Off the beaten path

I’ve mentioned before how much I love having a state park practically in my backyard. I can hike and kayak there, and with my annual pass, it’s some of the best money I’ve ever spent.

With Spring Break still in full swing, I’m staying close to home to avoid both the beach crowds and insane traffic. What I didn’t anticipate, and I should have, was that the park would also be inundated with extra people.

It was a beautiful day for a hike, even with the added foot traffic. I took Asta with me, and enjoyed having my little Chester along for the fun. We took a lap around one of the two park trails. One trail hugs the bayou shore and the other, the one we took, wends around what used to be a lake.

Preserve restorations on the lake have helped it revert back to the natural wetland-creek that it once was. We tracked an ibis for a while, and scared a troop of turtles sunning on a log. Unlike our other Lab, who contrary to her dog instincts hates water, Asta is going to be a swimmer. I may have to get her a life vest and take her canoeing this summer. That will make for some interesting photo opps.

You can click on any image to see a larger photo, or the series as a slideshow.

(Photos shot with a Nikon D60, using an 18-55mm, 55-200mm, 20mm f/2.8 wide-angle, 50mm f/1.8 prime lens, Nikon CoolPix S205 and/or iPhone4)

For more photos, please visit my Flickr photostream.