Safe Solar Viewing of Solar Eclipse 2017

The most talked about celestial event of the year is less than a week a way. On August 21, 2017 the Moon passes in between the Earth and the Sun and this shadow is going to move across the Continental United States from Oregon to South Carolina. This is called a solar eclipse.

Only people in the path of the shadow will see an eclipse.

Everywhere not in the center of this path but in North America will be getting a partial eclipse while those on the path are going to see a total eclipse of the sun. Where will you be during the solar eclipse of 2017? Check out NASA's Eclipse 2017 website for an interactive map and see how much of an eclipse you will get.  Here is a collection of tips for viewing this really cool event with your friends and family.

Rule #1 - NEVER LOOK DIRECTLY AT THE SUN

Taken with cellphone camera with eclipse shades used as solar filter

The sun is way to bright to look at with your own eyes. Staring at the sun can burn your eyes damaging them and rendering you blind. When any part of the sun's surface is visible it is still dangerous to look at without protection. The only way to safely look at the sun directly is to use solar eclipse shades. To know if you have the correct, safe shades you need to see that they have ISO 12312-2 international standard certification printed on them. The only thing you should be able to see with these specially rated eclipse shades is the sun. (See picture of sun with filter.) Your regular, everyday sunglasses are not rated for direct solar viewing, DO NOT use them for the eclipse. 

Science museums, planetariums, observatories even some libraries have been giving away the safe solar eclipse shades however supplies is limited as the eclipse day approaches. Finding these shades online for purchase is not cheap. If you haven't gotten a pair of these eclipse shades, fear not! There are ways to experience the eclipse without going blind. 

Shadow Play - Eclipse Style

In doing research for this blog post, and for work, I have found some unique tricks to viewing the eclipse indirectly.

Pinhole Projector 

A pinhole projector is made using, as it says a pinhole to project an image of the sun. Take two cards card and poke a hole in one of them. Take both cards outside with you during the eclipse and stand with the sun to your back. Hold the card with the hole in it over your shoulder and the other card just a few inches away. If aimed right you should see a bright dot on the second card, this is the sun. You can move the second card away from the pinhole card to get a bigger projection. Making the hole bigger means you will have to move the card farther from the card or paper you are projecting to. Don't try to see the sun through the hole, this will blind you, always look at the shadow of the card.

Want to have some fun with your pinhole projections? 

Pinhole projection of a solar eclipse using a colander. Credit: Alice Pintus

Try poking out a message in your card. During the eclipse you will see crescent suns projected in the shape of your message.  Bring out some simple kitchen items like a spoon with holes, colander (the kind with big holes works better than mesh) and a grater with small holes. Aim these objects while looking at the shadows on the ground and when you get it to show the holes you will see little projections of the sun. Pinhole projection ideas.

Make a pinhole viewer tube

To simplify your pinhole projection during eclipse time make a pinhole view tube like the one shown here.  All you need is a cardboard tube like a mailing tube, you can even use a potato chip tube if you have one, thick index card and tape.  See instructions below, adult assistance required to cut through cardboard tube.

Pinhole viewer tube window with end capped off (Steps 1 and 2)

Step 1 - Cut a rectangle out of one end of the side of the tube to make a window. (See picture.)
Step 2 - Cap off the end of the tube with the window with white paper. (See picture.)

Step 2 - Tape a thick card or tinfoil to the opposite end of the tube from the window. 

Step 3 - Poke hole in the card taped on the end opposite from the window. 

If you are using a potato chip tub - Step 4 -  roll and stick dark paper inside inside the canister to reduce any brightness from foiled walls of the tub.  Re-cut the window out of the dark paper to see the white paper at the bottom.

Completed pinhole viewer tube
Pinhole on top -  Window and capped end on bottom

Once made take outside on sunny day have sun behind you and tip tube so that the end with the pinhole is pointing toward the sun and the window down to the ground. See picture of completed viewer tube to see how to hold it. To aim it right look at the shadow of the tube on the ground and tip the tube so the shadow looks like a circle and not a hotdog. When the shadow is a circle you can look through the window down to the paper and you should see a projected sun on the capped end inside the tube. During the partial eclipse phase you will see a crescent sun on the capped end at the bottom through the window when aimed correctly. The longer the tube you have, the bigger the projection will be. With the potato chip tubs the image will be small and slightly out of focus. A longer tube will be a bit more in focus and you can get a larger projected image of the sun. The bigger the pinhole the farther the screen needs to be to get it in focus. Interesting note - with the pinhole projection the image seen is upside-down.

