Jetties build sand beaches

Did you ever wonder why Virginia's tidal rivers have such wonderful sand beaches? Oftentimes it is the human-made jetties that catch and deposit the sand.

James River flows through Virginia’s Mountains

Ever notice how the terrain dips down and you just know you’ll find a river or creek before the roadway starts its climb back uphill? The Blue Ridge Parkway winds down to a bridge and wow! There is the James River. Stunning!  I turned the car around first chance I got, came back, parked and hiked out on the bridge to get this shot of the James River, which then comes to Richmond on its way to the sea.

Flowers on the Gulf of Mexico

In all the years I’ve been going to Florida, I had never been in the summertime.  I figured it was too hot. (It WAS hot and very humid.) Surprise! There was a summer beauty I had never seen, such as these flowers crawling toward the Gulf of Mexico in Venice.

The Water Keeps on Rolling In

Saltaire is a small community in Lancaster County, Virginia on the Rappahannock River with the nicest people.  One thing that bonds the community is a gathering spot – a long pier that’s great for sunsets, fishing and just plain visiting with neighbors. Here the dock is pictured in solitude as the tide rolls in from the Chesapeake Bay.

Blue Ridge Majesty

The Blue Ridge Parkway is celebrating its 75th anniversary this year! Fall foliage season is coming up fast – here’s one of my shots from last year – so be sure to mark your calendar with some of the special anniversary events that are listed on this web site:

http://blueridgeparkway75.org/

Canoeing with Alligators

The first time my family went down the Myakka River, rumored to be teeming will alligators, we took the tour boat pictured here out of Snook Haven in Sarasota County, Florida. We didn’t see any alligators, maybe because the boat captain was a loud fellow (the dude really didn’t need to use that bull horn) so we decided to come back and rent canoes, pictured below, for a peaceful river cruise. The Myakka is a beautiful river, the scene of an original Tarzan movie (I didn’t believe the boat captain that the monkeys escaped and were still in the trees). We wanted to get up close and personal to the river life, you know, commune with nature on our own sweet time.

Yikes! The kids pushed off in one canoe before we could get ours loaded, and right away we heard them scream, followed by a big splash! They said it was a “great big” alligator on the river bank that jumped in the water while they were trying to get the hang of navigating the canoe. By the time we caught up with them, we didn’t see anything. I thought maybe their imaginations were running a bit wild after listening to the boat captain’s crazy stories. It wasn’t until the trip back hours later when we passed the same spot and I saw the alligator – a 14 foot monster!

We saw maybe a half dozen alligators that day, mostly babies and young adults. The alligators didn’t bother us and we didn’t bother them. One thing for sure, we didn’t go swimming in the river like we do when we canoe Virginia’s rivers! The turtles and the water fowl and scenery were awesome to behold but I kept scanning the river for trouble so it wasn’t quite the peaceful trip I had envisioned.

Later we went to a backwoods restaurant and what was on the menu but alligator and turtle! I ordered alligator, to complete the experience.  I’m not sure I would do either of those things again, canoe with alligators or eat them. But hey, I did it, and I’m still talking about it!