Hiking in Olympic National Park, Washington is a feast for the senses! I was blown away by the natural beauty! I was there in July of 2011 and the weather was glorious.
Category Archives: Hiking
Hiking Petra
Hiking Petra is an electrifying experience! Although the landscape seems stark…it’s alive with energy! Over the course of two days, I was able to hike for miles through the ancient grounds, high into the rock formations. These horse and buggies are available for those that aren’t able or don’t want to walk.
Hiking the Grand Canyon
Hiking to the bottom of the Grand Canyon is another “must do” if you love hiking like I do! My adventure was back in 2007 and although I hiked down solo…I met a couple of guys to chat with along … Continue reading
Hiking Zion and Bryce National Parks
Hiking in Zion and Bryce National Parks in Utah is a must-do for any nature enthusiast! In 2007 I flew out to Las Vegas, rented a car and was able to spend three nights in Zion, two nights in Bryce, … Continue reading
Hiking Yosemite National Park
Yosemite National Park is as grand as everyone says! I was fortunate to hike about 14 (long and rugged) miles of it one day back in 2006 while traveling solo for a week through California! That’s me…looking small beside the … Continue reading
Wintertime Walk in the Woods
Walking in the woods is magical! Even when you go to the same place over and over again…there are always new ways to look at the same scenes and these scenes change through the weeks and months. There’s nothing like breathing in the sweet-clean-woodsy air and feeling the sun’s rays upon your face. The sky seems bluer in the woods.
I love the way the towering trees cast shadows and surround you with their being…
The paths seem so inviting. Without leaves, the trees don’t seem lonely.
A light dusting of snow still clings to this path…
Icicles glint in the light and seem to sprout from the rocks…like roots from a tree.
The trees admire their reflections in the icy water…
I’m grateful for the woods!
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Wonders of Winton Woods
The Park of choice for last night’s hike was Winton Woods on the West side of Cincinnati. I used to live in that area when I was a single mother 20 years ago. I haven’t been to that Park in years and it brought back lots of memories! We walked the loop around the small lake. I’m not sure how far that is…probably about 2 miles and then walked part of it again and veered off onto another path.
There’s the lumberjack…
I haven’t gotten to swing in a while either. I asked the lumberjack if he would take photos of me.
He was delighted after he took this photo, because the timing was great for capturing me jumping from the swing…
The colors weren’t as vibrant as at Sharon Woods, but there were some other interesting photo ops. I purposely stood off-center for this shot under a bridge…thinking that would give it more appeal…
This photo makes me want to go sit on the bench. But knowing me…it wouldn’t be for long!
Just like Sharon Woods, there is a Boathouse there for rental of paddle boats, pontoons and aluminum canoes.
After using the restrooms, the light streaming in caught my attention. I couldn’t decide which photo I liked better…so I posted both!
More color!
I enjoyed the stripes in this shot…
I like the kayaks’ bright colors against the muted earth tones!
I hope you’re enjoying a tour of Cincinnati’s finest parks!!
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Sharon Woods on Fire
This Autumn has been unbelievably colorful! We walked 2.5 miles around the small lake at Sharon Woods Park in Cincinnati last night. Although the Lumberjack normally walks slower than I do when we hike, I found myself running to keep … Continue reading
John Bryan State Park…Painted Yellow
John Bryan State Park is located outside of Yellow Springs, Ohio (which is about an hour North of Cincinnati). One of the reasons I love to hike there is the variety of trails that are available. John Bryan is sandwiched between Glen Helen Nature Preserve and Clifton Gorge State Nature Preserve and together they offer over 38 miles of hiking trails.
The weather was perfect for hiking today…mid 60’s and sunny!
The Park was filled with yellow…
I took three different photos of the bridge. Which one is your favorite?
A beaver’s been chewin’ on this tree…
Reflections are so cool…
I must have known to wear yellow so I could match!
P.S. I’ve decided to buy a mini-van for my upcoming road trip! I’ll post more details soon!
