Maya begins her summer internship at Brookhaven National Labs on Monday.  Today we drove to Stony Brook, New York to get her moved in and oriented.  She is staying with a family we met through the Unitarian church. Their home is a wonderful sanctuary just a few minutes walk from the Village Green and they have a dog named Bradly who Maya has already befriended.  We took some time to visit the operational Stony Brook Grist Mill where we received assistance weighing ourselves on the massive scale.

We also visited nearby Stony Brook beach and the West Meadows Wetland Reserve where there was much birdlife to enjoy.

After driving to and from the Brookhaven Labs (for practice) and having lunch nearby, Maya dropped me off in Port Jefferson where I took a ferry to Bridgeport, Connecticut and then a train to Boston.

Celebrating his 22nd birthday, Nicolai enjoyed kayaking on the Concord River with visiting college buddy, Marcel, followed by a round of golf.  Positioning myself on a bridge I got a nice high-angle shot of Nico in my home-made kayak. I love the fact that he enjoys using it so much. Meanwhile, Karuna prepared a wonderful birthday cake which we devoured during a family birthday celebration including both his friends Marcel and Cameron.

All shot within 100 feet of our back door. More practice in preparation for shooting in the Costa Rican rain forest at the end of the month.  Had the squirrel been around at the same time as the hawk, I can imagine a very different photo .

The wonders of Mother Nature on display in our back yard.  I spent some time testing my camera and lens setups for upcoming trips to Costa Rica and Iceland.  I always face the same dilemma of having to trade focal length, image quality and low light performance for weight and bulk.  Camera and lens technology is advancing so rapidly that I can see a day when a single camera/lens will cover all of my needs.  Until then I will continue to struggle with the tradeoffs.

A couple of young bucks visited the backyard this morning.  Fortunately, I was able to get a few photos in before Nala got a chance to “greet” our guests.

Our dear friend Wade Edwards passed away today at the age of 60. He was married to Aliza, one of Jeanine’s closest friends.  A nicer man or more avid sailor you will never meet.  He succumbed to an advanced cancer which was only recently discovered.  Our sadness and grief are matched only by our desire to be of comfort to Aliza and her family.

I spent the entire day processing some of the 3000 photos I took over the last 10 days.  Here are a two that I liked but did not find their way into earlier posts.

Thus far I have shown photographs of the first and third black bears we met during our 3000 mile road trip. Not mentioned was our second and closest “encounter” which happened so quickly there was no time to photograph it.  While driving through the Great Smokey Mountain National Park at dusk one evening, a small bear scampered across the road directly in front of us.  We were traveling at about 35mph and I immediately jumped on the brakes. We came to an abrupt stop but not before hitting the bear front and center. The bear seemed to “bounce” off the bumper and skidded across the road.  It made brief eye contact with me seemingly to inquire why I had run into him. I am not proud to admit that my first concern was for my 10-day old BMW. I immediately pulled over to inspect the damage and was totally surprised to find absolutely none.  I then checked up and down the side of the road expecting to find an injured bear cub or his really pissed off mother. Neither were to be found.  Apparently bears are very well cushioned and I had slowed enough to prevent injury. It was a very close call and I am extremely relieved it ended well.

Why, you may be wondering, is there a picture of a turtle in a post about a bear?  It is a reminder to drive slowly when traversing animal habitats. Jeanine discovered this fellow while we were visiting a war memorial in Gettysburg. For the record, I did not step on it or hit it with my car.

Stopping only for food and fuel we drove all the way back to Concord today, thankfully without any further animal encounters.

Natural Bridge is a geological formation in which Cedar Creek, a small tributary of the James River, has carved out a gorge in the mountainous limestone terrain, forming a natural arch 215 feet high with a span of 90 feet. It consists of horizontal limestone strata, and is the remains of the roof of a cave or tunnel through which the creek once flowed.  This morning we made a short hike along Cedar Creek and through the arch as far as Lace Falls. We stopped briefly to visit a Monacan Indian Living History Exhibit along the way and once again to watch a green heron hunting for breakfast.

Monticello sits atop a lofty hill in Albemarle County, Virginia, not far from the birthplace of Thomas Jefferson, its creator and most prominent resident, who spent more than four decades designing, dismantling and reimagining the estate he called his “essay in architecture.” A UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1987, the property is considered a national treasure not only for its beauty and historical significance but also for what it reveals about the third U.S. president, a complex and controversial figure whose political philosophy fundamentally shaped the nation. We enjoyed a guided tour of the residence and then wandered the gardens and grounds which were equally fascinating.

