I was finally able to get outside and do some riding and some more hiking this weekend. My doctor gave me some Allegra D and it helps enough with my allergies that I can get outside and be active. I still get a little stuffy or sniffly and have a little trouble breathing at times, but it’s a vast improvement.

Saturday, Dave and I hit the trails at Brown County State Park. This was our first mountain bike ride together since his accident around New Year’s. It’s great he’s finally back on the trails, and we had a gorgeous day for riding, in the upper 60s and sunny, with a breeze that felt great. We rode the North Tower Loop 3 times, twice clockwise and once counterclockwise. I wasn’t as sluggish as I expected after two weeks with basically no riding. There were a few muddy spots but overall things are in great shape. We rode for about two hours.

Sunday was a very full day. After getting some breakfast, Sarah and I headed to McCormick’s Creek State Park to take some photos and do a little hiking. I borrowed a Tamron 28-300mm lens from a coworker and wanted to try it out. I’m thinking about buying one, or something similar. It has some macro capability, and having that range of zoom is great. Here are some of my better shots. First, we went by the waterfall.

Falls at McCormick’s Creek

Another shot of the falls

Redbud. These are everywhere.

Ferns and moss

My favorite shot of the whole day

Foam in the creek

Stairs

After spending some time by the falls, we decided to head over by Trail 2, which we hadn’t hiked before. We looked at the map and saw it had a side trail to an old quarry. That sounded interesting, so we went for it. There were wildflowers everywhere by the trailhead, so we spent a while getting some shots of them.

 
Wild Blue Phlox

Virginia Bluebells

Mayapples — these are all over the place, too

Trail 2

The old quarry

Hardy plant

Huge frog

Quarry ruins

Creek

Another creek

 
Trail 2 again


Fiddlehead ferns, partially unraveled

Trillium

Jack-in-the-Pulpit

After our hike, we headed home, got the dog, and headed out for another short hike in the forest in my old neighborhood. We hiked for about 30-45 minutes.

Rob

After that, we went back home and I went for a brief road ride, about 14 miles. It was a full day and at the end of it I felt tired, but great. I’m glad that spring is here, and I’m finally able to properly enjoy it.

File under: Bicycling, Hiking, Mountain Biking, Nature, Photography, Road Biking, Spring