Journal
Thoughts, but written down.
Blue Ridge Mountain Travels of Lane and Nancy Hubbard
"The Mountains are Calling and I must go", John Muir
Living in Roaring Gap, NC, Lane and Nancy Hubbard have made their retirement vocation that of traveling and documenting the Blue Ridge Mountains. Lane is a retired Naval Aviator and Teacher and Nancy is a retired Registered Nurse.
Lane is uniquely qualified to explain the formation and geology of the Middle and southern Appalachians, having flown low level training flights during his Navy career and studied Geology at the Masters level. Nancy and Lane are photographic enthusiasts and share a love of the mountains. An understanding of the evolution of the Appalachians gives new meaning to their majesty and beauty.
Their travels and documentation have taken place from the northern mountains of West Virginia south to the northern mountains of Georgia. The Appalachians, and the Blue Ridge in particular, are ever changing with all four seasons prevalent, as well as a vast diversity of flora and fauna.
In other travels, Lane and Nancy have visited Yosemite National Park and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, and some of the images from these trips are included in this site.
It is Lane and Nancy's intention to share the images they have made from their travels. They can be standing in virtually the same places with almost the same camera and each make a different image. Enjoy!
Spring Wildflowers on Mountaintops
Bluets: Small Spring blooming wildflowers that carpet the high altitude roadsides in late Spring a lovely blue.
Dutchmen's Breeches: Looks like miniature white pantaloons, somewhat inflated suspended from a slender flowering stalk.
Great Chickweed: The five petals that make up the blossom of great chickweed are so deeply notched that it appears that there are 10 petals instead of five.
Spring Beauty: This tiny flower has veins of dark pink which enhance the beauty of this simple flower.
Wild Strawberry: The popular red fruits of this flower are considered superior in taste to the cultivated strawberry, and these are found throughout North America on hillsides and roadsides.
- We are so happy to see Spring arrive in the Blue Ridge Mountains. We usually get the Spring weather about one month after the lower elevations, so we can look longingly over the mountainside and watch the trees become green up the hillsides. Even before green leaves appear on trees, there are pretty little wildflowers blooming in the surrounding woods. The wildflowers are pictured in the order they are described. It is a fun project with young children to have a wildflower hunt--almost as good as an Easter egg hunt, and much healthier!
Cherry Blossoms Frame the Tidal Basin
To be interested in the changing seasons is a happier state of mind than to be hopelessly in love with spring. ~George Santayana
- On Saturday, April 3, 2010, I had the really good fortune to be in the Washington, DC area while the cherry blossoms were at peak. I arose at 5:00 a.m., and my husband drove me to the area. It was "packed" with onlookers and photographers, so he drove around the ellipse while I made as many pictures as I could. Everyone was really wonderful. They looked, took pictures, and quickly moved out of the way for those of us waiting to look, and photograph. You could not help but enjoy the beauty!
Ah! It is to be Shared
This is a slideshow of some of my images with poetry.
Winter at Great Falls, VA
This past weekend, March 6-7, 2010, we had our first opportunity to travel to the Washington, DC area. While there, we went to Great Falls on the Potomac River. Winter can be a challenge to create images, but we were pleasantly surprised by what we saw at Great Falls. The snow and ice had cleaned the bolders and brought out the colors much more vividly. There was a rainbow-like effect on the water, which was higher than we have ever seen it.
Rime Ice Atop Mt. Rogers
On February 19, 2010, we had one of the most beautiful days that we have had this season, so we decided to drive to Grayson County, VA to see how it looked there after the many snow and ice storms. We were greeted by some of the most beautiful winter scenery we have ever seen. Rime ice had formed in the Grayson Highlands area, and it had snowed recently, adding to the drama. This image was made along with others on the "Recent photos" page. They are all High Dynamic Range images.
Northwest North Carolina on Ice
The Winter of 2009-2010
This winter we have experienced very harsh conditions: five major storms, very cold temperatures, and snow on the ground except for two days since December 18. We are currently under a High Wind Advisory with single digit wind chills. I have been experimenting with shooting through the window, moving from window to window in our great room to capture the ice and snow covered view.