Tag: scenery

Canada Trip, 2016: Franey Mountain

Michael RappaLeave a comment

The centerpiece of our stay in Cape Breton was our hike of Franey Mountain, an 1,100-foot ascent that took us between 3 and 4 total hours up and down. It could have been done more quickly but we took our time, soaking in and photographing the beautiful scenery of the Cape Breton Highlands along the way (as well as a pretty bird that I believe was a ruffed grouse).

There are two trails that lead to the top. The one we chose for the climb turned out to be the better one in terms of the views–we chose the other trail for the hike back down, which was much less challenging but also much less interesting from a scenery perspective. I don’t remember which was which, but if you’re looking at a map, the straighter looking trail is probably the less interesting one. Either way, you are likely to take both: one on the way up and the other on the way down.

Overall, it’s a beautiful hike. Climbers who reach the peak are rewarded with spectacular views of lush green mountains along a picturesque coast, as well as the opportunity to sign the hiker’s guest book attached to an Adirondack chair at the top. If you find yourself in Cape Breton, Franey Mountain is definitely worth a visit.

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Upstate New York Trip, 2015: Watkins Glen State Park

Michael Rappa

The photos below are from my hike through Watkins Glen State Park, a hidden gem located right on the main street running through the town of Watkins Glen. It’s hard to imagine that such a serene and gorgeous oasis of nature could be located so close to a bustling town (it was really bustling when I was there thanks to a car parade), but this park is such a place. It does not take long as you venture into the park for civilization to completely fall away to the point where you feel like you’re hiking through sublime wilderness.

The park has frequently been likened to Rivendell (of Lord of the Rings fame)—and with its myriad waterfalls, cascades, and stone bridges, it’s easy to see why. It is well worth the visit, and if you pair it with a visit to Letchworth (as we did), you will see two of the most beautiful state parks this country has to offer.

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American Southwest Trip, 2018: Bryce Canyon Navajo Loop

Michael Rappa

These photos are from my descent down the Wall Street portion of the Navajo Loop trail. The Wall Street name apparently comes from the high walls and narrow passageways (known as a slot canyon) characteristic of this part of the trail. A lot of these shots have that “alien planet” feel. Some of the more interesting pics depict tall trees rising up through the canyon walls to find the sun.

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Navajo Loop Trail (Wall Street Portion)
Navajo Loop Trail (Wall Street Portion)
Navajo Loop Trail (Wall Street Portion)
Navajo Loop Trail (Wall Street Portion)
Navajo Loop Trail (Wall Street Portion)
Navajo Loop Trail (Wall Street Portion)
Navajo Loop Trail (Wall Street Portion)
Navajo Loop Trail (Wall Street Portion)
Navajo Loop Trail (Wall Street Portion)
Navajo Loop Trail (Wall Street Portion)
Navajo Loop Trail (Wall Street Portion)
Navajo Loop Trail (Wall Street Portion)
Navajo Loop Trail (Wall Street Portion)
Navajo Loop Trail (Wall Street Portion)

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Upstate New York Trip, 2015: Watkins Glen

Michael Rappa

Some photos from our stay on Seneca Lake in Watkins Glen, New York. Our lodging (Watkins Glen Harbor Hotel) was walking distance to Watkins Glen State Park, which was fortuitous since the massive car parade in town would have made driving to the park a harrowing experience. The town itself felt a bit like stepping back in time to a bygone era, a sensation I’ve experienced in much of America the farther I’ve traveled from major metropolitan areas.

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Virginia Trip, 2018: Shenandoah National Park

Michael Rappa

These photos are from our drives along Skyline Drive in Shenandoah National Park, including hikes of Hawksbill Summit Trail and Bearfence Viewpoint Trail. Along the latter trail we missed the turn for the easier hike and ended up doing a difficult rock scramble though crevices and steep climbs. I’m sure the rock scramble on this trail is not a problem for experienced hikers, but for us it was a bit harrowing, especially since we were concerned about losing daylight before we made our way back down to the car.