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Walking Mariemont, Ohio
If you’re ever in the Cincinnati area, I highly recommend taking a stroll through the Village of Mariemont. Especially in Autumn! It’s a small community…about 3,500 residents. Yesterday, seeing that we had another glorious fall day, I parked in the town square, where a number of upscale restaurants are located and went exploring. The hiking club I belong to have an urban hike scheduled there on Sunday. I passed the Quarter Bistro Restaurant and thought their outside seating area looked quaint and a bit European…
As I meandered from street to street…I wasn’t prepared for the spectacular and riotous display of color. Everywhere I looked there were varying shades of orange, red, yellow and green! The houses were quaint and most were decorated for Halloween.
I passed by this little park…
If you need motivation to get out and exercise…a place like this will do it!
The lawns were landscaped beautifully…
This was another area with benches to sit and relax and if you stand at the stone wall, there’s a beautiful view of the countryside…
Just when I thought I had seen the most brilliant colors…I walked down this street and was blown away by the beauty!
Here are my two “artsy” photos…
I discovered through the hiking club I belong to that perhaps the world’s largest Serpent Mound is located in Mariemont. This was reported in August of last year! So…having just seen the Serpent Mound in Adams County over the weekend, I was excited to hear about this. A blog called “Goddesschess” has a great post about it–if you’d like to learn more.
The Madisonville Site was–according to the Ohio Historical Society–the location of a large Ft. Ancient population. I’m learning all kinds of things about Cincinnati!
At one point on my hike–being the explorer that I am–I saw a tunnel and decided to go through it to investigate. There wasn’t much to see on the other side, but as I was going to return, I heard male voices coming through the tunnel, so I ran up the hill and found a little pathway back to the front of the tunnel. Whew! I was a little scared since there was no one else around. They were probably harmless, but it’s best not to take unnecessary risks!
I had to take this photo of the birds perched on the telephone wire…
A girlfriend met me there after she got off of work and we hiked it again. I’m glad I went early to get my photos…because she’s a fast walker! After hiking we went to another restaurant in the square called The Dilly Cafe. It’s owned by one of our friends Chuck Warinner. We both had the Seared Ahi Tuna Sandwich with Sweet Potato Fries. It was tasty! They have wine tastings and outdoor seating. Lots of fun!
Thanks for coming along and may you find time and motivation to explore your own hometown!!
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Ohio Riverfront Walk
Last week I walked along the Ohio Riverfront in Cincinnati with girlfriends. It was a beautiful day! I drove in my friend’s car to the river and forgot my camera in my car. Although I missed some great shots…I knew it was for the best because it gave us more time to talk. Normally, when I’m taking photos, I lag behind and then run to catch up…and miss out on the visiting part. So…yesterday was another beautiful day and I decided to drive the 35 minutes to downtown and retrace our steps.
This was my first view of the waterfront…the Purple People Bridge. It’s a pedestrian only bridge over to the Kentucky side.
The BB Riverboat hosts weddings in addition to sightseeing and dinner cruises. It’s strange to me to think that you can take a boat from the Ohio River to the Mississippi River and then all of the way to the ocean!
There are quite a few bridges that span from Cincinnati to Kentucky…
Of course, I tried to get some artsy shots…
At first I thought this was a labyrinth but it’s a squiggly walking path…
The City has been working on sprucing up the area…putting in plants and statutes…
The views of downtown are lovely…
This is called the serpentine wall. During the summer they have an event called “Party in the Park” that is held on Wednesday evenings and people will spill over from the main level above to this area…to sit and relax.
Here’s the Purple People Bridge on my way back…
Love the flag shots…
I just like the lines on this one…
The contrasting red in the tables-chairs is cool against nature’s vibrant colors…
One last shot of a bridge from a fresh perspective…
The sun was beginning to set and I’m glad I captured it next to the building…
Hope your week is wonderful!
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Serpent Mound
The Great Serpent Mound is a 1,348-foot-long, three-foot-high prehistoric effigy mound located on a plateau of the Serpent Mound crater along Ohio Brush Creek in Adams County, Ohio.
The “Lumberjack” and I visited there on Saturday. It’s located about one and one-half hours east of northern Cincinnati.