Tree Shadows

Do you have a tree nearby? One really cool way to see the partial eclipse phases is to look at the shadow of the tree. In this shadow the tiny gaps between the leaves are acting as a pinhole projector and you will see crescent suns in the shadows.  As long as you don't break Rule #1 and look up through the tree to the sun, this is a safe fun way to see a projection of the sun being covered by the moon.

The Eclipse Tree - Credit & Copyright: E. Israel

Things to Remember

If you happen to be in the path of totality and the crescent sun in the shadow has disappeared, you can actually look up at the sun directly and witness the total eclipse of the sun. The sky will darken, you may feel it be a bit colder temperature, and you may notice animals behaving like it is almost night time. Of course, once the Moon is no longer blocking the full sun you need to look away, put those eclipse shades back on if you got them, and celebrate that you saw a total solar eclipse. 

For the rest of us not in the path of totality, but able to see a partial solar eclipse stick to the safe viewing tips mentioned above, my personal favorite that I will try is the colander projection method. Also remember, while the eclipse is a special event, being out in the sun is no different from any normal sunny day. Wear your sunblock, bring a hat, drink water to stay hydrated. With kids you can use these safe viewing methods of shadow play and have a good time. Whether go to a special eclipse viewing event or make one of your own, join millions of people across North America and experience the Solar Eclipse of 2017, Meet Me Outdoors.

For further information and other resources:

NASA's eclipse website, has lots of good resources - eclipse2017.nasa.gov  

Extreme detailed dos and don'ts of eclipse: https://dyer.vanderbilt.edu/solar-eclipse/ 

Tree shadows - https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap001225.html

Video: Why a total solar eclipse is such a big deal - https://youtu.be/oNH3akWXaV8

Blue Angels

I was on my walk through Federal Hill in Baltimore MD and saw the Blue Angels fly over. They are practicing for this weekend. Look for 4 bird like spots in the picture to see the planes. Enjoying the weather, Meet Me Outdoors.

4th of July Parade - Takoma Park

  

Yesterday was 4th of July which is Independence Day for the USA. I decided to go to a town just outside of Washington DC called Takoma Park to see their parade. The weather held out just enough to see the whole parade before it started raining.  

The pictures are some of the interesting sights of the parade.  There were music groups, vintage cars, a dance team, and lots of dogs.  The dog float was to bring awareness to dog park that was supposed to have been built a year ago has yet been built. 

My day ended with seeing a fireworks display. How did you spend the day? Meet Me Outdoors.

Light City

I went to the Light City festival yesterday. After work I walked all along the harbor watching them set up for the evenings festivities.

I enjoyed seeing the harbor come to life with the families all around.  Some of Baltimore's landmarks tricked out for the festival as well as livening up for the beginning of spring time.

Along my walk a saw many dragon boats were out on the water.  Something I have not done since I was a kid visiting Baltimore many years ago.   I found the Inner Harbor Water Wheel, working to clean the harbor of trash that sadly ends up there as litter. 

As the sun set the lights started to turn on and it was a more colorful glow than usual in the city. Seven Foot Knoll Lighthouse had an amazing light up design on it for Light City. The picture I have is before sunset, but after sunset it was amazing but I was too far for a picture.

One of the attractions for the festival was this colorful peacock.  The lights were definitely mesmerizing.  There is something really cool about all the lights at night. Even the cotton candy sticks were colorful blinky light wands.  Lots of light up swards, too. 

I was also amazed by the sunset yesterday I saw it between the buildings as I was finishing my walk before dinner. After dinner I went back to the light festival which was super crowded with families and adults taking in the amazing feature, concerts and general festivities.  But the fiery glow of the sunset really made me smile.  Hoping to explore more festivals throughout the summer season. Be sure to check out the local ones near you, Meet Me Outdoors

Parque Nacional Vulcan Masaya - Masaya Volcano National Park

I went to the Masaya Volcano National Park. They had a Visitor Center which has a great exhibit area about the history of the volcano and how volcanoes are formed geologically.   From there you can either either walk or drive to the top of the volcanoes.  There are two active volcanoes and five craters that are in active.  They also have guided tours in the day and even at night.