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Skyline Drive
Skyline Drive
Skyline Drive
Skyline Drive: Hawksbill Summit Trail
Skyline Drive: Hawksbill Summit Trail
Skyline Drive: Hawksbill Summit Trail
Skyline Drive: Hawksbill Summit Trail
Skyline Drive: Hawksbill Summit Trail
Skyline Drive: Hawksbill Summit Trail
Skyline Drive: Hawksbill Summit Trail
Skyline Drive: Hawksbill Summit Trail
Skyline Drive
Skyline Drive
Skyline Drive: Bearfence Viewpoint Trail
Skyline Drive: Bearfence Viewpoint Trail
Skyline Drive: Bearfence Viewpoint Trail
Skyline Drive: Bearfence Viewpoint Trail
Skyline Drive: Bearfence Viewpoint Trail

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American Southwest Trip, 2018: Bryce Canyon Lookouts

Michael Rappa

These photos are from three different lookout points in Bryce Canyon National Park. The first few were taken at Piracy and Fairview Points as the sun finally peeked through the clouds toward the end of a dreary day. The majority of the remaining photos were taken on the following sunny day at various spots along the Inspiration Point trail.

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Piracy Point
Fairview Point
Fairview Point
Fairview Point
Inspiration Point
Inspiration Point
Inspiration Point
Inspiration Point
Inspiration Point
Inspiration Point
Inspiration Point
Inspiration Point
Inspiration Point
Inspiration Point
Inspiration Point
Inspiration Point

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Canada Trip, 2016: Cape Forchu

Michael RappaLeave a comment

On our final full day in Nova Scotia we spent a foggy morning at Cape Forchu. The following photos were shot at the Cape Forchu lighthouse and a nearby beach.

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Upstate New York Trip, 2015: A Niagara Detour

Michael Rappa

As we prepared to depart Letchworth State Park for Watkins Glen, we noticed that Niagara Falls was only 90 minutes northwest of Letchworth, so we decided to take a detour since we wouldn’t be able to check in to our Watkins Glen hotel until later in the day anyway. We had stayed on the Canadian side of the falls for our one-year anniversary back in 2002 but had never visited the American side, so this seemed like a worthy day trip—and it was.

The American Falls may appear less impressive from the Canadian side when you’re standing over the magnificent Horseshoe Falls, but looks are deceiving. When you’re standing above the American Falls or hiking up the side of them, you realize just how incredibly powerful they are. The American side also allows you to walk along and across the upper Niagara River and gaze upon the rapids as the river approaches its perpetual rendezvous with a cliff. Unfortunately, we could not get close to the Horseshoe Falls because they were doing construction, but we had seen plenty of them in Canada, so it wasn’t a huge disappointment.

Here are a few photos from our visit. As always, no photo or video can do justice to any major waterfall, and this is especially true of Niagara Falls—you really need to be there in person to feel the power of hundreds of thousands of gallons per second thundering over the edge and crashing to the river below in order to understand what an amazing natural wonder this place truly is. Both the American and Canadian sides are more than worthy of a visit.

The first hotel to the right is where we stayed on our one-year anniversary, with a room overlooking the horseshoe falls.

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American Northwest Trip, 2019: The Movie

Michael Rappa

This movie compiles all of the videos I shot during my trip to Glacier National Park, Montana and Seattle, Washington in September of 2019. One correction: the photo captioned as Victoria Falls is actually Virginia Falls, not sure how I made that mistake given that all the photos I shot were captioned properly.

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American Southwest Trip, 2018: A Rainy Day in Bryce Canyon

Michael Rappa

My first day in Bryce Canyon National Park was mostly a washout as it stormed heavily all day, but the skies did clear enough toward the end of the day for me to get some decent photos. I had tried waiting out the storm at my hotel but after a while I decided that I didn’t want to lose my entire first day (having already sacrificed my planned stop at Red Canyon) so I made my way out in the rain.

I started by driving all the way to the highest point at the end of the park, hoping the rain would be gone by the time I got there, but instead the rain turned to snow at the higher altitudes and the ground was covered in ice. I didn’t even bother parking the car after reaching the top since I was only wearing a windbreaker and also because I didn’t want to be stuck driving on icy mountain roads when it got darker, so I just turned around and drove back down the mountain. As I made my way down, the rain finally started to subside and I was able to hit some scenic lookouts.

The one good thing about driving through Bryce in a heavy rainstorm was that I practically had the entire place to myself. At some points it was eerily quiet, without even the sounds of birds or insects to break the silence. And some of the photos I took, while shot at a much lower than ideal aperture because of the gloomy conditions, have a unique look because of it.

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