There were more people out there than I usually see on my morning hikes. I ran into about three other folks my first trip through, but I was still the first to rouse the deer on the boardwalk. I walked the boardwalk, and decided to venture off to find the National Champion Loblolly Pine tree that a little ways down the Weston Lake trail. It's hard to show in a photo, but the grooves in the bark are 4-5 inches deep.
This monster tree was declared the national champion of its kind in 2009. It's 168.2 feet tall with a breast-height circumference of 15'8".
I was feeling playful, so I took a photo with Lolly. I guess I should have stood closer to the tree so that the photo might have better depicted its girth, but oh well...
Lolly stands a short jaunt off "Bridge D" on the Weston Lake trail. When I arrived back at the trail, something compelled me to play with the "fishbowl effect" on my camera. In general, I prefer straight-up, normal photos, but as I mentioned, I was in a playful mood! I think it turned out pretty neat. You can see the trees bowing down to me!
Back at Weston Lake, I heard what I think were probably Wood Ducks. By the time I got a decent view of the lake they were well aware of my presence and had fled to the far end, out of sight. I headed back to the Visitors' Center along the lower boardwalk.
When I am out on these mini-adventures, I have to compromise when it comes to my vision. If I wear glasses, using binoculars is very impractical. When I don't wear glasses, if I want to see something very sharply at more than ten or so feet, I have to use binoculars (or my camera). For comfort and logistics, I usually go sans spectacles. My eyesight isn't that bad anyway. As I walked along the lower boardwalk, I saw a spot on a tree not far ahead that looked, to me, like someone had stuck a light-blue spicket (Pennsylvanian for "faucet") into the tree. This is obviously a ridiculous idea, and I was a little perturbed, because I figured, whatever it was, it didn't belong there and was probably stuck there by a park visitor. Though there was the possibility that it was a research marker, these not being uncommon in the park. Despite all of these thoughts that went through my head over a period of about a quarter-second, I stopped where I was, minimized movement, and raise my binoculars. It was NOT a spicket!
My "gem" of the trip, a White-breasted Nuthatch! This little critter sat at eye-level on a tree 10-15 feet off the trail (at the closest point). I watched him. He watched me. There was not much for me to watch because he was not the least bit concerned about his guest. He didn't move a muscle, save for the occasional blink. I took dozens of photos, slowly approaching him. No need to be slow, he didn't care. I have seen one or two of these in the park, but never one so close and so still, and I've never gotten a photo (but y'all know this because if I had, I surely would have posted it here!).
[On this loop through, I also saw Pileated Woodpeckers, Hermit Thrushes, Ruby-crowned Kinglets, Winter & Carolina Wrens, and probably some others. All birds that have been showcased previously on this blog (except for the Kinglets, but there are no photos worth sharing), and none of the images I took are any better than what has already been posted.]
Back at the Visitors' Center I chatted with John and Kathleen for a while before setting on for the 12.5 hour drive to Shreveport. I love hanging out with the folks up there, they have some great people. I had planned to leave the park by about 10 or so, I left around 11, so pretty good timing, considering. I got as far as the Longleaf Campground (not far) where I parked to search my car for my missing phone. It wasn't there.
I distinctly remembered thinking about what I was going to do with my phone as I drove to the park that morning. Usually I just leave it in the car, I don't get very good reception out there anyway. But I remembered thinking about taking it with me for some still unknown reason. I did not, however, remember what I actually did with it! If I had taken it, which I must have done, I would have put it in my back pocket. The shorts I was wearing had pretty shallow pockets, and anytime that I might have squatted down to get a better angle on a photo could have relieved me of it.
Most people wouldn't believe it, but I love days when I leave my phone at the house. There is a freedom that can only come with one is not so readily accessible to the world. It's liberating! Many times I've been called phone-dependent. It's true, but it's a matter of convenience and productivity---or rather the illusion of productivity. But today was different. I was about the drive about 1,000 miles, most of it through the night, in a car that, knock-on-wood, has always served me well, but is getting up there in "mile-age". Not to mention, I was headed to a conference that I essentially knew nothing about. No need to look into the details of where I'm supposed to be when and how to get there if I can look it up when I'm on my way. So, not good.
I swung back by the Visitors' Center, gave the folks in there a heads up, and started retracing my steps. I left the camera and binos in the car. If I had taken them, it would have taken another two hours to make the loop because I can't resist the urge to stop, look, snap photos, etc. I had lost my phone in 27,000 acres of national park! I'm being dramatic. I knew exactly where I had been, and most of the time I was on the boardwalk. So, back on the elevated boardwalk. I pass some folks, "Have y'all seen a white cell phone?" "No." My big concern was that some well meaning hiker would find it on their way out, pick it up with the good intention of turning it in to the Visitors' Center, but not until they finished a day-long hike. I needed to get on the road! Weston Lake trail. Loblolly pine. Back to Weston Lake. Lower board walk. I passed a cute, older couple all dressed in shades of white. "Have y'all seen a while cell phone?" "Yes! I was going to call your momma and take it to the Visitors' Center!" Yay!!!
So, I spent more time out there than I had planned, but it was all good time, and I made it out of Columbia around 1 that afternoon, phone in hand.
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