The Ohio Historical Society owns and manages the property. This is their office at the site…
There is an observation deck…
The observation deck is located at the back of the third hump, near the end of the tail if you’re looking at this drawing…
I’ve read that there is a special energy here…a spiritual energy that can be tapped into. I didn’t sense anything, although I was hoping to.
A hiking trail was located on the grounds. By the time we walked the paved walkway and I took photos…we didn’t have time to hike.
As you can see, Autumn is a wonderful time to visit. The colors were spectacular!
The sun was beginning to set when we left and it was a beauty!!
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Photography while Hiking
Sometimes I wish I lived somewhere other than Cincinnati, Ohio…. somewhere closer to a beach or mountains…but when I look back through my blog posts and photos, I realize there are lots of things to do in this area, natural beauty abounds, and best of all…I have some wonderful family and friends!
I haven’t been jogging for the past few weeks because my neck and back were hurting. Since I’ve quit, they’re getting better, so I’m trying to hike more. We went to East Fork State Park last night and hiked a couple of miles. It’s only 30 minutes from our house. First, we stopped at the beach and let our maniac dog…Jake…out. He took off chasing the geese and I started snapping photos! That’s him in the center at the water’s edge…
I really enjoyed having the birds so close to me. It’s magical when you hear their wings flapping as they circle around you!
I enjoy everything about photography. I love looking at the photos afterwards… deciding which ones are my favorites. It’s interesting to see how the colors change as you change the angle of your camera. The sky is so blue in this one…
It was very difficult to take a photo of Jake because he never stopped moving and was quite unpredictable! His enthusiasm is evident though…
We tried a new trail this time. It’s a 31 mile perimeter trail…but we only went one mile in and then returned before dark.
We stopped at the dam on the way out to capture the sunset…
Randy thought this photo was “artsy”…
I’ve never tried taking photos while the vehicle was moving. I like the effect…
Thanks for joining me. I’ll see you soon!
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Hiking in Autumn
My dog Jake lives to hike with us! He knows when we put on our hiking or jogging shoes that soon he’ll be out running in the woods! He races in and out of the doggie door, unable to contain his excitement. If we take too long, he’ll stick his head through it to see what we’re doing…
I had to take a picture of some of the trees above the roof of the house before leaving for the woods…
And the front yard. We live on 5 acres (of which 4 acres is wooded) at the end of a lane and love the seclusion.
This spot is located right around the corner from my house. Definitely worth a stop!
We stopped along the way for a quick photo of a farm. I love the texture and color of the drying soy bean crop…
These photos are a combination of two different hikes we’ve taken this week. I am very grateful to have a park within five minutes of my home that is over 500 acres with hiking trails and that I usually have to myself!
The leaves are glittering like gold…
I couldn’t believe how beautiful the trees and reflection were when we arrived to the lake. If you’re a photographer, you know that almost giddy feeling of enthusiasm when you see something beautiful.
I recently realized that my camera has enabled me to appreciate and observe more of the beauty that surrounds me in people, nature and things.
This is from a hike a couple of days ago as dusk was settling…
Fog had descended upon us as we finished the hike…just in time for Halloween!
Get out and enjoy the beautiful outdoors! Some people aren’t able to!
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Scioto Audubon Metro Park in Columbus
My recent girls’ weekend to Columbus, Ohio included a short hike at the Scioto Audubon Metro Park. We stopped there on Sunday before driving home. The weather was glorious and the park surprised me with its proximity to downtown, one and one-half miles!
First, we had a buffet breakfast that was included with the room. The hotel, “The Residence Inn by Marriott“, I found to be stylish, including the lobby and dining room. The ceiling must have been 25 foot high..
We walked to the park, which boasts an outdoor climbing wall!
I’ve climbed one on a Mediterranean cruise and found it quite exhilarating!
The grounds were beautiful! Autumn always fills me with an extra spark of energy! Most likely it’s the cooler weather and dynamic colors!
We probably walked less than a mile, but the views were nice!
I hope you’re enjoying the outdoors this autumn! That’s a wrap for the girls’ weekend. We did and saw a lot in two days!!
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Sherry Lachelle Travels 