Come on Fall!!

Wonder if Baxter wrote this and if Kaci said yes?

Not a lot of visible wildlife. A couple hawks showed up and this guy and the turtles and little fishies in the water.

Almost there. I really enjoyed this adventure. All the colors and reflections.

I am soooo glad I didn’t see this before going in the water. I wouldn’t have enjoyed myself thinking I was going to be towed or fined!

Days Cove Serenity

22 Tuesday Aug 2017

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

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Tags

Bay, GOD, Gunpowder Falls, Hiking, kayaking, nature, photography, Serenity, water

With all this hate spewing forth here lately on FaceBook (and life), I am so glad that I have found two ways that I can bring a sense of calm and peace into my life. 1) The Serenity Prayer 2) Kayaking. You just can’t beat those two together! Next would be hiking. Did all three Sunday.

There are three areas where the Gunpowder Rivers converge before heading to the bay. The Little Gunpowder, the Big Gunpowder and the Gunpowder River. We have explored 2 of them so far. Both times we entered through Mariners Point. A couple weeks ago I mentioned about parking and the lack of it for kayakers. (The boaters get preferential treatment for their trailers). I even wrote a letter to the County Rec and Parks, cc to the County Executive about it. I was more or less told that if I didn’t like it, go elsewhere! Fortunately, we lucked out in getting a fairly close spot to park. But, something odd did happen as we were leaving – the Coast Guard was there checking kayaks! Lots of rules I was unaware of. Check out their website to get the low-down.

“This is my path; here I shall find peace. I will pursue this path, come what may.” (Anyone remember what book this comes from?)

And here is our path. 4.67 miles in about 3 hours. The landfill is to the left. It was surprising that the water was clearer in the cove. The little white dot on land near the shore is the Days Cove Nature Center, which I believe is now closed down. I remember taking my daughter to a Halloween Party there years ago. Nice center.

Us pointing at the point sign.

Watch out for the jets.

Purple flowers around.

The grasses seemed a lot thicker this trip.

Heading into the cove from the Big Gunpowder.

We saw as many herons on this trip as we did osprey on our last trip. This guy has something on his nose.

And what do we have here?

Time to park it and get out to investigate.

A chimney and a reluctant model!

A mixture of various stones.

This path will take you to the Nature Center.

Some formstone and building debris.

Blue-eyed lady.

Back into the water. Took a bit to figure out what this is – it’s a drain plug to drain the cove!

Saw this guy at the far end of the cove. Went over to explore because there was an eagle here also, fighting with another bird. We couldn’t find him though.

A bunch of these blinds around.

Heading back to port. These three must have long legs, or the water is very shallow.

This water will put a hurting (and a good workout) on your arms!

Abandoned water front property.

The only time during the trip that I thought about what is going on in the world. Why can’t we occupy the same place (planet) without all the hateful words and actions? This gull is getting along fine with these guys (Cormorants?)

But then again, there is always that one guy that wants to be different.

Mariners Point Kayaking Adventure

07 Monday Aug 2017

Posted by Ronald Parks in kayaking, nature, Photography

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boats, ducks, Gunpowder Falls, heron, Hiking, kayaking, maps, nature, Osprey, photography, turtles

Although it was somewhat overcast, it was still a great day to be out kayaking.

This was our path. About 3.75 miles and took 2-1/2 hours. We love to stop and look at everything nature has to offer. It was a lot!

As I said, it was dreary out. This is leaving the boat launch, looking towards the train bridge. Last year we headed there after going left up into a cove. This year we explored to the right – Gunpowder Rivers.

A tree hanging on for dear life.

Along the shore and spreading out to the channel was a lot of sea grass. This young Red Winged Black Bird didn’t mind. Neither did we even though it took more energy to paddle through.

Avoiding the tree debris.

We counted up to about 12 Osprey on the back path of our trip. Hard to count because they kept zigzagging right over us.

Me looking up at an Osprey, or him looking down at me?

One of two families of ducks spotted.

Two of these hanging out at different spots.

Kathy told me twice what these guys are called, but I forget!

Old duck blind?

Looking close at the lone flower, off center right, you can see the humming bird.

Lots of butterflies.

They were still checking us out. We didn’t see anyone else on this part of the river.

The other heron. He flew off immediately as we approached his little area. Rough paddling here.

Heading back to the boat ramp. Lots of bigger boats zooming by.

We have no idea what this is!? It is bigger than a basketball.

We saw a few turtles along the way.

Because of how crowded the ramp was, we exited at this small landing. They have cleared it out since last time. 4 steps up and you are at the parking lot.

Until next time nature!

Saw this on Jones Road at Route 7.

It was a really nice day. The park needs more parking for the kayakers. Lots of parking for boat trailers. Kayakers drop off and have to go 1/4 mile to park. After kayaking we went to Big Gunpowder Falls for some pit beef. I haven’t been there in over 30 years. Lots of bikers and a live band outside. Thanks God for another great day!!

Freeport Bahamas May 2017

30 Sunday Jul 2017

Posted by Ronald Parks in Photography, Travel, vacation

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Bahamas, cruise, light house, nature, photography, vacation

From our trip in May. Forgot to post!

This side of the island was pretty beat up. They had a hurricane I believe back in October.

Not to be ones to follow the beaten path, we headed east to the end of the road. Hoping to get to climb this lighthouse.

The guard told us ‘no’ but said she would take our photograph. Damn Tourist!

We headed back to the tourist area. Nice shops.

Headed back west on Sea Horse Rd. and onto the beach. Place was deserted. A lot of people still hadn’t rebuilt from the hurricane. The main attraction, the casino, was still closed.