Camping: Justify-ed

When the opportunity presents itself, accept it.  So we did.  A fire science conference in Alabama for Jamie lured us to Auburn's Chewacla State Park.  He set up camp on Thursday evening in the densely wooded campground, just a few miles off the interstate, attended his conference in Tallassee on Friday, and had steaks on the grill when I arrived Friday evening.  Perfect!

A little research indicated great photo opps at this state park, so of course, we had to make a weekend of it! So glad we did.

A few rays of the evening sunset gave just enough light to enjoy our dinner outdoors before the mosquitos came to dine.

View of the forest from our chairs under the SolAire's awning

We awoke in the pre-dawn hour for the short hike down to the lake for the sunrise, where I captured a few images of the morning stillness.  An hour or so later, we returned to camp for coffee and breakfast, before heading to the falls trail.

Can't resist a rickety bridge over mossy water in the early morning hours 

Love the line of these volunteers and the reflection of rope on the water 

Just a tiny bit of morning pink over the lake

This funny family at the Flamingo Rescue greeted us at the entrance to our campground.

Our timing was just right!  We hiked deep down into the forest, camera & tripod in tow, to capture the  silky water flowing over the rocky dam created by the CCC under Roosevelt's direction. As we climbed our way back to the car, we met several other couples and families.  So glad we got an early start.

Following the trail to the waterfall

Large rocks along the trail

Across the creek 

Patience while the photographer fiddles with her dials and takes "just one more" a dozen more times. 

Worth the hike down and the climb back up! 

From there, we headed west; Jamie wanted to show me the quaintness of Tallassee and the lake there where he had been the previous day.  We then circled north through Wind Creek State Park on Lake Martin, scoping out future campsites, and on to Alexander City, where we found a bustling Mexican restaurant for lunch.  Appropriate for Cinco de Mayo.

A lonely blossom in the forest

A wrong turn required a u-turn, but not before capturing this roadside beauty.

Upon return to camp, we tuned in to the 144th running of the Kentucky Derby.  The favored Justify claimed the roses.

A sunset walk through the campground ended our day.

We couldn't resist a second hike to the waterfall on Sunday morning.  After all, I needed to test a couple of new filters on my camera.  We also walked down to the creek and captured this arched stone bridge.

Arched stone bridge at Chewacla State Park

Sunday morning at the waterfall

A business conference, three morning hikes and a leisurely evening walk, many miles of midday sightseeing, and some fabulous photo opportunities justified our weekend away in Alabama.

I couldn't resist these train cars resting indefinitely in Sasser:

A line of train cars rests indefinitely in Sasser, Georgia

Because sometimes, I just like the way the sun hits something