There are some precautions to note about visiting an active volcano. The sulfur gases and smoke are toxic so they don't recommend staying in the area longer than 5 minutes. It also can erupt or launch material at any time, so you have to be aware of the surrounding sand listen to ranger that is there for safety.  There was an area that had steps as you can see in the first picture that we could not go up due to some damage.  

The part of the park that I visited was called Plaza de Oviedo. It has a clearing for parking and is next to the opening of one of the active volcanoes.  There was a lot of the smoke and steam coming from the volcano, so seeing anymore than the edge that I was standing by was difficult.

Overlooking active volcano Masaya

After taking pictures of the volcano and its surroundings, it was time to head down.  I was with a friend who wanted to walk part of the trail while the others of the group were going to stay a bit before driving down. There was little plant life besides grass so there wasn't much shade along that path. We went about half a mile down before the group came by to get us.  I noticed that it still was another mile or so of driving down before we saw trees and other plants.  It is amazing how a volcano can change the landscape. Active volcano today, ancient volcano crater turned lake tomorrow, Meet Me Outdoors.

Richmond, VA - Maymont Park

Spring is here!  It finally feels like springtime and I was able to go visit with some friends down in Richmond, VA. While there we went to Maymont Park which is a great place for families. There are different habitat regions, gardens, and farm animals.

 I really enjoyed seeing the different animals and gardens.  The first animals we found were bison, they were on the way up to the Children's Farm. At the farm there were goats, chickens and a cow. Of course I got pictures.  Though it was hard to get some of the animals to stand still for the camera, the bison were the only ones to sit still. 
Some of the animals at the park that were in the wildlife exhibits had already gone in for the night. But the ones that were still out did come and say hi.

While we stuck to the Children's Farm, wildlife exhibits, and some of the gardens, there was far more to explore than we had time.  There is a Nature Center & Visitor Center which highlights the regional habitat. 

The chickens definitely kept moving around the most.  This is why they are off to the side of the picture.

 No, this isn't a two headed cow, the second one just had to be in the picture. 

This was nice stream we passed moving from one habitat area to the next. We were heading to the Japanese garden.  Walking through the gardens was really peaceful, a nice break from city life. 

This was a surprise find in the Japanese gardens. There was a snake slithering by and it looks like it had dinner recently. The snake is a bit camouflaged on the grass near the tree, but look for an oddly smooth branch like animal with a large bump in the middle.  It was certainly an interesting discovery.

I am looking forward to the new season and getting a chance to explore more outside.  Time for all of us to go outside and explore, Meet Me Outdoors.

Another Snowday in Baltimore

That's right, we have yet another snow day here in Baltimore, MD.  I just came inside after digging out my car, the one near the bottom right of the photo, and it hasn't stopped snowing. I figured I could clear half of the snow now and do it again later this evening when it hopefully stops.  I didn't bring a ruler out with me but I am guessing it was 6-8 inches of snow, it was about the same height as a stair step.  We are supposed to be 15 days away from the start of spring, but the snow just keeps falling. 

While I was out there clearing a path, two people were cross country skiing and there were kids pulling their sled to the sledding hill which is maybe a half mile from my house.  The neighbors kids were running around in the snow earlier, too.  

Last snow day my housemate decided to build a snow-person, the odd blob in the center of the yard is what is left of it.  Not far from my house there is a snow-sphinx that someone built.  People have been finding some fun ways to spend their snow days.  I am thinking of doing some knitting. What will you do? Meet Me Outdoors.

Swallow Falls Canyon Trail

The adventure of the day was to walk around Swallow Falls. It is a state park in the Deep Creek area of Western Maryland not far from where I am staying.  There is a small entry fee that goes toward preservation of the park.

There are two different waterfalls in the area and are connected by a looped path.  The group of us decided to start with Swallow Falls. The trek to the falls is simple, with some steps that lead you down to the falls. We knew we were almost at the waterfall as the sound of rushing water grew.  When we reached the falls we could see it was a popular spot. Lots of people were observing the falls and taking pictures or wading through water to feel the water flow over them. Since we didn't bring a towel or change of clothes we decided to watch and take pictures.

This first set of falls were relatively shallow but still a good drop.  The first picture only shows the top section of the falls from where I was standing, left of the frame is maybe a 20-30 feet drop and right of frame is the river that leads to it.  As we all know I don't like to get too close to the edge, but it was fun scrambling up some of the rocks along the water.

