Blue Cypress Lake

Since this was my only weekend off from art shows in January I figured it was a good time to explore some new Florida landscapes. I have heard great things about Blue Cypress Lake with its ancient cypress trees lining the shoreline. It is another one of those hidden secrets in Florida..Less than 2 hours from West Palm Beach, Blue Cypress Lake makes the perfect adventure for a day trip. We planned for a two day camping trip, but with forecasts near freezing temperatures we didn't think it would be very fun for Lyla's first camping experience.

So we packed up the jeep, loaded up the boat and headed north. All bundled up for the chilly weather, one quick bottle and Lyla is ready for a two-hour nap.

And off we go

There is basically only one road leading to lake access where there is a small community of houses on a canal and a fishing camp with a boat ramp.

Through a quick tunnel and we were there...

We were greeted by Jeanne Middleton who has owned the Middleton's fish camp with her husband for 40+ years. She offered us free use of their boat ramp and free camping if we were up for it.

With only a few hours to explore we headed for the water

Lyla made sure that mommy kept her on her eating schedule.

Picnic on the boat...while I grabbed the camera

Everywhere I looked was a tree more interesting than the last

There were so many crazy cypress trees surrounding the entire perimeter of the lake. The trees are like no other I have seen anywhere else in Florida.

Each tree has its own unique growth form

Only one problem...

Without sunlight I wasn't able to capture the images that I was looking for.

According to the forecast the clouds were supposed to clear out after the morning. Well, it is 3:00pm and not too much time left in the day.

I had my trees picked out to photograph, now I just have to wait for the sunlight. It would be a bummer if it stays cloudy all day.

Captain Lyla brought us back to the dock to get out of the wind and walk around a little bit

Lyla settled for a quick catnap in the backpack

While Nicky explored for a geocache...

Lyla and I found a little treasure for keepsake

And it looks like the photography Gods were on my side. At 4:00pm the clouds began to break and I was going to get an hour of sunlight to work with!!

Dang...Lyla is hungry again! OK, boat picnic number 2!!

Lyla, enjoy your food, I'm headn' in.

I couldn't even tell you if the water was cold, I was in a photography trance

This was the first tree that caught my eye earlier in the day, so it was my first stop

It was perfect conditions for both color and black and white photography. late afternoon sunlight on the white tree trunks added some great contrast to the darker broken-cloud sky.

Moving on...Nicky and Lyla stayed on the boat and Lyla danced to the songs of the nearby Osprey. Cutest thing I ever saw!

While I jumped back in the water...

The clouds were perfect, but they were disappearing so fast, might be able to keep them around for one more shot.

We have enough sunlight for one more stop.

No clouds in the sky, but we still have some great sunlight

I think Lyla was anxious to join me in the water...

 If it was a little warmer I would have brought her in for the shoot

But she is content on the boat with mommy

One last shot

That's about it for the sunlight, plus I just realized I have been soaking wet for the last hour and the temperature has dropped to the low 50's.

Time to head back to the boat...

Snap a family photo...

And hurry up with that bottle!

I'll take one of those please...These were the only structures that I saw on the Lake. The Lake was otherwise undeveloped...and I hope it stays that way!

Back to the ramp and packed up before dark!

What a day. One of my best hours of photography ever! We can't wait to go back in February and stay an entire weekend. We only touched the surface of what Blue Cypress Lake has to offer.

Thanks to the Middleton's for letting us use your boat ramp and grounds. I highly recommend checking out Blue Cypress Lake. If you don't have a boat you can rent one at the fishing camp or take a private guided tour. Check out their webpage...http://middletonsfishcamp.blogspot.com/

Man, I have to stop doing this...one of these days I am not going to make it to a gas station in time!

Never stop exploring...

A Trek to the North

For the Holidays we decided to put 3000 miles on the Wrangler this year traveling from Florida to Erie, Pennsylvania and Grimsby, Ontario Canada and back. With twelve long days for potential exploration I was looking forward to mastering some snow covered landscape images that have always been a challenge for me.

Although we have done the trip previous years, this year was a bit different traveling with Lyla who is only 10 months. I had faith in her good sleeping habits and decided to travel by night.

Adventure #1 : Knoxville, Tennessee

Well, Lyla slept for 12 hours in her car seat the first night! and we landed at some friends house in Knoxville, Tennessee. We spent the day there catching up on sleep, visiting and letting Lyla crawl around the house. In the afternoon we got a chance to explore a nearby natural area that I spotted on the way in.

Nicky, Bandit and Browser led the way while Lyla and I slowly meandered behind.

The late afternoon sun set the mood for some dramatic landscapes

A quick check over the shoulder and up the hillside we go

I struggled to capture any more powerful landscape images but got some great shots of Nicky and the boys exploring the landscape

When landscape photography fails I always switch to my macro lens and start looking deeper into the landscape

Most of the trees were covered with Ivy vines. Growing up in Pennsylvania it always amazed me that their leaves stay green all year round, even under the snow.

Growing up with Ivy all around me I never thought to photograph it...It must have been the time away from it that made me realize its beauty

Although the trees were mostly bare of leaves as I looked at leaf litter on the ground I realized that nearly all of the trees must be oaks. 

Base on the leaves on the ground it seams that the forest is composed exclusively of oaks and as I looked closer I noticed that there were four or five different species of white and red oaks.  Oaks are my favorite tree second to Sycamore, so this was a pretty cool find, and it was great to see that this forest was being preserved.

A quick check over my shoulder ten minutes into the hike...

Uh oh... nap time already!

Since Lyla was out cold, I had to pick out a stone for keepsake without her help... Hope she likes it!

Well, Lyla is not the only one that is tired. Time to head back to the house and get a couple hours rest for tonight's 9 hour drive as we continue our journey.

