Nockamixon State Park

First I need to mention that the German Satellite crashed into the Earth today, Nasa has stated that it could have landed anywhere from the Indian Ocean to China.  A large 1.7 ton reflector, is a prime concern because it is fairly heat resistant.

Fall is now upon us, this past weekend we had great weather, relatively clear skies and some winds.
So given the nice weather, I went for a hike at Nockamixon State park.  Every time I go to this place I a surprised at it's diversity, offering, hiking, fishing, hunting, swimming and boating.  I am sure I missed something on my list.  I first parked at a boat launching area, after checking my GPS, I started to walk and found the path blocked. A small yellow sign warns of this being a hunters area and beyond this point you should wear an orange vest.  

Please note that you can click on any picture here to enlarge the image view.

 Well I forgot that we are in Deer season, so I continued down this path. I then ended up near a crossroad and briefly noticed hunters hundreds of feet away.  I originally intended to follow my GPS through a long trail that would have led me to the lake shore through a narrow mud filled path.   I started to think that I may not be safe where I was hiking.  I walked a few more feet then I heard a powerful gunshot in the distance.  Well then I walked over to a field clearing and saw Haycock mountain, this is about 960ft high. This mountain is also known as Ghost Mountain.  I did not see an Albino Cannibal running around.  For more on that story, click here :  weird US

 Now being fully aware of this being a bad place to be, I thought to back track and see if I could find a hunter.  I did walk back to the crossroad and spoke to two hunters that I had waved to earlier, just so that they are aware of a crazy photographer that was walking around.  They confirmed that I was not in a good place and said I should get back to the main road.  I agreed and walked back down the asphalt path that I had originally came from. 

 
I got back to the area where my car was parked, and took a couple shots at the lake but I was not satisfied with them.  I found a map of the park and proceeded to plan my next stop.  I found another boat launch location, that was facing a more open area of the lake and I thought should have boats there to be seen.  Well I was right, it was a good move, I found fisherman, fishing boats and sailboats.

In the end the sky progressively got darker, the constant winds appeared to have brought thick dark clouds with it. This meant that the lighting conditions deteriorated for my work that day.  I wish I had more time there, but I felt that I did just enough to capture this moment of time.

Here is a final shot, not quite a sunset, but close enough to say goodbye to this lake for the day.
On a final note, be on the lookout by this Thursday, possible double low pressure fronts moving in to give rain into Friday, not sure if this will be a storm, but we cannot rule that possibility out.