These are my friends going on an adventure between the rocks and trees. They were climbing around and then started to do funny faces when had my camera aimed at them.  Throughout the forest there are a lot of fallen trees. According to signage, the hurricane winds knocked many of the trees over.

We then trotted off to find the next waterfall, I spotted a really cool looking flower along the trial. Just as I pulled my phone out to take a picture the butterfly landed.  It moved around a few times drinking nectar from the flower as I took its picture.  Do you recognize it from a previous post? It is very similar to the one I found in the garden back home.  Can you spot the honey bee? Both the butterfly and the bee are pollinators.

After some winding paths we finally made it to the second waterfall called Muddy Creek Falls. According to the state park's website it is 53 feet tall.  The pictures to the left and below don't show the scale well but it is much taller than the first waterfall we walked by.  To the left of the falls there was a staircase that leads up to the top of the falls.  At the top there is a platform and a paved path to make it handicap accessible. 

 
 Over all it was a great time.  If you are ever in the area I'd recommend checking it out for yourself.  I look forward toward my next adventure as the week continues.  Go check out what your local state parks have to offer they might surprise you, Meet Me Outdoors.

Robert E Lee Park Walk

I went on a walk today with a friend at the Robert E Lee Park which is north of Baltimore.  I walked there before with a hiking meetup group a few years ago.  That time it was just following a group with someone who knew the trails well. This time I did my best to follow the trails stayed on the path but there were a few places where the path crossed with another or veered off in to some direction.  I used my walking app that maps where I walk with GPS and was able to see where we were going and where we needed to be. So we made a big loop but not exactly the trail that we were aiming for.  

 The first critter we saw was a snake as you see it on the bridge stone.  Of course when my friend went to get a closer picture she scared the snake and it slithered off. The park is dog friendly so in a lot of mud spots of the path we saw paw prints from dogs.  Other tracks are people's shoes and bike tires. Sometimes I saw deer prints in the mud patches. We even saw a deer off in the woods but it ran off out of sight. The last picture was an attempt to catch a frog in action. It was a teeny tiny frog.  It was so small I was amazed I even caught sight of it in the first place it is pretty well camouflaged. It was about the size of my thumb nail. To find it in the picture look on the stick, just to the right of the light. It kept hopping away from one side of the path to the other.

In all we did 4 miles of walking. It was hot out so afterward we made sure to get something to drink to rehydrate. It was good to walk get fresh air while exploring the trails.  Robert E. Lee Park is just up the road from where I live, so it was good to see try the local trails. Find a local park near you to explore, Meet Me Outdoors

 

A Lovely Sunny Day | Zachary Levi and Bert From Sesame Street | Mashable

Gotta love Sesame Street! This is a perfect example of why one should leave the computer and go explore outside.




I hope it inspires you to get outside.  I am sure to get out this weekend, as it is not going to rain.

Grab a sunhat and leave the tech behind, Meet Me Outdoors.

Robinson Nature Center

Recently I visited the Robinson Nature Center in Columbia, MD.  There is a great exhibits with lots hands-on and interactive features, which is great for all ages.  A section that talks about the local wildlife through the Chesapeake area as well as how the land was used where the Nature Center is located. 

While many who know me would think my favorite part was the NatureSphere, a digital planetarium and dome-style theater (and don't get me wrong it is up there as a favorite) I really enjoyed the nature trails out around the Nature Center.  The building has a roof garden that rolls off with lots of flowering plants to the tree cover where the trails are found.  Among the garden and flowers I found butterflies.  The two you see in the pictures are of the swallowtail family.  They get that name because their hind wings have a little drop shaped part similar to the tails of the swallow bird. The swallowtail butterfly is the largest butterfly in the United States.  Most swallowtail butterflies are found in more tropical climates.  The two common ones you see in the US is Tiger Swallowtail, with the yellow and black stripes, and the Spicebush Swallowtail, with the colorful dots along the bottom of its hind wings. Other butterflies which seem to not want their picture taken are the little white ones.

 Butterflies are pollinators going from flower to flower spreading the pollen around as they enjoy the nectar for food. The second picture has another pollinator buzzing around the flowers, can you see it?  It's a bee! The nature center actually has a bee hive that you can see into as the workers come and go.  No worries, the hive is fully inclosed but outside in the gardens you can watch as they collect the nectar to bring back to be made into honey.