Thank you so much Jan, Tucker and family for the hospitality! Time to continue the journey northward. Next stop Erie, PA, then Grimsby, Ontario

Day #2 : Bruce Trail - Lake Ontario Escarpment

Lyla slept the entire night in her car seat again all of the way to Erie, PA...what a relief!! After a two day stop to visit family in Erie, Pennsylvania we continued north to Grimsby, Ontario.

Much colder here in Canada! Lyla is suited up and ready for her next adventure.

With Lyla all bundled up we broke trail and headed up the escarpment 

Nicky's Mom and step dad joined us on the hike and showed us the area

The 40 mile creek cuts through the hillside here making a deep canyon. The creek cut through the hillside over time exposing giant rocky outcrops overlooking the canyon with breathtaking views.

I had to head down into the creek to check out the ice formations.

We found a break in the jagged hillside where we could make our way down to the creek...with a little convincing for mommy's approval.

Wow - flowing water can make some incredible ice formations!

These are the ice formations that I was hoping to find!

I have to take advantage of these ice formations and hike the creek. We decided that we shouldn't keep Lyla out in the cold for too long so Nicky and Lyla and Nicky's mom headed back to the house with Bandit and Browser, while Steve and I continued up the creek.

After of course we picked up a stone for Lyla's adventure treasure box...

Bonus!...this one is a fossil

Well, one last look into the canyon for Lyla...

And one quick family photo...

It was sad to see Nicky and Lyla leave me there...so sad that I forgot to take a picture, but its a good thing Nicky's mom Lise was there, and quite the photographer herself I might add.

So off I go on my own...

Water in motion, frozen and dusted with snow

Steve stayed a safe distance from getting wet

And somehow I managed to stay dry and on my feet

From the top of the escarpment we could see the entire town of Grimsby and Lake Ontario.

The sun broke through the clouds for the afternoon so we decided to head a few miles down the road where the creek meets Lake Ontario. Many ducks, geese, and seabirds gather here which creates some great photo opportunities.

Oops...little bit too close

I was fortunate that the cloudy sky broke for the afternoon.  I found out later that I had goose poop all over my shoes, but of course...small price to pay for these killer shots.

Got some great shots but it just wasn't as fun without Lyla. At least she was able to tag along for a bit.

Lyla, Nicky and Lise made it back safely

And Lyla was very much ready for a bottle and a long nap...

Thanks Lise and Steve, we had a great time and it was very hard to say goodbye...as always. But off we go to Erie, PA to visit with more family and search for new adventures!

 

Day #3 : Lake Erie Bluffs - Part 1

Near the Ohio/Pennsylvania line along the southern shoreline of Lake Erie lies a hidden treasure - The Erie Bluffs. 90 ft towering cliffs line the rocky, sandy shoreline along one of the last undeveloped tracts of Lake Erie.

After visiting with great grandparent we had a hour of daylight left and a half hour drive to the bluffs. We decided to go check it out and at least find some locations to come back to and photograph tomorrow.

Lyla is ready...

well, for a nap...

That's OK though, not much time for hiking anyway, just scoping out some potential spots for later.

We found a side road off the main path and decided to see where it will lead.

The road dumped us out at a sweet overlook where Elk Creek (a steelhead fishing stream) meets the Lake Erie shoreline. Nicky stayed in the car with sleeping Lyla while my mom and I got out for a quick look at the landscape...still enough light for a couple photographs.

I wasn't too impressed with my landscape shots...

but I'm pretty happy with this macroshot of the frozen water in the foreground

Wow! How cool is this. The only sign of civilization here is one half of a single standing wall of what has to be a historical homestead. I am going to have to look into the history of this.

Grabbed a piece of a mortar joint for Lyla's adventure treasure box and hopped in the Jeep to continue exploring.

After a bit of driving in search for another vantage point we found this view of Lake Erie from atop the Bluff.

It was getting too dark and I didn't have a tripod so I risked a bit of graininess and boosted my ISO to 3200. I am amazed with how little graininess you get with the Canon 5D with such high ISO. I remember back in film photography when 800 film speed was so grainy it wasn't even work using.

One more shot of the afterglow and back to the Jeep

Uh oh, Lyla has awaken and she is HUNGRY! We will never make it home in time. Looks like we are going to have to stop at The Outback. Dad saved the day and packed up some of Lyla's food from the house and met us out.

Day 4 : Lake Erie Bluffs - Part 2

What is that you see Lyla?...a break in the sky...could it be?...quick Lyla get suited up. This will be our last chance to get some sunlight on the partially frozen lake before the warm, grey, rainy weather for the next 3 days.

That was quick...Cool, lets go

First stop was the Roderick Wildlife Reserve.  

 But it just so happens to be Lyla's nap time...

That's OK, wouldn't you know it...the skies got all cloudy and it began to sprinkle. Bummer, not the best weather for landscape photography

One quick shot from the Bluff and we decided to search for a lower elevation where we could hike along the desolate beach is the rain holds off...and Lyla wakes up.

Found another dead end road that might lead to the beach, and Lyla is up...with a little help from daddy

Found a trail...let's see where it leads

Just one little obstacle...

And down the beach we go...

My landscape lens decided to malfunction, but not much use for it today anyway.

I only ended up with this one decent shot today

And Nicky captured great shot of me and Lyla. It was amazing...the sun somehow peaked through the thick cloud blanket and turned the sky bright red for literally 2 minutes and then it was grey again.

Well, that will do it for our trek to the north. Thanks everyone for the great holiday and sharing our adventures. After spending so much time with family it is so hard to leave it all again and get back to reality.

No clue where are next adventure will be, but I think Lyla is already getting anxious!

NEVER STOP EXPLORING...