Holidays at the Park

Fellows Riverside Gardens is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year, and the "golden year" theme is evident throughout the park. Dec. 6, in fact, launched the park's Winter Celebration: Golden Holiday. And yes, we were there.

No, we didn't drive through the park this time -- it was a rather gloomy and quite cold day, the kind that cameras hate. In minutes, almost brand-new batteries can cease functioning -- an experience my husband and I try to avoid (not to mention fingers so cold they won't bend to push the shutter button). In fact, the main purpose of our trip wasn't the park at all. Rather, it was to stop at the only real camera store left in our area, which is the Youngstown suburb of Boardman Township. My husband was looking for a backpack-type camera bag to make toting all his gear a bit easier, and I needed a smaller bag that will hold my Canon SLR, a couple of special filters and maybe one extra lens. The huge bag I have now is great for keeping all my equipment in one place, but it's so heavy that it's impossible to carry more than a few feet.

That said, the park is on the way, so we decided to check out the holiday decorations, which always are impressive. Besides, today is World Day of Photos at one of our favorite Web sites, PhotographyVoice.com; members upload photos taken wherever they happen to be any time during the day. The visitor center not only was warm, but we figured it would give us plenty of chances to snap something for the Web site -- so we decided to stop there before heading on to the camera store and lunch.

At least an hour and 300-plus photos later, we were on our way again. Needless to say, the visitor center was decorated to the hilt; everywhere were live poinsettias in pale yellows and bright reds and gorgeous red amaryllis. In between are beautiful Christmas trees, carefully created by local organizations. A gorgeous gold-bowed tree stood tall in the cafe, which offered a lovely view of Lake Glacier and other decorated trees and holiday garlands on the outdoor patio. The lower floor, too, is filled with a number of the decorated Christmas trees.

On the main floor, the gift shop fairly glistened with sparkly wreaths, vases, ornaments and other goodies that would make wonderful gifts. Another small room is devoted to children, with colorful origami birds suspended from the ceiling amid organza clouds and "shop windows" filled with enchanting displays of shoes (think Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz), hats and such.

Of course, we took our time and got some great photographs before deciding we'd had enough. Then it was on to the camera store, where both of us got early Christmas presents. We capped the morning off with lunch at the Golden Corral, a buffet that is so awesome it's impossible to describe. We'd visited one for the first time the day before for an article I'm writing for the newspaper on "bountiful buffets" and quite literally waddled out. I guess we simply couldn't believe our good fortune and wanted to confirm that what we'd experienced was real. For the record, it was; nearly seven hours later, I still can't even think of eating again.

All Good Things Must End

Given all my allergies that seem to take a turn for the worse in the fall -- things like the dust and mold from the falling leaves, ready for harvesting hayfields and such -- you'd think I'd want to hibernate this time of year. Not so: In fact, this is my favorite season of all. The weather is cool (anything much above 80 degrees and I turn into a shrew), and who can resist all that gloriously colored foliage?

By this time, though, much of that color has disappeared, falling to the ground to be raked up into huge piles that delight children (just not me -- those allergies, remember)? Even worse, Nov. 2 marks the end of Daylight Savings Time in this neck of the woods, meaning that for the next five months or so, darkness can fall before most folks get home from work.

So yesterday, the last day of October, we headed to the park for what we suppose is the last time before the trees and bushes are predominently barren. From then until the first big snowfall, there's not much worth photographing.

When we arrived at the visitor center, we noticed park maintenance crews and volunteers hard at work cleaning out flower beds, mowing and otherwise preparing the area for the onset of winter. Pumpkins, gourds and orange ribbons still are scattered here and there, adding touches of much-needed color to some of the now-leafless nooks and crannies.

In one way, it was sad; it's never fun for me to watch fall disappear. But in another, it was a good sign -- evidence that when spring finally makes a reappearance, everything will be all right with the park world. We snapped a few photos around the visitor center and Fellows Riverside Gardens, then moved on to other parts of the park to see what we could see. Lanterman's Mill soon will be decorated for the Christmas holidays; on this day, it looked a bit stark.

Then, we headed for Newport Lake, stopping briefly to get photos near the Goose Bridge. Even the large geese, usually out in such great numbers that it's hard to navigate without watching carefully where you step (if you get my drift!), were almost nonexistent.

With a sigh, we pointed the car out of the park and toward home. That's it for a while now -- although I'm quite sure the sun will make an appearance one of these weeks, beckoning us to once again make the journey to our favorite Ohio park.

When we do, you'll be the first to know what we found!

Fall Back to the Park

One of the things I love most about living in the Buckeye State is that the seasons change (we have four, you know -- winter, spring, fall and construction). :-)

But seriously, folks, it's fall that's far and away my favorite. Yes, despite the seasonal allergies that hit with a vengeance as soon as the evening temperatures start to drop, it's impossible to resist the vibrant colors of Ohio's foliage as leaves turn to bright reds, oranges and golds.