The trails weave through the forested areas, over and around creeks and along streams. Trails are all less than a mile to explore and are nicely labeled with little trail markers (blazes) of either a hiker or an arrow. 

Whether you are inside exploring the Nature Center's exhibit area, seeing a show in the NatureSphere or simply exploring nature itself this is a great place to do it.  Find a nature center in your area and have an adventure, Meet Me Outdoors.

A Day Outside: Berry Picking, Orioles Game AND Concert in the Park!

What a day!  I basically just spent the whole day outside.  What could have been a cloudy rainy day according to the forecast on Friday turned into a hot and humid day in the sun.  I brought my big sunhat, sunglasses and lots of sunscreen... still got a bit of of a sunburn but not as bad. Now on the aloe treatment.  Next time more sun screen!

Today started early with a trip to Larriland Farms were I met one of my friends and we picked raspberries.  They have both red and purple variety at this time of year and even blue berries.  We stuck to the raspberries and got over 5lbs worth that we split between the two of us to take home.  It was getting to be really hot out with the sun overhead so we didn't stay much past noon.  I have already eaten a bunch and the rest are in the fridge waiting for me to blend into a nice smoothie that may turn to sorbet if I decide to freeze it.  Seeing that the rest of this week is looking to be another lovely heatwave, having some sorbet might be perfect use for the berries... Boiling them down into jam is a great way to help preserve them, maybe even a fruit pie, but I enjoy quick and simple so blend, drink, freeze.

Right behind home plate!

 Midday, after I sorted and cleaned the berries I brought back I went to the Orioles vs Blue Jays baseball game.  I traded in the tickets (thanks Grandmom) for a seat that was in the lower level and with some shade.  Turns out I got a great seat, just a few rows below the press box and right behind home plate.  Of course there was a tall guy sitting in front of me who blocked my view a bit, but otherwise really good seats... My brothers might be a bit jealous, but I can't control that.  Because I didn't have too many distractions of other people I actually was able to pay attention to the game... O's won!

Panorama view from my seat

Even a dragonfly wanted to watch the game (it's on the wire)

The panorama view is from the game midway through. I took it from my seat above the head of the tall guy you see in the above picture to the right of the frame. My standard baseball game snack is cotton candy but I also got a fruit smoothie as a nice healthier drink choice that also is very refreshing in this hot weather.

After the game continued on to phase 3 of my day outside in the sun... interestingly enough it's a Sunday.  I moved on to Patterson Park for their summer concert series.  Today's musician was Ellen Cherry.  The concerts are held outside on the eastern lawn of the Patterson Park Pagoda.  Bring a lawn chair, picnic blanket, kids, dogs, munchies, whatever and chill out to some awesome music. Concerts are free and open to the public from roughly 6:30p-8:30p. 

Before the concert by the Pagoda

I tried to get a group of people together but only one person found me, it was pretty crowded.  There was a nice ambiance, for lack of a better word. We picked a nice shaded area below the Pagoda to sit and listened to music.  I brought munchies... including some of the berries I picked.

The picture on the left is from before the concert.  I was walking over a bit early and stopped in the shade a bit before climbing the hill.  Did I mention it was hot outside?  People do climb up inside the Pagoda to see the skyline view of Baltimore.  I prefer the ground level maybe a hill view as you can see in the picture below.  I guess you can call it the "after picture" because the hill is filled with people and you can see Ellen Cherry in the white dress on stage singing. The Pagoda is behind me.  As the sun got lower into what photographers "Golden Hour" which is when everything seems to have a nice golden glow at sunrise and sunset.  I wasn't quiet able to capture that effect in my own pictures, but I was able to observe it from my spot on the hill. 

After my long day outdoors I am happy to be relaxing indoors again wondering where my next adventure may take me.  Stay cool everyone, Meet Me Outdoors.

Little purple flowers

When I came home from work today one of my neighbor's kids was out riding her trike along the sidewalk.  She stopped when I pulled up my car and couldn't wait to tell me about some flowers that seem to have gone missing from the lawn of my house. Earlier this spring, maybe around late February or early March (I know spring is technically end of March but it was a mild winter) there were these nice little flowers that popped up around the lawn. They had broad petals, a light purple in color and were relatively low lying along the ground, should have taken a picture.  Anyways, my neighbor was eager to point out that they not there anymore, and wondered where they went. My answer was that the flowers may show up again later but for now there are yellow flowers in the lawn. She pointed to some other smaller purple flowers on her lawn that were near some yellow ones. I was happy that she was noticing all the different plant life in our area, even if most people would identify them as weeds. 

