Pinnacle Rock State Park

Heaven!

The first morning of our vacation started off with a beautiful view of the fog in the valleys.  Our room at Pipestem State Park was the best seat in the house, so to speak, to watch the show.  It was definitely worth the extra $10 for the gorge view room.  There is a house on the opposite mountain that has this view every morning.  How lucky!

Morning Fog

Fog lifting from the valley

We wanted to fit in as many sights as we could in our short weekend trip so we hit the road early.  First on our list was Pinnacle Rock.

The last time we were here on vacation we attempted to go to Pinnacle Rock.  Unfortunately our GPS led us to the wrong end of the park.  I knew I should have used a map!  We drove quite a ways into the park before I finally did bust out the map.  As far as I could tell there was really no way to get from where we were to where we needed to be except to turn around and leave the park.  Then we would have to continue on the main road to get to the other entrance.  As it was getting late we decided to call it a day and try again some other time.

This time I made sure to get real directions and not depend on the GPS.  It still was a bit confusing to get there but we made it.

You have to climb the hill to find the start of the Falling Rock Trail.  It's a beautiful walk that's not too strenuous.  I have been on flat land so long it was like heaven to me.  There was a notice that said you can't do any climbing without permit.  We had no intention of climbing those rocks anyway.

This looks interesting!

Daring a rock to fall on him

Up to the Overlook

Just had to have a look inside

View from the Overlook

Now that's a view worth the climb

It was a lovely day and definitely worth the trip up to the Rock.  I highly recommend it.  We left Pinnacle Rock and headed out to the New River Gorge.  But that's a story for another day.

Sharon

#westvirginiatravel, #pinnaclerock, #mountain

Springtime Walk At Newport News Park

Dilemma

Sometimes at this time of year you have a major dilemma on your hands.  It seems like there are a lot of great movies released just in time for Spring Break. On the other hand the weather is just starting to get really nice.  So what's a person to do?  I know what I should do...paint, paperwork, housework.  But that's no fun at all.

 

Easy Decision

I opt for a small hike in the park.  Nothing major, just 3 miles.  I think I can handle that!  Packed up Hubby, my trusty camera and bottles of water and off we went  on our lovely nature walk.

Photo Trophies 

The first thing we came across was this crane.  He was flying low by the swamp.

Crane

We were crossing the Swamp Bridge and I was enjoying the baby River Cooters.  So was this frog.  He was waiting for one to come his way.  Thankfully the tiny one I was watching was out of his reach.  And Jase Robertson might love frogs, but the last thing I think about when looking at one is "Yummy!"

Bullfrog

Red-bellied Cooter

This Turkey Vulture was flying overhead.  He was making quite a racket.  I will say he was not very attractive.  But to each his own.  Maybe in the vulture world he's a hottie!

Turkey Vulture

I was standing on the bridge overlooking the swamp trying to be quiet, when some of the brushes to my right started to move.  I heard a lot of rustling sounds and then suddenly this young beaver swam in front of me.  He was happily chewing up reeds.  We also spotted a larger beaver playing out in the deeper water.  I have never seen a beaver in the wild and now I have seen two on the same day.

Beaver

Once over the bridge I hoped to spot some deer.  Unfortunately I didn't see a single one.  But I did see my first butterfly of the season.  This is a Zebra Swallowtail.

Zebra Swallowtail

I came across two birds that were so high I really couldn't tell what they were.  All I saw from the first one was a flash of blue.  I thought it was maybe a bluejay.  The second one flew overhead with something in his claws.  I figured it was probably some nesting material.  On my computer I was surprised to see that what I had photographed was actually a bluebird (never seen one before) and an osprey who had caught himself a fish dinner.  The third bird was was hidden in the brush on the bank.  It took a lot of searching on the web before I found out he was a green heron.

Bluebird

Osprey

Green Heron

I was beginning to fear I wouldn't spot any snakes.  We walked that whole 3 mile trail and didn't find a single one until the very end.  This guy was right off the trail by the parking lot!  He was about 5-6 feet long and happily wrapping around a tree.  Success!

Black Rat Snake

What a wonderful way to spend a day!  I had a great time and I hope you enjoy my photos.

Sharon

#nature walk in Newport News, #Virginia trails, #Virginia hiking, #Newport News trails