Photos from my camping trip

About once a month the wife and I get out of town for a couple of days. I recommend it to everyone. No phones, no computer, no TV or radio. Just us & nature. It's refreshing and quiets the mind. It allows you the opportunity to self reflect and to put life into perspective. It also give you the chance to witness natures beauty and the reality of the wild.

This time around, we rented a cabin just outside of Quitman, TX for our "get away". I just wanted to share a few pictures with you all. They are too beautiful to not.

Do you see the toad in this picture:













OK, so this picture is grainy, but fun nonetheless



People think of Texas and they think desert, but here is some good old East Texas River bottom



This is a nice series I captured of Egrets moving in on a roost for the evening







More River Bottom



Welcome to the Jungle







I can't believe I got this close to this goose



I would like to close with a couple of quotes from the Father of Wildlife Conservation, Aldo Leopolde (as recommended reading, I would suggest his book titled A Sand County Almanac)

"We abuse land because we regard it as a commodity belonging to us. When we see land as a community to which we belong, we may begin to use it with love and respect."

"Harmony with land is like harmony with a friend; you cannot cherish his right hand
and chop off his left."

I hope you all enjoyed, I know the wife and I sure did.

[edit on 18-9-2009 by Aggie Man]

Grrrr...my photos don't fit...they are all cut off...any suggestions?

EDIT: I figured it out...just took a little reading LOL

[edit on 18-9-2009 by Aggie Man]

Cool! I love nature and feel like the Earth is such a beautiful place. Yes it's harsh, yes it's dangerous but for as harsh and dangerous it's as amazing and beautiful. I think the only people that have ever been truly free and have lived as close to as what humans should live were Native Americans. Their connection and sensitivity to the Earth was very touching and we are so far removed from that connection nowadays it's depressing.

Beautiful pics. Hope you don't mind me adding a few pics of where I watch the local egrets! These are all taken from the back of the boat I live on.

reply to post by Karilla


Beautiful pics as well! I don't mind at all. Thanks for sharing.

reply to post by Aggie Man


Very nice! Looks relaxing.

Edit: Didn't see the part where you mentioned the location, it looks a lot like north Florida, lot's of Kudzu here.




[edit on 18-9-2009 by lucentenigma]

Thank you, they are beautiful images. I needed to have a nice relaxing break. Very good photography, too. I loved the toad!

Thanks again!

Great photos! there all very stunning!

also just as a reminder we have a BTS photography thread which would be great to add any photos you take!

www.belowtopsecret.com...

Everyone loves sharing them on there,

[edit on 18-9-2009 by asala]

reply to post by Aggie Man


Thanks for sharing these pics with us.

I make irregularly timed getaways.
When the mood strikes me, I head out further into the woods and fields and mountains. I never take off with a definite destination. If that were so, I might miss some mighty pleasurable experiences. I never know how long I will be gone. Sometimes up to two weeks. This plays hell on my wife, though, who would like to know I am safe and sound always, everyday. But sometimes my excursions take me to places where the cell phone just reports to me, No Coverage Available. Oh, well. What do I do no these trips? Walk. Explore. Sit. Oh, how I can sit in exclusion, listening to birds and small critters and just enjoy being alive. I write. i take photos. I sketch. And it's all meditation to me. I give you great kudos, OP, for getting away from time to time just to let the noise of the world recede and enjoy that which earth offers us.

I would be pleased if your post and photos encourages more folks just to embark upon some getaways. Take a break from time to time and just enjoy and let yourself be immersed in the beauty of our dwindling natural environs.

Next January, dress is warm clothes. Walk, run, drive, whatever way you can get there, to where you are going, on a clear night, get away from the lights of civilization and just lay down in the snow and stare at the sky and count the meteors you see. A thermos of hot coffe wouldn't be a bad idea to take along with you. Take a friend. Take friends. Make new friends and invite them. Talk and dream and think of things you believe your ancient ancestors might have talked about. It's all great fun.

I hope I am not too far off topic here. But I am responding to the photos and the idea of a getaway, which is good for the spirit.

reply to post by kyred


I couldn't agree more! Thanks for the kind words too!

reply to post by Libertygal


Thank you! I love the toad picture too. My wife took 3 pictures of it with her camera...only to get home and discover that she didn't even have the toad in frame...seems it's camouflage worked

Great stuff!! The toad took me a minute.
I've been out over a dozen times this year but your images make me want to pack up right now and head out!

A couple of weekends ago I headed out for a little escape and snapped these images of where I stayed. I'm a big advocate of zero impact camping. I like to blend in and pick spots where I can see all the wildlife happening around me. I picked a thin bush and I used the least amount of shelter that I could get away with for a comfortable stay so that I could watch all the wildlife at night. Ahhh, heaven.
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And this was the view.
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Great pictures, thanks for sharing them.

Last summer I went on a hike in the Olympics (WA) that went from the forest to the beach. When we got close to the beach we ran into many young deer. They would walk to within about 5 feet of us with no fear. It was fantastic. Everyone needs to find time to appreciate nature and our wildlife and the beautiful places on this planet.

reply to post by Aggie Man


Thanks I appreciate that very much; I grew up in Tejas, and haven't been there in several years. Always good to have memories.

S&F

be back with pic

Here are a few more that we took while we were there.


This is the cabin we stayed in


More flowers




A raccoon up close & personal




WARNING: Do Not Try This Unless You Are a Skilled Professional


[edit on 19-9-2009 by Aggie Man]

reply to post by dainoyfb


to zero impact. I subscribe to the same theory...pack it in, pack it out. I always try to leave the wilderness cleaner than I found it.

Nice pics too!

Originally posted by Orion65
Great pictures, thanks for sharing them.

Last summer I went on a hike in the Olympics (WA) that went from the forest to the beach. When we got close to the beach we ran into many young deer. They would walk to within about 5 feet of us with no fear. It was fantastic. Everyone needs to find time to appreciate nature and our wildlife and the beautiful places on this planet.

Thank you for the kind words! I love seeing deer while out on my exploratory excursions. For some reason, they seem to be very majestic to me...more so than any other animal in the woods.

Much of those photo's you could easily mistake the landscape for being in parts of England, nevermind across the world in Texas.
I guess my ideas of it being a desert with the occasional dirt road leading off to a City were far-fetched.

reply to post by Aggie Man


That cabin looks really nice. Hardly camping though, is it? That's my idea of a camping trip, I don't see why you have to rough it!

Great photos again.

reply to post by Karilla


Roughing it???? I even have my shortwave with me so I can listen to C2C AM before drifting off to sleep under a ceiling of stars. Does this look like roughing it?
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