Humpback Bridge in Covington, Virginia

These photos were taken in Covington, Virginia. I'd long heard of Humpback Bridge and always wanted to see it. Happened to pass it by chance on the way to West Virginia. Wonderful luck! It was a no brainer to take the very short detour to go see it when we saw the sign. 

This historic bridge is only one of a few handful of covered bridges remaining in Virginia. There is much graffiti inside dating back decades. This was a winter (February) visit, would love to see it in warmer weather.

 

 

Boats at Jamestown Settlement, Virginia

Jamestown Settlement is a living history museum located next to the original place where the first permanent English settlers came to Virginia in 1607. As a part of the museum there are re-creations of the original three boats that made the four and a half trek across the Atlantic to land in America.
 
We visited in April. Thunderstorms poured heavily that day but the rain broke for just enough time to take a quick tour of the boats. My photos came out a little dark so these were lightened a bit.

Macro on Monday: Feeling nutty!

A couple of weeks ago we visited Montpelier, the home of the 4th U.S. President, James Madison. This was our second time to visit Montpelier and we decided to take a stroll through the historic woods that remain a part of the property. Along the way I took several shots and this nut, for whatever reason, stood out to me.

Visiting with the kangaroos at Virginia Safari Park

Gosh, I'm so behind in sorting through the various photos I'd taken throughout 2016. Today I thought I'd take a break from our wonderful South Carolina trip and head back to last March. During that month we'd stopped by the Virginia Safari Park, located in Natural Bridge, Virginia. 

We all had a fab time during the actual safari (another topic for another day, but I did share some macros of animal eyes taken at the park in an earlier post). After we parked the car, we walked around the park. The kangaroos were so cute! Definitely a relaxed group of critters.

This guy was chilling out and not bothered by the crowds

Looked like one totally exhausted kangaroo!

Taking a slumber stretch

Kangaroo slumber party

This fella was hoping for some food I think. Or maybe he was just curious?

Macro shots of fall foliage in Shenandoah National Park

Last weekend we took a trip out to Front Royal, Virginia to take a ride down Skyline Drive. The fall foliage was said to be peaking in various areas and we try not to miss it every year. The views were stunning and many of the areas of the park were indeed ablaze with color. 

In addition to taking photos of the overlook and roadside views and milkweed seeds, I also wanted to try some macros and other close up shots. These are some of the results:

Not sure what kind of tree this is, but the leaves were bright yellow.

These were turning red and burgundy, so pretty

Flower seems to be a bit out of focus on this one

Amazing how things change along the ride. Some of the thistles were still purple, others had gone to sleep for the winter

Snapping pics of milkweed in Shenandoah National Park

There is an abundance of milkweed in the Shenandoah National Park. In the summer it attracts beautiful bugs and butterflies. In the fall, the milkweed starts to go to seed. 

While there are still some bugs and caterpillars around, as the cooler temps come in, there is a lot less activity than there was in the summer. While the milkweed turns brown and dries out, I find it to be so beautiful.

Related posts:

Chasing butterflies on Skyline Drive (part 1)
Chasing butterflies on Skyline Drive (part 2)

Cloud formations over Shenandoah National Park (photos)

This is the third of a series of photos I'm posting from our trip through Shenandoah National Park.  A wonderful trip! If you live in Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland or Washington, D.C., this makes for a fab day or weekend trip. 

We started off in Front Royal at mile marker 1 and drove to mile marker 62 where we exited Skyline Drive on Route 33. These are some of the sky views we saw along the way.

Chasing butterflies on Skyline Drive (part 2)

This is part 2 of a series of photos I'm compiling from a recent trip down Skyline Drive in Shenandoah National Park. The first post was of butterflies and this post is too, but today I

wanted to focus on closeups of these beautiful critters.

Chasing butterflies on Skyline Drive (part 1)

This past weekend we decided to go for a ride and see where the day would take us. We ended up on Skyline Drive, starting at the Front Royal entrance. We've done this trip several times before, but always in the fall. 

It was really fascinating to enjoy the park in the summer. We drove 62 of the 105 miles and saw stunning scenery, lots of wildlife and gorgeous wildflowers. Not to mention it was a beautiful 73-75 degrees the entire ride, unlike the high 80s and 90s we have in Northern Virginia.

The milkweed and other wildflowers attracted tons of butterflies. These beauties were literally everywhere you turned. Here are some shots I took.

Add caption

Barns spotted along I-81

I love it on the trips where I can spend some time being the passenger instead of driving. It gives me the chance to take some photos of the sights I admire when traveling along certain routes. One route we frequently take is I-81 through Virginia.

Today's photos are barns spotted along I-81, one of them I think was off the highways at the Buchanan, Va. exit. I just love these structures.

In Photos: Visiting Shenandoah Caverns

Last winter over the holiday week we went on a day trip down to the Shenandoah Valley. It's a beautiful region with a lot of scenic views and historical value. We started off our day at Shenandoah Caverns before going on a few other adventures. This region of Virginia has several caverns and, while there are some similarities, each has its own distinct "flavor." This was our first time to this particular caverns (I have gone back once since).

The tour was about an hour long and it was very enjoyable. We learned about the history of the Shenandoah Caverns, about cave formations and also got up close and personal with the interior (some areas are low "ceilings" and even a short person like me had to duck). 

This photo does not do the formation justice. I'd seen "drapery" formations before, but not like this, these were called "bacon", which absolutely fit. 

More formations -

This formation absolutely sparkled. You can see flecks of it in this photo, but I just could not capture it all. In person it looked like a little waterfall full of diamonds.

More formations -

All in all, visiting Shenandoah Caverns and other parts of the Shenandoah Valley was a great day. We moved on to see some museums and also visited with some ducks at the Edinburg Mill.

In photos: 'Holland in Haymarket' at Burnside Farms

A highlight for me every year is heading out to Burnside Farms for its annual festivals. In the spring is "Holland in Haymarket" which is its amazing tulip festival. Other years I carve out time to head west to see the beautiful and equally as amazing sunflowers festival ("Summer of Sunflowers"). This year I hope to do both!

This morning had some time on this wonderful almost summer-like day to visit the farm. So many tulips, so little time!! But here are a few.

In photos: Flying critters at Monticello

Today's post takes a summer visit to Monticello, the home of Thomas Jefferson. Usually during a visit, I like to spend some time seeking out bugs, butterflies and birds in the gardens. This is some of what I captured during a 2012 visit.