By late afternoon we resumed our travels north completing the lower half of Skyline Drive through Shenandoah National Park (we did the upper half on our drive down).  Along the way we spotted our third black bear of the trip. We paused and watched as it flipped over rocks in search of the bugs underneath. As night arrived we were fortunate to find a nice campground at the Wolf Gap recreation area on the border between Virginia and West Virginia

Congaree National Park is not going to win any awards among national parks for splendor but there is beauty to be found here if you look carefully. It is essentially a swamp containing a dense old growth forest of bald cypress, tupelo and oak trees, some of the tallest to be found. Consequently, most of what one will see here at ground level are the massive trunks of these trees. On our traverse of the 5 mile Weston Lake loop trail we encountered more spiders and dragonflies than any other form of wildlife.

Pictured below is a sequence of images showing a spider molting.  It was a fascinating process to watch and it took me some time to understand what I was witnessing (I initially assumed I it was two spiders mating or fighting). I think it is safe to say that this is something I will never again see in my lifetime and am thankful I had the chance to document it so well.

The dragonflies were quite large and very beautiful.  I kicked myself a hundred times for not bringing my macro lens with me on this trip.

The occasional snake and bird were few and far between. Plenty of wild pig tracks, but none to be seen.

After visiting the park we were quite hungry and in the mood for some famous South Carolina BBQ.  I programmed my NAV system for the nearest establishment. When we arrived at an unsigned store front that looked like anything but a place where food is served, we were hesitant to enter. Thank God we did.  What we stumbled onto was the flagship restaurant of Big T’s Bar-B-Que. Larry or “Teddy” “Big T” Brown has served barbecue to the greater Columbia, S.C. area for over 30 years. In 2003, his reputation prompted a request from incoming Governor Mark Sanford to cook for his inaugural barbecue. I have never had a pulled pork sandwich that even comes close to what I enjoyed on this day.

With full and happy bellies we started the long multi-day journey back to Concord making it as far as the Virginia border where we paused for the night at the KOA campground in Fancy Gap.  Our new 4-person tent has been serving us extremely well and working together we can put it up or down in a matter of a few minutes.

Our morning drive to the Clingsmans Dome Visitors Center offered several view points which made clear why the Great Smokey Mountains are so named.  From the visitors center we made the steep hike to the top of Clingsmans Dome sitting at 6,643 feet above sea level.  From there we walked along an elevated spiral path to the futuristic tower which offers an unrestricted 360 degree panoramic view of the magnificent mountain range. What a joy to behold.

After exited the national park we stopped briefly on the adjacent Cherokee Indian Reservation to hike to Mingo Falls which drops some 120 feet.

On the recommendation of my sister Mayela, we stopped for a late lunch in Cashiers, NC.  Afterwards we explored a quaint little country store called the Farmers Market where we picked up some locally grown peaches to sustain as as we travelled on to South Carolina.

Jeanine jumped at the chance to have coffee at this tiny little shop in the middle of no where rather than have me prepare my special camp brew for her.  Once she was properly caffeinated we drove to the Great Smokey Mountains National Park by way of Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg, TN.  We paused at midday to make the 2.5 mile hike to Laurel Falls before continuing on to Cades Cove where we setup camp and I prepared a nice bruschetta with a side of sliced apples and cherries for lunch.

After our late lunch we made a leisurely circumnavigation of the Cades Cove loop road stopping at the John Oliver homestead and Cable Mill historic area.

Jeanine treated her toes to a cool massage in Mill Creek before we returned to our campsite for a light dinner.

As dusk approached we made another lap around the loop road in search of wildlife. Our effort was rewarded when we encountered a medium size black bear some 30 feet from the road.

During the family reunion, Mark’s family and mine shared a luxurious (hot tub, pool table, big screen TV) rental cabin which slept 12.  We squeezed every last minute out of our departure deadline of 11AM before heading our separate ways. We travelled a full 30 minutes before reconnecting with Kyle, Nicolai and Karuna to watch the Italy versus Spain Europa Cup soccer match at a sports bar in Boone.  Jeanine and I then left for Valle Crucis where we spent time at the Mast General store, built in 1882. Jeanine purchased several items but not the locally sourced honey pictured below, a choice which she still laments.

We found a campground in Hot Springs, NC where we spent the evening and explored the French Broad River as dusk approached.

No Calabria family reunion would be complete without levitation photography.  A trip to the Moses Cone Memorial Park near Blowing Rock provided the perfect backdrop. Some of our first time recruits are still working up to their full potential.

An attempt at inverted levitation was unsuccessful but will be practiced for the next reunion.