Camping

The weather was great for camping the last few months.  I spent several nights at CONG, some with others, some alone.  Here are some random photos from a few of those camping trips...

VIP Mike helps get the fire going

Some park folks stop by for a visit

Morgan, Cody, Laura, and John relax in the campground

One of the nights I was camping with Claire (introduced in a previous post), we scoured the blackberry bushes in the campground for dessert.  She was such a blast to hang out with!

Claire picking blackberries

Add a little sugar and mash for soupy blackberry goodness!

Corinne and Claire

One night Claire and I went down to the Boardwalk to check out the synchronous fireflies.  We kept the flashlights off for most of the hike.  It was amazing!  The forest is so cool when you are hiking by the light of the moon and the sounds are so different---the Barred Owls were very active that night.

As most people know, I'm not much for birthdays.  This year I was planning to camp on a day that just happened to fall on my bday, so you could almost say I celebrated it!  Cliff joined me and we had a nice, relaxed evening.  We had gotten word of an active pileated nest just off of the boradwalk, so we woke up before the sun to check it out.  It was pretty chilly, but we had a nice walk through the floodplain.

Cliff on the boardwalk early in the morning

We didn't find the nest, but we did find this HUGE LOBLOLLY PINE!  (It was kinda hard to miss!)

The weather has gotten pretty warm, but I'm feeling a little overdue for a night in the tent.  If the multi-day paddle doesn't happen soon, I'll at least have to do some "car camping".