Hay Creek Festival (One Dry Day)

Hay Creek Festival had one sunny day out of three. The grounds had some muddy patches so they did a great job sopping up them up with coincidentally, hay.

The usual cast of period demonstrations were present with some new ones and a few missing regulars, but overall it seemed bigger and better then ever. I liked the glass blowers, saw mill, iron master store, civil war encampment, antique tractors and cars.

The food is a big draw and dozen's of organizations and 100's of volunteers were cheerfully dishing out their homemade specialties. I happily left with two quarts of wood fired black kettle soups.

Plenty to do for kids too with strategically placed learning stations.

Still a can't miss event. The kid-oriented Apple Festival is coming October 10, 2009, 7A-3P.

Keystone Balloon Festival (Bird In Hand)

I've never been to a balloon festival and always wanted to experience, so when I learned of the Keystone Balloon Festival in Bird in Hand was coming to the area I put it on the calendar.

I presume the scheduled Fri and Sat launches were cancelled due to the rain so when the forecast was decent, I trekked out at 5:30 AM Sunday morning so I could catch the 6:30 sunrise launch.

Too bad the weather probably ruined the full schedule of activities, at least they had one pristine morning for the launch.

Six balloons were launched and I was shocked at the size/volume differences due to the size of the baskets attached. Some baskets could accommodate, what looked like 10 people, other baskets would be crowded with 4 people.

I think the coolest sight was at pre-dawn when they fired up the giant propane flames which illuminated the entire inside of the translucent balloons. Three giant silhouettes turned into back lit logos.

I know that they are safe, but the process firing a foot diameter by 12 foot long propane flame in a thin cloth bag does seem potentially dangerous.

However, I can imagine that the floating sensation over gorgeous Lancaster County farm land trumps the minimal risk.

Calendar of Photo Walks

This calendar illustrates all the places I have visited and the month visited. Notice that only one visit is shown per month even if I visited multiple times.

Shikellamy State Park Marina (Late Summer)

It was a foggy, surreal morning at the Shikellamy State Park. Half the park was shrouded in clouds, the other half was sunny. As Max and I walked around the paved mile trail, the lighting was changing virtually every minute.

The two railroad bridges were fun subjects as the fog, then morning "magic hour" light covered them. Even the butterfly garden was still pumping out color, but it was a little too early for the butterflies.

Tiny spider webs, one in nearly every fence rail opening, were covered with dew and showed that nature is nearly perfect.

Penn State Football (Perfect Day)

Incredible weather prevailed for the pomp and circumstance of the Penn State football home opener. The high scoring 1st half team couldn't find the end zone in the 2nd half and missed on several opportunities, but it was great to be back in the house that JoPa built.

Danielle Boone Homestead (Road side)

On the road to the picnic areas, the shoulder was full of macro activity. Daniel Boone Homestead has a new policy to pay to walk the grounds, but the picnic area is still free I believe.

I looked for milkweed plants for they might offer some caterpillar and insect shots. My search paid off with monarch (striped - eats young leaves) and milkweed tussock caterpillars (spiky - eats old leaves). A third caterpillar was found on a tree leaf, not milkweed.

Three distinct butterflies were present too, monarch, black swallowtail, and a red-spotted purple (sunning on gravel). Sadly, they are showing their age with tattered and faded wings.

Still some colorful thistle and wildflowers are present.

As we were about to leave, Max and I heard musket shots, which could only mean target practice at the range.

Angelica Park (Pre-Fall)

Thinking that the weekend could be a wash-out, I wanted to get back on a trail. Angelica Park had a fall-like feel due to the mild 70 degree temp and the apparent change in colors.

Many of the wildflowers and thistle are now brown and wilting. There are still the late summer flora species present, but nothing near the saturation of color as in July.

One of the highlights was spotting a giant brown spider, at least a 3" diameter is big by my standards. If you shape your thumb and index finger in the shape of a "C", that is the area the spider would fill. Still to be identified, so if anybody knows the species feel free to comment. My first choice is a wood spider, but I am having a hard time finding a pix and conclusive id on the web, pun intended.

Update: the spider is a fishing spider, per the Bug Guide.

Lighting was waning so I was practicing some macro with flash photography. I prefer natural lighting, but fill flash and pure flash lighting can save or make interesting shots.

My absence from Berks Awhile is due to spending five days in Las Vegas, NV where I accumulated a couple thousand pictures, so I'll share a few brief posts on that experience.

Las Vegas (Red Rock Canyon)

The Las Vegas area is rich in Native American history, pop culture, engineering marvels, live entertainment and food, but I think my favorite spot is the Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area.

Red sandstone veins and big hills are visible from the Strip and throughout the desert region. Nature activities abound from horse back riding, biking, hiking and camping.

I was drawn to the "red rocks" and visited three times in five days for it's a new and unique place that offers vast photo opportunities. I caught one morning just right with blue skies, puffy white clouds and mild temps.

The Red Rock Canyon area is nearly 200,000 acres and features 30 miles of hiking trails and a 13 mile scenic drive. For $5 a car, the scenic drive was an economical and an efficient way to see the highlights of the canyon in a short time.

Las Vegas (Neon Museum Boneyard)

Another cool and unique thing to do is take a guided tour of the Neon Museum's "Boneyard". It's the temporary and permanent resting place for discarded lighted and neon signs.

Many iconic signs are being preserved here by the dry desert heat until their turn comes to be restored to their original splendor so they can be put back on display. The plan is to add the signs to the Fremont St collection and also line N. Las Vegas Blvd median.

It was a sunny 104 (sounds like a radio station) when we visited. I'd estimate that two groups of 20 were braving the heat to get a history lesson, take pictures and enjoy the workmanship, design and artistic styles of the colorful old signs.

I wasn't alone in believing that the venue was eye candy and it was a great, stimulating photographic challenge.

Las Vegas (Hoover Dam and Boulder City)

The next stop about 4 miles from the Lake Mead scenic drive was the Hoover Dam. After a cursory security checkpoint, they let the vehicles drive across the dam.

The near side of the dam has paid parking, a restaurant and a visitor center where you can take tours inside the dam itself. The far side has free parking and a side walk leading back across the dam. I took pictures from the free parking area and then headed back. Grab shots from the van were easy due to the line of traffic that paused frequently.

Granted the dam is an engineering phenomenon for the era it was built, the suspension bridge that they were building over the deep gorge is a testament to modern bridge designers. Bridge building conditions are usually extreme, hence the need for the bridges in the first place, but the terrain of sheer cliffs and deep gorges make this construction project quite dangerous and ever challenging. I'm sure that there will be a documentary on this project someday.

Update 10/24/09: The "Big Pour" of the largest concrete suspension bridge in the US (4th in the world) was on rerun today on the Science Discovery channel. Originally aired in 2007 on Mega Builders, the documentary documented many of the obstacles encountered when pouring the foundations and stretching the cable across the gorge.

On the way back to Las Vegas, I stopped in Boulder City where I read that I might get a glimpse of some big horn sheep in a suburban public park. I read on a couple of Vegas blogs that Hemenway Park with kiddie playgrounds and tennis courts had big horn sheep that come down and graze in the mornings.