Surreal Morning at Raccoon Creek

The weather has been really cold here in the Pittsburgh region. After Christmas, we got dumped with tons of snow. I would say a good 7-8 ft. Other areas outside of the city got more…much more. After the holiday dust settled and life seemed to be getting back to normal, I suddenly woke up sick last week. I was down and out with the flu all of last week. I watched it snow more and more, wishing I could go out and play. I drank tons of straight Vitamin C powder, that stuff is so sour, bit it knocked this flu right out of me in short order. We had a quick warm up in the region, cold ground and warm temps brought on this dense fog. It formed over a better half of the day, friday. This was perfect and no better time to go the park! I got up early Saturday, I knew the fog would still be dense although patchy as I drive out to Raccoon Creek State Park. Dense and patchy it was, there was zero visibility when hitting a foggy patch. It was still pre-dawn dark. This has to be my favorite part of the day! Arriving at the park I noticed areas that were completely choked off by the fog. Good thing I know my way. I was able to find my favorite spot next to the lake in no time. As I pulled in to park, I was surprised at this blinking light traveling in front of me. It was a biker taking advantage of the nice warm temps in January. I gathered up my gear and headed out on the trail that follows the lake. Soft morning light began to peak through. I saw this wonderful lonely tree not to far off-shore. It was surrounded by a thick cake of dense fog, as was the entire lake. I shortly realized that a good part of the lake was frozen. I wasn’t about to test how frozen though. The morning light continued with soft hues of purple which the fog defused. The birds woke up and started chirping. All and all a perfect morning to be out and about.