Thoughts on my pics

Albums:
Harpers Ferry, WV
CSX in Harpers Ferry

My friend and I went up to Harpers Ferry, West Virginia because we thought it might be a good place to photograph trains. We were right. We got some excellent photos of trains going both ways across the mainline and also a train headed East from a track that comes up from the South. If you are familiar with my albums, you know I also like to take scenic and wildlife photos. Harpers Ferry proved to be an excellent spot to satisfy all of my photographic desires. I got enough photos on this trip to actually make two albums, one devoted to the scenery and birds and another to the trains. This is definitely a spot we will be returning to as there are more places to get good views of the trains and scenery. I am writing this entry nearly 2 months after we had gone to this place and they’ve been collecting view stats.

As of this writing Harpers Ferry, WV album has 733 views and 20 downloads and CSX in Harpers Ferry album has 4,872 views and 104 downloads. The CSX album is at the moment fighting tooth and nail with the Horseshoe Curve album (4,888 views, 59 downloads) for 2nd place (none of my albums come close to the 28,000+ views and 2000+ downloads that National Arboretum currently has).

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Beverly Triton Beach Park had caught my attention on the map by being so large. I went over there to see what is at the park and found that it is apparently intended for the locals as there is very little parking. Much of the park itself appears that it may once have been a neighborhood. There are hints and signs of the past in many parts of the park. The main trails are basically old roads. Besides the size on the map, one of the things that attracted me to the site is the pond. Since I am trying to get new and interesting wildlife photos I figured this would be a sure thing since where there’s water, there’s usually wildlife. I was surprised and disappointed to find very little in the way of wildlife other than the Osprey and Red-Winged Blackbirds. What surprised me even more was getting home and looking at the map and discovering how little of this park I covered. I will definitely be returning here to look for more photos. One thing to be aware of: Despite the name, this is NOT a swimming beach. I don’t think swimming is permitted here anyway. But this is definitely not the place to go swimming.

But this is a great place to go for a quiet walk. The interior of the park is attractive and a little eerie with the signs of old residences – there’s old houses a wind blow away from falling over and other signs – there’s a good view of the Chesapeake Bay boat traffic and so on. The strangest thing I saw was some insects that seemed to be giving some sort of structure attention on a branch and others lined up. They look like they might be ants, but I really don’t know. If you know what they are, let me know.

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I had gone to Sandy Point State Park on the Western Shore of the Chesapeake Bay in the shadow of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge and found to my surprise a rather long line of cars waiting to get in. It is $5.00 PER PERSON to get into this park, $4.00 Per Person for Maryland Residents. But it is well worth it. There were three people taking the entry fees and several people inside the park directing people to parking. I was amazed at how packed the parking lots were. I was equally amazed at how un-crowded the park was despite all of the people. There is a wide variety of activity here from the boats coming and going by trailer to the marina. There’s a fishing pier in Mezick Pond where the boats are and a jetty that goes out into the Chesapeake Bay. There’s an Osprey nest near the end of the Jetty. There’s a long clean sandy beach, restrooms in several locations, great views of the Bay and the Sandy Point Shoal Lighthouse. There’s a bunch of picnic areas around and a few trails. I walked one of them and plan to return to walk more. I am told there’s a large turtle residing on the grounds and I plan to return to try to find it. This is a great place to visit, especially if you do not want to travel all the way to Rehoboth or Ocean City for a day on the beach. You will still be subject to the same backup traffic as the exit for this place is the last before the Bay Bridge.