This last weekend was spent away from a lot of technology and communication and, instead, hiking in the Poconos Mountains and, in particular, in Ricketts Glen State Park.
I love to go hiking in the woods. I love waterfalls. And I love the autumn. Having these three items fall together into one trip was just too much for me to be able to pass up.
FYI, this is a rather photo-heavy post.
We got out a little bit later than I originally wanted on Saturday, but it all turned out well. I was able to scout out some places to stop for nice autumn photos on the drive back, and we went a bit out of our way to also stop at a rock/gem store. Ultimately we got to the park around 1:30 or so and discovered there was no cellular service at all atop the mountain, which suited me just fine. I had no need to speak to anyone anyway, and texting can wait; we were there to enjoy the surroundings.
What struck me most was the serenity of it all; walking in silence with nothing but the wind, the running and falling of water, and the crunching of leaves beneath our feet for auditory company was incredibly soothing. The smells of fresh water and autumn wafting through the air was invigorating.
In addition to lots of waterfalls, there were also a lot of people, at least on Saturday. Sunday morning was much less crowded, which I liked. And there were dogs! Lots and lots of dogs! I was thrilled. My old pooch with her sore joints would not have been happy, but I loved seeing all the others. Every day is better with a dog in it.
The first three falls we came across.
My daughter and I had a debate about the first one; I did not want to call this one an actual "water fall", since it really seems more along the lines of a creek. Her argument, however, is that it included water, and the water was falling; ergo, waterfall. At the second fall I started to take pictures with a slightly longer shutter speed, and you can see the difference between the second and third picture. I'm honestly not sure which I prefer. I like them both.
At some point we came across this rock. I was assured that this was not the result of Bigfoot or Sasquatch.
Whenever we go to North Carolina I go hiking for waterfalls in the Smokey Mountains. What always strikes me, everytime I go, is just how refreshing the water looks. I always have the urge to get into the water, frolic, splash, and play. I don't, of course, but the urge is always there.
You're always told to never go to the top of a waterfall and look down. Well... meh.
Moving away from waterfall pictures for a bit (there are more at the end of the post), the other thing that struck me was the sheer beauty of autumn in the mountains.
And look! Proof of dog:
I had brought three lenses with me, but ultimately used only one: a Minolta 28-80mm with macro option. It's old. It's heavy. It's not the 'fastest.' But it did absolutely everything I needed on this trip, including some macros, which was particularly useful when we stumbled across these mushrooms. 
On the way home we stopped for some more pictures, because the trees were just too awesome to ignore.
And what would any scenic autumn view be without a randomly placed nuclear power plant in the middle of it?
There are a lot of trails in the park, some of which are very long, and there are a lot of waterfalls. By the end of the weekend we saw only a small fraction, so there is something to look forward to when we go back.
Pinmapple coords [//]:# (!pinmapple 41.327935 lat -76.287922 long Rickett's Glen State Park d3scr)
And as mentioned, a boatload of more pictures.
(c) All images and photographs, unless otherwise specified, are created and owned by me.
(c) Victor Wiebe
About Me
Amateur photographer. Wannabe author. Game designer. I dabble a little in a lot. General all around problem-solver and creative type.
Founder of Photo 52 weekly photography competition.
Expert generalist. Jack of all Trades.
Dad.
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