It's early yet, but things are starting to change noticeably now. So, on the spur of the moment my husband Jack and I packed up our cameras and headed for Mill Creek Park. As it turned out, the leaves have a long way to go before peaking (an incentive to return if I ever saw one). Still, the onslaught of fall was evident, both in the trees and the decorations at the visitor center. Everywhere, colorful pumpkins and brightly colored chrysanthemums were interspersed with bales of hay and huge stalks of corn to welcome visitors to the park and the season.

And in back of the visitor center, the beds of dahlias were still in bloom -- giving me at least one more opportunity to capture their beauty (this time with my Canon EOS Digital Rebel and a Moose warming polarizer, the latter perfect for bringing out the richness of fall colors).

I was quite surprised to find a few remaining blooms in the Rose Garden, but many of these were fading fast. Still, the buds here and there mean more will pop out in coming weeks unless the weather takes a real turn for the worse. I managed to get a rose or two, but the vast majority weren't worth bothering with. Ditto inside the visitor center; Halloween-type decorations were much in evidence as were several arrangements highlighted by dahlias, but there wasn't much else of interest to photograph. Outside, though, the Victorian gazebo -- photogenic no matter what the season -- looked especially gorgeous with its columns decked out in pumpkins and cornstalks.

It's worth pointing out, by the way, that there's rarely a dull moment at the park. There's almost always something special going on at the visitor center or the MetroParks Farm in nearby Canfield, Ohio. If you're interested, the park's Web site has a calendar of events that's updated each month (and you can sign up to get it by e-mail, as I do, so you don't miss anything).

After poking around there, we drove through other parts of the park. Only here and there were the leaves colorful enough to warrant photos; we stopped to get a few at Glacier Lake and Newport Lake, but not at the Newport Wetlands area, which was less interesting at this point (but we'll be back soon). Ditto for Lanterman's Mill; it's a favorite of photographers this time of year, but the foliage around the river hasn't quite reached its peak in terms of color so we passed it by.

As a matter of course, our final destination was to be somewhere we could enjoy a late lunch. We considered Smoky Bones and the Youngstown Sports Grille in Boardman Township, but then we remembered the new family restaurant in Girard my dentist's assistant had told me about the previous week. Would you believe something like 24 types of peroghies and roughy 100 different beers? Wow! It's located in the building that once housed one of our favorite restaurants, Mikeee's (yes, that's the correct spelling). It stood empty for quite some time after the Mikeee's owners left town to open in the Youngstown-Warren Airport, but now we have an equally delightful alternative.

Mmmmm, mmmmm -- we just left and already we're hankering for more of those peroghies (Jack got sauerkraut-filled and I opted for potato-bacon filling, both delicious)! I recommend it any time, but especially as the perfect ending for a visit to Mill Creek Park!

The Dahlias are Blooming! The Dahlias are Blooming!

Ever since somewhere around this time last summer, I've been eagerly awaiting the blooming of the dahlias -- sort of like the wearin' of the green that happens every March 17. A few short weeks back, we visited the park and found a handful of blooms in the garden behind the D.D. and Velma Davis Visitor and Education Center; since then, we've made the trek at least once each week so as not to miss seeing these magnificent flowers at their peak.

Yesterday, we had the pleasure once again of entertaining two of our four grandchildren -- Jackie, age 11, and her brother Jarrett, almost 8. Their mother, a middle school language arts teacher, had to be at school today, but the kiddies don't arrive with full force till Monday. Since dad works in a steel mill on night turn and sleeps most weekdays, we inherited the "job" of care and feeding of the munchkins from mid-morning till around 3 p.m. when mom was set free (for the record, the school at which she teaches is right across the street from our house).

At any rate, we'd done a pre-arrival conditioning campaign to convince the kiddies that they should get more practice taking photos in preparation for next year's photo contest sponsored by Mill Creek Park; we happily provided the cameras (a tiny Casio for Jarrett and my old Sony Cybershot DSC-P200 for Jackie). They've used them before and, truth be told, have become pretty proficient at using them!

Meantime, I wanted to put the Canon EF 100 mm f/2.8 macro lens to the test once again (on the Canon EOS Digital Rebel I "inherited" from my husband Jack when he bought the then-new XTi). On our last couple of visits, I'd taken the easy way out, relying on the macro mode of my new Canon PowerShot A590 -- which for the record does such a fantastic job it's lulled me into complacency about using the more powerful, but more difficult to use, macro lens on the SLR.

Quite honestly, I can't say I really was "focused" on quality this time out, either; since we had the kids along, I dared not tarry long at the dahlia garden. Still, while they had fun snapping away in the Family Garden right behind the dahlias, I moved from bloom to bloom, color to color, snapping as fast as I could with both cameras in the hopes I'd get a handful of standouts.

