Journal/Blog

Short trip

I'm starting to realize, I'd like to write and have a goal of magazine articles along with pictures but right now, that isn't my focus so perhaps i need to take a step back and keep notes for future reference so when the focus does come to writing, I'll have ideas/materials pigeon-holed.

I drove up to the Great Smoky Mountain National Park on Sunday. I was able to visit an old boss from 20 years ago (I really enjoyed working for him). He wants me to come up in the spring and go fly fishing so I'm penciling that in on my calendar. He was able to show me around his place. His wife has horses and he has lots of nice toys (tractors/golf carts/lawn mowers/"man" toys). He has a huge pile of stuff from the horses and he showed me the resulting compost he gets.

I went up to get photos of the fall leaves but I was on the late side. If I had gone out Sunday afternoon instead of meeting my old boss, I may have gotten some good photos but Sunday night/Monday morning there was a pretty good wind and the leaves were falling like snow. I don't much care for getting pictures of half naked trees...so no photos.

Monday I was able to find a local waterfall and did get some nice, postcard type, images. I had to go up a set of stairs, 160+ steps and then a trail between big rocks and over roots. I was surprised I was able to make it but I was careful, took it slow and paid attention so I wouldn't slip on the leaves on the steps.

I was hoping to get some photos of elk but I really didn't know where to find them. There are signs on the roads for elk crossing but in midst of commercial development, I think those would be a matter of luck. I was fortunate that I met a couple that was admiring the waterfall and mentioned to them I was looking for elk. They told me where they had seen them the day before and told me I should have been there Friday for the leaves, that was apparently the last of the good ones.

Tuesday I went to the area I'd been told about for elk and I was there an hour before sunrise. There was another car that pulled up and I got out of my truck and started talking to two guys that had driven down from Maryland. It was dark but as it slowly started to get light, I looked out over the big, open field and saw a shape. It was a long ways off and I couldn't tell what it was and it wasn't moving. It wasn't there before though so I was sure it wasn't a bush. One of the guys got his binoculars and determined it was an elk laying in the grass. It didn't take long and there were several more shapes. I set up my camera on a tripod and was able to adjust it so the screen looked like it was bright daylight. The advantage of a mirrorless camera is you are seeing exactly what the sensor has. You can verify the affect of the various adjustments, shuttter/aperture/iso, and see exactly what the image will look like. I was impressed. Unfortunately, my lens wasn't really long enough to be able to zoom in and get nice, tight shots but I did get some nice wide angle views and by then there were about 2 dozen animals. Sunrise was at 7:53 and my first image I took at 7:55. In the valley, there is no "blue" or "golden" hour when the sun just starts to provide light. The tops of the ridges were slowly lightning up but it was still pretty dark on the valley floor. I came out with some images that I was quite happy with, especially considering what the conditions were.

I had been told about another waterfall (there are dozens but I was looking for short hikes due to physical limitations). This one had a nice, paved trail, about a quarter mile long and then you had to walk down steps to get to the viewing platform. This was another 160+ steps, leaf covered but with benches to stop and rest on if needed. The bad thing was, you had to go down the steps to get to the view so you were committed. The day before I had to go up the steps. I felt that was better in case I decided I physically couldn't make it the whole way. Then all I would miss out was the view. In this case I had to go down and hope it was worth it. Fortunately it was and I surprised myself that Ii didn't have issues going down or going back up. The photo was well worth it.

I drove back that afternoon. Almost 900 miles for a few pictures. I'm already planning for next year and I hope I'm in a bit better shape and can visit several more falls. It was nice to meet up with the old boss. I need to learn to fly fish before April. I'm taking a course at a local fishing education center as well as starting fly tying classes. I'm looking forward to it...and to another trip in the fall for the leaves. I hope in the spring I can get the baby elk, perhaps whitetail deer as well. And I received a new lens today. It will be much much better.

And that's a wrap. I had PT this morning on my shoulder and now it is killing me...