Ohiopyle Adventures

The past two weeks have been in anticipation. I’m excited about a new camera body and I’m excited about Spring arriving. Spring is a wonderful time of year. A time of new transformation. Spring blooms are sprouting from their winter sleep under the ground. Waterfalls, rivers, and streams are overflowing with powerful rushing water from snow melt and early rains. I’ve headed off to a few of my favorite places as of late, McConnells Mills and Ohiopyle State Park. We’ve had a string of extremely nice days, ones that make me dream of early warmer months. My first of multiples to Ohiopyle I wanted to explore more of Ferncliff Natural Area. I really like this area because of the views of Ohiopyle Falls and the beautiful deep forest. The trails are all connected so there is no chance of getting lost, just fun exploration. We also spent a ton of time at the main falls. I’ve never seen the falls so filled with water! It was absolutely incredible to see the amount of flow. The top of the falls wasn’t distinguishable from the bottom of the falls, as if the 20-ft drop disappeared. It was a sight to behold!

A few days later I headed over to Meadow Run Water Slides. This is a popular place but I was hoping on a weekday I’d have the place to myself. I desperately needed time alone and some guidance from the flowing waters and trees. I’m intrigued by the slides. By the flow of water rushing by hitting the inner chute. Sometimes I am amazed that in the middle of the summer people ride the water of the slides. I took the Meadow Run trail toward the town of Ohiopyle and found this little spot of rushing water right after the slides themselves. It was peaceful to sit there for a bit watching the watch crash into the boulders and flow down stream. Then I made my way to the bottom of the water slides, this spot is really hard to photograph and I never go down to try. It was a nice spot with water flowing under my feet at the very edge. At this point even though the forecast called for clouds all day, the sun started to come out. I found myself waiting and watching the water making a photograph the sun went behind the clouds. It was starting to become later in the day and a group of people showed up. It seemed they were there just to hang. They had their grocery bags filled with tea and chips. I decided to move on to another spot and made my way over to Cucumber.

I like Cucumber Falls but rarely have it to myself unless it’s extremely early in the day. I chose to come here because the falls were completely shaded by the clouds although the rest of the valley was sunny. I found a spot where I have not shot from before. I had to make my way over fallen trees that looked like they’d been there for some time. I also ran into the few kids from the same group over at Meadow Run Slides. So I decided to crack off a few shots and pack up.

While I wasn’t completely alone as I hoped. I had a nice day in the woods at one of my favorite places. I also met a lady with two very sweet dogs who came over and quickly made friends. All in all I am ready and excited for Spring and my new lens to arrive.

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