Springtime Adventure the First

It was a nice day out today, warm and sunny this morning (although it ended up cloudy by afternoon).  I desperately need to clean my apartment, but it's hard to justify staying inside and cleaning when I have been waiting so long for warm weather.  Also, I've been itching to play with my camera taking pictures of something new.  So, I decided to venture to Babcock State Park for the afternoon.  The drive took about an hour, and by the time I got there, I was thoroughly bored of driving and really hoping that it would turn out to be worth it.  It was.

playing with the white balance setting...

stairs down to the water

Have I ever mentioned how much I LOVE waterfalls?  They are awesome.  And fun to photograph.  These ones were flowing so fast and hard, I could hear them almost the entire way up the trail I hiked.

I saw the trail head on the side of the road, and decided to hike some.  I hadn't looked at a map, and had no idea how long the trail would be, or if it would actually show me some good views.  But I had plenty of time on my hands and figured it wouldn't hurt to give it a go.  It was a good steep climb, but didn't even make me winded.  Guess running has me in pretty good shape.  I couldn't help thinking how much I would prefer to run up it than walk up it...but my quad is still tied in knots and I don't plan on allowing myself to run until Tuesday.  And right now downhills/down steps are pretty painful.  

The view at the top was decent, but it's not too exciting in pictures.  Even though spring has finally arrived, trees are only just barely starting to show some green, and the landscape is still very, very brown.  I'll definitely have to go back up there in the fall to catch the colorful leaves though!

 After hiking the trail, I got back in my car and headed further into the park, until I found the lake. 

After almost 2 hrs and 300 pictures, it felt good to sit for a moment. 

now I need to head to my Slouchers Anonymous meeting...

sitting up straight just takes too much effort.