High Above the Water

The traffic report started with "spotty fog around local waterways" but no back ups at the tunnel I needed to use. The sun hadn't yet risen as I hopped into the car and started for Hampton Roads Executive airport, to meet Rolf and William. Rolf is a volunteer pilot with SouthWings who will be taking William and me up for a flight to see tidal flooding from the air. William works at Wetlands Watch who organized this flight, among several others, and organizes the Catch the King Tide (CTK) events. I've been participating in CTK since it 2017 and a local tide captain for the last several years. Last year I was offered the opportunity to witness the King Tide from the air. I had helped the Wetlands Watch coordinator pick some good spots on the Lower Peninsula to see the flooding. Unfortunately, last year we had a large storm when my flight was scheduled so we had to cancel it. I did appreciate my pilot's openness discussing it with me and consideration for our safety when deciding to cancel.

Fog bank as we depart the airport

[Short] Elk Follow-up

 I am mostly a photographer but I have started dabbling in videos. Earlier this month while out watching elk in Southwest Virginia, I took some video along with a lot of photographs. I alternated back and forth and mainly focused on photos. However, I did capture some usable video that I've put together into a short summary. You can watch the most intense head-butting between elk that we saw.

Hope you enjoy and stick around for my next full post.

Virginian Elk

 It all started with a chat while kayaking. Last year my wife and I went on a kayak trip at a local Nature Conservancy (TNC) property. There were about 15 of us, including a few TNC staff, in addition to our guide. During the three hour trip, I had the chance to chat with most of the participants. One of the TNC staff told me about a trip she had just taken to another TNC property in the far western corner of Virginia to see elk and said if we were interested, to let her know and she would get us included in next year’s trip. It sounded really interesting, so my wife and I put it on our fall trip-list and, after a few coordination emails, we were headed to Abingdon, VA to see elk this fall.