Little River Canyon and Murphy Hill - October 24, 2020

 The forecast included a chance of rain showers and clouds, the type of day most people stay home.  But with a new lens to try out, I wanted to capture fog in the mountains in the early morning light and so it was forecast to be the perfect day for just that.  We set the alarm early with the goal to be in the canyon right around sunrise.

Many may be surprised to know that Alabama is home to its own canyon.  The Appalachian mountains reach into the northern part of this state.  Little River Canyon National Preserve is probably one of the most special places in Alabama that we have visited and a place we keep coming back to.  This was our first visit during the fall.  And although I went looking for fog and did find some, I was taken aback by the beauty of the fall colors.  I was not expecting the colors to be this far along.

Our first stop was Little River Falls Overlook.  Hwy 176 (Little River Canyon Rim Parkway) is an incredibly scenic drive along the top of the canyon with many overlooks to get some incredible views.  Coming from the north, the Little River Falls Overlook is the first you will encounter and gives views of Little River Falls.

We then continued on to Lynn Overlook for more views of the canyon and to hopefully find some fog.

We continued south on Hwy 176 until we reached Mushroom Rock.  We had yet to see any cars travel down this highway all morning so had ample chances to get just the right shots.

Normally we would have continued south to more overlooks and to enjoy more of the canyon but we had plans for another trail near Lake Guntersville and wanted to spend some time at Little River Falls itself before heading that way.  So we backtracked to the Little River Falls parking area off Hwy 35.

We then headed towards Lake Guntersville to hike a 4.4 mile loop at Murphy Hill near Langston, AL.  This was our second visit to this trail.  Last time was during the heat and humidity of the summer and we had made quite a few other stops that day and so that time we didn't make the whole loop and turned around before we got half way done.  This time the weather was in the upper 60s which makes a world of a difference when hiking.  It is a very quiet trail, clearly a well kept secret because it is a great trail that is quite flat and really beautiful with forests, marshes, and even a few views of Lake Guntersville.  In the two visits, we have only seen one other person hiking.  

A great blue heron flying away

A juvenile red-headed woodpecker

The juvenile red-headed woodpecker again - you can see the red of his head just starting to come in.

I wish I had my macro lens to get a better photo of this spider.

Eastern Phoebe

This is where it started to sprinkle and so Paul was anxious to get back under the cover of trees.

We didn't let this down tree stop us from seeing the end of the peninsula with views of Lake Guntersville.

It's mushroom season in Alabama and these little ones were all over the forest floor.

Shortly after the mushrooms, the rain sprinkle became more of a steady rain and so the camera had to be put away.  Fortunately the last 1.5 of the trail is not nearly as scenic so we didn't feel like we were missing much by picking up the pace.  Even despite the rain, it was a hike that was well worth it and overall an amazing morning but it was time to head home.

Lake Guntersville State Park - February 14-16, 2020

First Church Birmingham has been holding an annual retreat at Lake Guntersville State Park for the last four years.  This year was our first chance to attend the retreat and our first visit to this state park and it really was a great weekend with a chance to connect with good friends and with nature.

We shared a mountain chalet near the lodge with good friends which turned out to be great accommodations!  The chalet was a retro style cabin with two bedrooms, a Jack and Jill bathroom, and a huge open living room with a gas fireplace, dining, kitchen area.  It also had a wrap around patio porch which was up on the mountain overlooking Lake Guntersville.

We arrived Friday night just in time to see a spectacular sunset and all the active deer along the road to the lodge.

The stars Friday night were amazing and I was quite impressed with what night mode on my iPhone 11 Pro Max was able to capture (below was basically pitch black).

With such a long day, we snuck out early from that evening's church session and met our friends at the chalet to let them in and enjoy what was left of the evening to catch up and get settled.

Both Saturday and Sunday I made a point of getting up super early before anyone else was awake.  I wanted time to watch the sunrise, listen to the birds, take some pictures, and just immerse myself in the sounds of nature.  I find that there is something very calming about this time of the day, especially when surrounded by such beautiful nature.

Saturday morning's sunrise

A few bird photos from Sunday morning

Eastern Phoebe

Downy Woodpecker 

Eastern Bluebird

Our church sessions were held at the Lodge which had an amazing view of Lake Guntersville.

On Saturday, we had the afternoon free of scheduled activities and so we took a hike (to the bottom of the mountain and back!) in search of some eagles.  We didn't get very close to any eagles but we did see some amazing wildlife.

Eastern Bluebirds were everywhere!

American Robin - I'm still not used to seeing them in February!

American Coots

Turkey Vulture

A view from the water level up to the top of the mountain - you can see the lodge at the top in this photos.  The chalets (which are not visible in this photo) are in a line to the right of the lodge.

Lake Guntersville

A closer view of the lodge

American Coot

Killdeer

American Coots

Killdeer

American Coot 

Photos of two different bald eagles

We started heading back to the trail that would begin the climb back, when we noticed this deer just hanging out in the RV park.  He didn't seem to mind all the people or dogs nearby.  

As I was photographing the deer in the photos above, we noticed cars pausing both directions just up the road so we decided to go check out what all the commotion was about.  To our surprise, we came across an entire family of deer just grazing on the side of the road.

Then began the climb back up, first on the shortcut we found, Daniel's Trail which connected with the Lodge Trail we had taken to get down.

On our way to dinner at the lodge, the sunset put on such a show over Lake Guntersville!  Fortunately, the food was running a bit late, so I didn't miss anything.

After the retreat was over and before we headed home, we stopped at the Town Creek Fishing Center area in hopes of seeing some eagles.  We did not find any eagles but the wildlife did not disappoint.

This Great Blue Heron was guarding the overgrown hiking path.

A pair of double crested cormorants

Eastern Bluebird