Between when I last saw the purple flowers of a few months ago and today there have been a series of mini-snow storms that could have frozen some of the early bloomers. However the daffodils in the median of our road toughed it out despite the bit of snow and are now in full bloom. Also in bloom are cherry blossom trees, I passed a few with white flowers and pink flowers on my drive. I hope to go out and take some pictures.  Keep exploring your neighborhood green spaces, Meet Me Outdoors.  

Grand Canyon - Arizona

The much anticipated Grand Canyon was planned for the end of our road trip.  We stayed in Flagstaff, AZ and drove up to the South Rim of the canyon.

As mentioned in my pre-road trip blog post that I wanted to get a good panarama of natural sights along the trip, and the Grand Canyon was the place to do it.  Grand Canyon has trails along the rim where you can walk and get various views of the canyon.  There are also places where people can hike down to the base of the canyon, but for this trip we decided that the view from the top is the one we wanted.

View from Mather Point

We started at the Grand Canyon Visitors Center, walked over to Mather Point then to Yavapai Point and Geology Museum. At the Geology Museum there are hands on activities that show the geological history of the canyon and how it was formed. The museum also has park rangers who can tell you about the canyon and some of its interesting features.  Binoculars were available for visitors to use to look down into the canyon.

View of Canyon and Yavapai Point from Mather Point

 From Yavapai there is a walk called the Trail of Time that has samples of all of the layers of the canyon and information about it.  It was recommended by some people we met in our travels to go along that trail as it is very informational.  However, we didn't get a chance to go, so another time perhaps. 

 The park has a shuttle service that takes visitors between the various lookout points along the South Rim.  It runs on a regular schedule so it is easy for people to get around if walking between points is a challenge, or if you want to see more places in a limited time.

I saw lots of families walking around, and strolling along the trail.  Located at each of the visitor centers is information on how kids to become a Junior Ranger as part of the National Park Service experience.  While I am a bit old to be a Junior Ranger, I enjoyed seeing the rangers inspire the next generation. 

No matter where in the Grand Canyon I was, the views were always amazing.  If we stayed longer into the afternoon or early evening when angle of the sun is not directly overhead, the views are said to be even more awesome.  It only gives more reason to return another day.  Until then, I will just have to enjoy the views I captured from my trip.  Enjoy the pictures, Meet Me Outdoors.

Spokane, WA

These last few days after Seattle have involved mostly driving and staying in places that are in very small towns, starting with the not so small town, more like a small city of Spokane, WA. 

Tour Train of Riverfront Park

From Seattle we took a train to Spokane, WA which is a place that actually a decent size city in the eastern part of Washington. While there we walked around the Riverfront Park.  The park has lots of fun family things to do. There is a carousel, tour train, and amusment park rides. Embracing our inner child, we went on the dragon coaster, which is one of those mini roller coasters for kids. It was a nice day out so there were lots of families around enjoying the last days of summer before the school year begins.    

Through out the park area there were some interesting sculptures.  This one under the bridge caught my eye, but the one we were in search for was the big red wagon. As you can see from the photo, it is a super-sized Radio-Flyer red wagon that kids can climb on and slide down the handle.  I joined the fun and slid down, too.  It was a great way to start the day before hitting the road with lots of driving.

Me going down the slide as kids watched

Besides the great time playing in the park, I made some interesting observations of the natural side to the park.  There were ducks and geese around in the water, but what caught my eye was the water itself.  Coming from a place where water tends to look murky at best in the harbor, I was rather surprised how clear the water was at the park. I could see all the way to the bottom. I had to take a picture of it because it was just that amazing.  Crazy I know, but I live in a city where you can't even see an inch below the surface, so this was out of the ordinary for me.  

From Spokane we picked up our rental car and started our big drive. I can safely say that I have seen places where there are more trees than people, and lots of wide open spaces. This final picture, was taken when we stopped at random to take pictures of the natural sights along the scenic road we were driving.

More to come as the adventure continues, Meet Me Outdoors.