The Protected Adventures

  Anderson Ranch Reservoir Well,  it's been a minute. About a year actually. This is my first post since my ex broke up with me, and let me say it's been a bummer. Not only am I just generally a sad sack of shit (please take me back, I miss you so much), but trips like these just aren't as fun without her. I mean, going out at night to take star photos in the middle of nowhere is honest to God terrifying, and it's just one of those things I know I'd enjoy a whole hell of a lot more if she were with me. Regardless, this isn't what I'm here about, right? Just gonna kick the depression for a bit and get to the parks. This is gonna be the first of (three, I think) posts from my Idaho trip that I'm still currently on. Boise National Forest is located in East-Central Idaho, and unfortunately I only got to view it through the window of a car as we drove from our family reunion in Nampa to the cabin we're renting in Featherville. I got a couple decent photos...

Milky Way Over the Barn Talladega National Forest is something of a regular visit for me. My family has a mountain-top cabin inside, so I tend to take trips out every once an a while. Unfortunately, I've not had a great opportunity to get photos there. I had an ass camera, and even assier skills through high school, and since I've gotten better equipment and talent, I've been over there less and less. I made a few winter trips which turned out alright, but never a summer trip to see the Milky Way. I'm always out during the summer, either that or too depressed to leave my house. Thankfully, this trip managed to garner some potential. Camera, lenses, and tracking mount in hand, I headed over with my family and waited.  The first night it was cloudy, but I managed myself an hour to get photos. The clouds did their dirty work, but it turned out okay .  Obviously not the best The clouds were a bummer, but I was hoping for a clearer night. I did not get that the next day: it ...

The Sunset from the Lewis Falls Overlook The next stop on my covidcation was Shenandoah NP. We started from the northern-most entrance and drove down. Our goal was to hike Hawksbill at night for some nice night time photos while also hiking to one of the falls. We got there around 3pm and drove down, stopping at most of the overlooks until we got to Big Meadow. We had a picnic lunch Elkwallow, where we regrettably missed the bathroom and gift shop by about five minutes We began running out of time somewhere around the Thorton Gap entrance, so we only made a few stops after that. One stop was Skyland which, despite the misleading name, lacked much of a view. We got to Lewis Falls just before sunset and managed to hike a shorter loop from a firebreak road. The trip there was downhill, the trip back, was the opposite, and I am far from in shape. No matter, the falls itself was a little disappointing, but the view of the sunset was pristine. I just wish I hadn't gotten winded so quickl...

Overlooking the Falls from Overlook 3 This summer, I was supposed to visit two of the most beautiful places in the world: Iceland and New Zealand. This, of course, did not happen (thanks COVID). Instead, I took a trip to my girlfriends for 4th of July where I managed to make a couple national park stops. The first of these was Great Falls National Park, right outside DC a small park centered around a segment of rapids along the Potomac River. The full gallery is available here . We didn't do much, just stopped at the three outlooks, and the gift shop was regrettably closed, but I managed to get some good shots.