Wilderness and Wildlife Bliss

End of August, 2008 - Virginia
The Shenendoah Valley and Blue Ridge Mountains...





This was the longest stretch yet of silence and solitude (out of cell and web range for 9 days), but I was not alone. Much to my immense pleasure and delight I was blessed to see so much wildlife! As I pulled into my first campground in the national forest I heard a strange bird whistle and looked up to see... a black bear!! Whoo Hoo! This was when I fell even more deeply in love with my birthday present to myself - a new awesome high zoom digital camera. Oh the joy!

And this was NOT the largest biting fly I've seen!

Butterfly's abound here. As well as platter sized alien planet looking flowers of bright orange fungi! Frogs, salamanders and newts made themselves known to me too and seeing them all did my nature loving heart SO much good; especially the amphibians as they are primarily only found in healthy and intact eco-systems. This is indeed a wild, wonderful and pristinely gorgeous place.

Just before reaching my destination where I am currently house and pet sitting in Virginia, I stopped at a campground with an intreaging name, "Fairy Stone State Park." Tiny cross shaped stones are found here and legend has it they are petrified fairy tears. As I set up camp near dark, with the help of the friendliest and funniest camp host, and elderly gentlman from Mississippi who gave me his "business" card with a picture of he and his wife and thier tiny dog that read "Too old to work, too young to die - so here we are!" What a charachter! Just then it finally began to rain. They were having something of a serious dry spell in these parts and I knew the rain was welcome. And I welcomed it coming without thunder and lightening for once! But what I did not expect and have never experienced before was rain that came down steadily without ceasing for THREE DAYS!
To say I got a raging case of cabin/RV fever would be a vast understatement! Barn and I walked for hours anyway, getting soaked and not caring in the least. When it cleared at last I brought the camera with us and this is Fairy Stone.

This mushroom was larger than a dinner plate and just blew my mind!! I saw it on my first day and it was about 5" across. Then it rained for all that time and BOOM! A world record perhaps?I must have taken a dozen pictures of it! Mother Nature is creative and marvelous and infinite and I am continually in awe of her handi-work. What a blessing.

I sincerely hope you enjoyed these photo's, some of my trip favorites so far.

Much love and warm hugs,

Stef