The latest winter storm is now finished and we are now buried in snow. We are used to getting snow, but 20+ inches overnight is a bit excessive for us. I spent yesterday shoveling snow and then sled riding with the family, but today I left the house early and headed to my favorite spot, Ohiopyle State Park. Even though I go there quite often, things are always a bit different, especially with multiple feet of snow. My first spot was Cucumber Falls to try and get there before it got crowded.
Even though most of the leaves are down around here and the weather is getting colder, there is still plenty to do outside. Some friends rented a house at Deep Creek for the weekend and invited me to visit. So I spent Friday night and in the morning we rode the train from Cumberland to Frostburg and then biked the 16 miles back. We stopped at one point on the trail to wait for the steam engine to come through a tunnel. After we completed the ride, we drove over to Swallow Falls State Park for the afternoon. Being there a few weeks earlier would have been spectacular.
Since this is one of my favorite places to hike around, I once again schlepped a camera and tripod around the State Park. The fall colors were fairly close to peak and I had no other times when I could get away, so I left the house before dawn and arrived just before sunrise. As much as sleeping in an extra hour would have been nice, good light simply doesn’t last all day.
One of our favorite places to vacation is a very specific neighborhood in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. It’s a small community sandwiched between the State Park and a large campground. No high rise hotels within a mile and the only people on the beach in front of the house is people in the neighborhood. It’s very quiet and the beach is great. Walking a half mile to the north is the Myrtle Beach State Park pier. This provided me something to include with the sunrise shots. A tripod and variable ND let me slow the shutter down enough to flatten the water.
We also visited the aquarium down here and just had a wonderful week relaxing on the beach.