Photography

We’re really enjoying autumn in DC–and so are Sugar Baby, Ollie, and Lola, who have gotten their humans to take them on many fun day trips. This time we ventured a little to Cacoctin Mountain Park in Maryland north of DC. (Pronounced “Ka-Kock-tin”). A little over an hour of driving brought us to the beginning of our hike. The sky was a bit gray and the temperatures in the 60s. Ollie was especially excited and pulling hard on his leash. After a mile of downhill, we had a mile of steep uphill, on a trail of granite stones covered in leaves. ...

On a beautiful sunny fall day, Audrey, Carolyn and I ventured to Annapolis with Ollie, Sugar Baby and Lola. What’s a beautiful outing without three dogs? The dogs were especially delighted when we immediately came upon a Dog Treat Parlor on Main Street–fresh biscuits for all! Annapolis has a great collection of colonial architecture from different eras. At the visitor center we picked up a walking tour guide. The visitor center was on such a colorful street! ...

On a beautiful fall day, I ventured to Great Falls National Park, just outside of Washington, DC. The air was clear, dry and just a little warm in the sun. Sugar Baby and Ollie came for the ride, and were delighted with the number of dogs at the park and the quality of the resulting smells. Aside from three easy overlooks, the trails in the park mostly follow the cliff above the river. The dogs liked boulder hopping and climbing around. Heading downstream, the river enters a narrow gorge. I liked upstream better, where an old dam created a very long and even water fall, glistening in the late afternoon sun. We saw a blue heron and Canadian geese. ...

Devil’s Postpile National Monument is a natural wonder. It features tall columns of basalt. And they twist and bend in impossible contortions. A short hike a way brought us to 100=foot tall Rainbow Falls. Micah and I visited the day before starting our backpacking trip. It was convenient, as there was a shuttle from our campsite to the Monument, including both destinations.

My first time backpacking trip, 35 years ago, featured some High Sierra drama. Recently I took the same trip with Micah and was able to take the photo above, showing the route that accompanies the infamous tale. When I got home, I marked the route in red on the photo, with the key theoretical discussion. The Story of My First Backpacking Trip As a graduate student in about 1987, I was invited on a backpacking trip by my fellow student and experienced trailblazer, Mike Sipusic. It started innocently enough with a hike from the trailhead to a campsite beside Lake Ediza, at the bottom of the red line in the photo. ...