Sauntering in the Shenandoahs

Now these mountains are our Holy Land, and we ought to saunter through them reverently, not 'hike' through them.       

                                                John Muir

Here are a few photographs which appealed to my eye at various places along the Skyline Drive, Virginia.  True to Muir's idea, I tried to keep my pace slower.  First are two falls found in Dark Hollow near Big Meadows.   The upper falls has several drops on it's way to the viewer:

I chose to include the lower three.  What most appealed to me was the mossy covered rocks framing the milky white water.   Just below this was another smaller scene that I labored to frame while simultaneously keeping my boots dry.

Why use such a slow exposure?   The slow, steady movement down Dark Hollow stream was peaceful. So, the silky water matched my feelings.  There is no one right shutter speed, but there can be one that conveys how I perceive the motion.

On Limberlost trail, I hoped for some wildflowers.   This fascinating flower seems related to Columbine, but the color seems unusual.  The small spider makes it special.   It appears in only one of the seven images in the stack necessary to capture sharp focus on the entire flower.

Also on the Limberlost trail there was a Pink Lady's Slipper, Cypripedium acaule.  These are truly a wild orchid since there has never been a success raising them from seed.  So, every one I see is exciting.

This was a big surprise given the large population of whitetail deer in the national park.  There was sign of some browsing on some plants.  There has been no deer hunting in the national park since it inception in the 1930s, and in my personal opinion the forest under story is greatly diminished in its diversity.

There were also some "critters" in the park that were of interest.  I value a singing Indigo Bunting as always a treat.  There were dozens at several overlooks, and a few that perched in an uncluttered place  to perform.

As I drove the Skyline Drive,  giant yellow swallowtail butterflies soared past, and sometimes found suitable blooming flowers to feed upon.  On one occasion, one of them found a spot at an overlook where one could safely park.  Hesitate, and they are soaring off to a distant place.

 

At another stop, an Eastern Towhee jumped into song (as the males are so oft to do.)  They really throw everything into the song.  Again, the trick is to wait for an uncluttered perch.

There was a heavy fog one morning, or perhaps the mountain ridges were just in the clouds?  There is a softness to the light and a quietness that mutes any traffic.   Only a little yellow color was revealed.  This took me back to foggy morning scenes around 1953 at my uncle's farm in southern Indiana.  These were the same -Moth mullein- yellow flowers. 

Finally, the distant hilltops and ridges in the Shenandoah are best seen in monochrome. 

 

Life is old there, or so the saying suggests. Ninety years with no logging produces some massive trees.  But I saw few sapling trees to replace them.  I wonder what the future will bring?

Paul Schmitt