Lake Nichols, Manistee National Forest

I had a few dry days, so camped at Lake Nichols this n Manistee National Forest.  I met up with three women who were hiking the North Country Scenic Trail. Turns out it went right along Lake Nichols so I got a nice hike in. This trail is several thousand miles long, starting in NY and terminating in the Dakotas.  As a hiker, it’s nice to learn about these trails and to be able to walk even a short section.

The forest service maintains a Wildflower Sanctuary at Lake Loda. There wasn’t anything in bloom there, so a bit disappointing, but I had a a lovely walk. 

South Haven, MI

I decided to take advantage of being near the Great Lakes, so heading out of Chicago to Michigans Lower Peninsula.   I’d heard South Haven was a nice destination—a bit touristy this time of year.  It was raining off and on so a lot of the locals stayed home.  There’s a pretty harbor where the Black River flows into Lake Michigan, which st this point is about 100 miles wide.  A lighthouse which sits on the end of the pier has been restored to its 1800’s state. I also visited the maritime museum which had an interesting exhibit about the film called Finest Hours about a coast guard rescue of a oil tanker split in two by a nor’easter in 1952.  Great nail-biting film, even though you know how it ends.

Chicago, IL

Alissa and I spent the week in Chicago at her mothers condo sorting, sifting, shredding and supporting.  I’ve been there with my parents estate, so I know the challenges of letting go of stuff and holding on to the memories.  We stayed at a place nearby so we could have some downtime in the evenings. We had some fabulous Chicago food—they do know their cuisine.  I had one day in the city on my own so I visited the Art Institute of Chicago and saw great works of art, from Impressionists to contemporaries like Georgia O’Keefe and Jackson Pollack.  

Lancaster, PA

I met up with Alissa who brought her mother Vija’s ashes to be buried between her parents. We stayed with Alissa’s second cousin Ingrid, who has lived in the area most of her life and maintains all the family plots at this particular cemetery. What a lovely gesture of kindness and respect. It was a nice day and we were joined by Daina and Andrews from MD. I had them both at Gatezers last summer where Vija attended for several decades.  It was a great time for Alissa to reconnect with her cousins who she hadn’t seen in over thirty years. I’m glad I was there for Alissa and her mom, too.

Shenandoah National Park

I spent a beautiful sunny day driving about 70 miles of the 100 mile Skyline drive through this beautiful NP.  Lots of Civil War history in this part of the South.  Couldn’t quite capture the beauty with photography. Lots of viewpoints, but either overgrown with vegetation or just missed the one. Did hike to Dark Hollow Falls. Number 39, I think. 

Blacksburg, Staunton and Harrisonburg VA

im slowly making my way to Lancaster, PA to inter the ashes of my dear friend Alissa’s 93-year old mother Vija who passed away in late May. So I’ve foregone camping due to the rainy weather and have been staying dry and visiting some small towns along the way. Each had its distinctive charm. Blacksburg is home to Virginia Tech, which experienced a violent shooting back in 2012.  The town was quiet since its summer here and people seem to have moved past the tragedy.  Or it appeared so.

In Staunton I did a wine tasting at Oxe Eye winery and bought a few whites to bring to our zlancaster hostess, who is a second cousin of Alissa’s.  I also visited a Camera Museum, a most fascinating place. I met with the owner/curator who has amassed an enormous collection which is crammed into this tiny space.  His collection dates back to the beginnings of photography in the 1800’s and included a huge collection of my favorite Brownie camera, my first taste of photography as a young girl.  Also discovered the first dog camera was developed by s Latvian during the cold war. 

Harrisonburg is another sleepy town, home of James Madison University.  They have a beautiful little arboretum, an amazing quilt museum and at this time s juried art exhibit with over 100 works of art. So I had a busy day making the rounds.

Linville Falls

It’s been raining nonstop for two days and I’m headed to Linville Galls, then overnight at Boone.  But having a poncho doesn’t dissuade me from a hike. Fortunately, the rain stopped soon after arriving to Linville Gorge. I got done great shots of the “plunge” and then the overlook st the top of the falls Quite dramatic and worth the effort. On to a rainy night in Boone hiked up in a cozy Airbnb.

Caeser’s Head State Park

It was a rainy day and visibility pretty limited, so the view of Caesar’ s head was pretty sketchy unless you knew what to look for.   I did another waterfall hike to Raven’s Cliff Falls, which was a distance away and because of the rain there was low visibility. I can only imagine how spectacular this view is on a clear day. I was told the Falls is two miles from the observation deck.

DuPont State Park

This is another destination for waterfallets. Four falls within a few miles of each other. The trifecta is High Falls, Triple Falls and Hooker Falls, and Bridal Veil Falls another short hike away.  Many of theses falls have been featured in films like The Last of the Mohicans and Hunger Games. 

Chimney Rock State Park

This park gets its name from the geologic formation that appears like a chimney. They’ve built an elevator into an adjoining formation to make it more accessible. A side hike is a trip to Hickory Nut Falls which is purported to be 40’ high. It was a nice view but not the most spectacular I’ve seen.

On the way to the park I stopped at Catawba Falls which has a nice set of cascades and is nestled in the forest so is difficult to see and photograph from top to bottom.

Pisgah Waterfalls

There are hundreds of waterfalls in North Carolina. I broke down and spent $30 on Kevin Adams’ Waterfalls of North Carolina. There’s not one he hadn’t visited, photographed and documented with every detail on driving directions, hiking details and other technical and beauty ratings. It’s a really valuable resource for any serious  “waterfaller”. Two that I visited, Crdsr Rock Galls and Cove Creek Falls are  pretty well known and a short hiking distance. Very different from one another and magnificent in their own way.

The other two, Discovery Falls and Log Hollow Falls were more remote and on unblazed but obvious logging road.  It was late in the day and clouds were rolling in so I didn’t linger long.