Take a Walk on the Wild Side

This weekend I ventured into one of Long Island's natural preserves. The little know Werthein Preserve is located on Smith Rd in Shirley, along the Carmen's River.
I had waited for the cooler weather to arrive and fall colors to explode. This weekend was the best and last time I think the colors and leaves will be seen on the trees.

The renovated Wertheim visitors building is quite impressive! It was built in 2012 and reminds me of an upstate Adirondack retreat, and since the architects  were from Syracuse, that makes sense.
Natural fauna and flora were utilized and the preserve was left heavily wooded, except for some parts of gravel maintenance roadway.

There are two main trails; The Black Tupelo and The White Oak Trails. I chose the White Oak trail which  runs down to the right from the parking lot.

My first stop to capture photos was from the bridge over the creek. The railroad tunnel is well documented by other visitors and I can see why.

Next, the open expanse of the Carmen's Creek  shimmered in the mid day sun, along with the multi colored trees on the banks.

There were a few boardwalks to lookouts on the river along the way as well. starting at the visitors cabin, I walked along the wooded path of the White Oak trail as it meandered along the edge of the water and into the woods, which looped back to the visitors cabin. The longest part takes almost three hours but I took the short cut.

If you were stressed before arriving, I guarantee you would be relaxed by the time you walked to the water. It seems to be a great tranquilizer.

Next time I will veer left on the Tupelo trail, that runs about 3 miles altogether.

I found more preserves on Long Island, mostly in Suffolk County and would like to visit them as well.

Slave Falls TN Summer Afternoon Adventure

My last post described the two Twin Arches in the Great South Fork Region in Picket County Tennessee. I stated that Slave falls would be posted next.

Slave Falls is a few miles away from the Twin North and South Arches in the same park. This is located in a heavily wooded, rocky terrain with good paths.
Take hwy 154 east from hwy 127 near Jamestown,TN.


Turn right onto Divide Road and then travel about 4 miles on Ridge Fork Rd.  Follow the signs on  the way to Charit Creek Lodge . The Sawmill Trail parking will come up first so park on the grassy lot in front of the trail head.

 There is a map of the trails as you enter the trailhead so we took a photo of this to help navigate through the area.

This preserve has a history of logging so the sawmill trail name made sense but any remnants of the old sawmill are gone.

The woods is very thick in the summer and the shade from the trees was welcome on this humid day but I will return in the falls and maybe winter when more can be seen.
On the way ,we passed cliffs, creeks, and overhangs. There was a sign for the rockhouse too, but we decided to do this another day.

We made our way to the side of Slave Falls but I was disappointed by the size of it. I guess they didn't get as much rain and so it was difficult to capture a good shot. My boyfriend scaled over the fence in an attempt to get that good shot.

Since the water falls over a huge overhang ,one could consider this to be a rockhouse, but it was impractical to walk through with the large boulders.

After climbing out of the bottom, we ventured on a trail that we thought would take to another great site and saved our disappointing trip. Needle Arch is a wonderful intact natural rock formation that is on the same path down from the falls.

The wide angle lens makes an interesting perspective.

After leaving the arch we continued on the trail that we thought would take us back to the car but it didn't!
We somehow got turned around and ended up on the other side of the falls!
The two hour hike wound up taking almost four hours and my feet were swollen.

Hiking on hot, humid days does take its toll. I was so happy to see the car and turn on the air conditioning. Yes I am just a day tripper. We came upon hearty campers and hikers that stayed overnight but I don't know how they deal with the creepy crawlies in the night!

Walking on Water--Almost!

A few weeks ago, we traveled down to Picket State Park in Tennessee. It has become one of my top places to hike and photograph nature.

The weather forecast called for upper 50's; nice after weeks of cold and snow !
There was snow covering the ground and to my surprise, the lake was frozen over!

walking on water

Some people were walking over it. It was a strange site to see; warm temperatures and a frozen lake.

My boyfriend ventured out on the ice and it didn't crack. He was walking on water, so to speak.
I also ventured out but not as far.

It was beautiful to see the reflections from the trees and stone banks on the opposite side.
We hiked on the snowy trails and experienced cold ravines
and then on top of hot ridges. We came upon a frozen waterfall and stopped to take a some photos. It was frozen solid!

The natural arch was melted and so warm, that I had to remove two layers of clothing.

What a wonderful way to spend a winters day. Walking in tee shirts and photographing icy waterfalls.What a site!
It's a treat to get a warm day in the middle of the coldest winter Kentucky

has seen in many years. We took advantage of it and came away with some great shots. I always take along my Nikon on these hikes. You never know what you'll find.

Giants in the Woods

If you go hiking much, there are times you'd swear someone was watching.
Yes, there are sounds and unexplained noises ,but sometimes your eyes can play tricks on you.
We were walking along a train near the Blue Heron Mining camp near Stearns KY. 
You can drive down to it or take the train from the depot.

We drove to the Mining Camp and walked across the foot bridge into the woods.
There are nice wooden foot bridges and paths all maintained by the Sheltowee Trail club.
I crossed the bridge and looked up and though the mossy group of rocks and boulder was staring at me!
Yeah, sometimes fatigue can get the better of me,but I snapped the photo and was amused by what I saw.

I see a green giant glaring at me from a sitting position and know others have too from their comments on my other sites.
How many times have any of us  had this experience and didn't tell anyone?
Now look and tell me what what you see.

Obsessed with Hiking and Taking Nature Shots

Spring Mill in Pioneer Village,IN

I often hike on weekends with my boyfriend and others through the National and State parks in Kentucky,Tennessee, Indiana, Illinois, and Ohio.
Since receiving my new camera equipment a year ago, my love of nature and capturing images, along with hiking has become something of an obsession.

Spring Mills Park IN

Many people do hike the trails into the wilderness of the Daniel Boone Forest that runs from Kentucky into Tennessee. They also snap some greats pictures with their cell phones but carrying a camera bag and equipment isn't for everyone.
I'll be posting shots from my adventures into the wilderness from time to time. Maybe you'll recognize some of these locals and leave a comment.