After a quick walk through the visitor center and rose garden (where we all got a few more shots), it was off to the lily pond and some deceny photos of ducks, geese, cooters sunning themselves on logs and even a dragonfly that was willing to pose for me for a few minutes. By the time we hiked the trail around the pond, taking photos nearly every step of the way, it was time for lunch (no need for a clock to remind us, by the way; the stomachs of kids work on autopilot, sending urgent "feed me" signals that grandparents ignore at their own peril).

Several chili dogs and fries later, we were back home downloading our photos and checking the fruits of our labors. I'm happy to report the day was a success all around; both Jackie and Jarrett got at least a couple of photos good enough to enter in the contest if they want, and both of us did the same. I'm especially thrilled with the dragonfly and the dahlias -- both cameras performed admirably and already I'm having trouble deciding which one I'll post at which of the Web sites we frequent. Oh well -- that's a problem I'm happy to have!

Dilly Dahlia-ing Around

TGIF! To be honest, the acronym doesn't mean as much to me now that I'm semi-retired as it used to, but since I'm involved in my freelance writing activities from Sunday to Thursday evening most weeks, Friday remains a day to be thankful for. When we awoke this morning after 8 a.m. -- unusually late for both of us -- we found a gorgeous sunny day with nowhere special to go.

Hmmm, we agreed -- that would have to change. But since we were planning a visit to our son's house on Sunday, we didn't want to stray far. Well, we reckoned, there's always Mill Creek Park -- and hey, maybe those dahlias are blooming by now!

When we arrived at the visitor center, though, we first headed to Fellows Riverside gardens and those gorgeous roses. After a couple of nasty rainstorms, the blooms looked a bit bedraggled, but better than at our last visit. I was determined to get some decent photos with my Canon EOS Digital Rebel and special EF-100mm f/2.8 macro lens; in recent weeks, I've become way too dependent on the Canon PowerShot A590 and its wonderful, powerful macro mode. Just to be on the safe side, though, that pocket-size camera was around my neck as well.

While my husband Jack wandered around elsewhere, I snapped away at the roses, ending up with a few that I'll upload to my gallery of roses at Zenfolio.com -- including, finally, a fairly decent shot of the bumblebee on a flower that you see above. We planned to leave the gardens and drive through the park to see what else we could see, but first, I made Jack park near the dahlia garden at the back entrance to the visitor center.

Luck was with me, or sort of. No, the dahlias weren't in full swing, or anywhere near it. But the signs were positive; here and there, one was in bloom, so I was able to get a few shots. More important, I now know it will be but a matter of a few short weeks before the entire garden will be awash with what I now consider to be one of my all-time favorite flowers.

After that, we drove through the winding roads of the park, stopping at the Newport Wetlands to see the goose bridge and take the boardwalk to the end of the observation deck (that's Jack taking a photo). Tall purple flowers were everywhere, with some cattails and small yellow flowers buried in between. When I saw a lovely white water lily -- something I've never seen here before -- I wished I hadn't removed the macro lens before walking in here. Oh well, I consoled myself, it's solid white -- a tough color to photograph. Then it was on to the golf course, where I found more gorgeous flowers (and yes, I'd put the macro lens back on).

By then, we were hungry, so we headed back toward home and stopped at one of our favorite eateries, Salvatore's Italian Grill, in Austintown. Combining lunch with work, we ordered up a couple of pasta entrees -- chicken cacciatore for Jack and penne alla vodka for me -- that I'll be writing about in a feature story for the newspaper. Once again, a great time was had by all!

Hangin' Out with the Grandmunchkins

Earlier today, my husband Jack and I rounded up two of our four grandkids -- that's Jackie on the right and her brother Jarrett on the left -- for an outing at the park. Here, we all agreed, we'd hand them each one of our less-expensive cameras and encourage them to better their photography skills. We've done this before on several occasions, with limited success; their attention spans and focus, so to speak, don't last long. And, at the ages of 11 and 7, respectively, their taste in photo subjects runs more toward their own fingers and noses (and, amid lots of giggles, grandma's backside) than anything of real value.

But you never know. Last year, for instance, in between all the trash each of them ended up with a few (I emphasize, a few) nice photos, and, with their permission, we entered one by each of them in the park's annual amateur photography contest. And wonder of wonders, both were rewarded for their efforts: Jackie with a third place ribbon and Jarrett with an Honorable Mention, both in the Youth division.

So it was that we set out today. We started in the rose garden in Fellows Riverside Gardens near the park's visitor center. Each summer, the garden is awash with brilliant color as hundreds of roses -- reds, yellows, oranges, whites, pinks and everything in between -- are everywhere you look. Jackie was using my Sony Cybershot while Jarrett had Jack's tiny Casio. I, meanwhile, opted to use both my Canon EOS Digital Rebel with a heavy-duty macro lens, enhancing filter and monopod and my small Canon PowerShot Elph, which has a fantastic macro mode.

Everything went just fine for a while, even though it was a gloomy, muggy day -- we happily snapped away at the multitudes of coneflowers and daylilies in the parking lot and bordering the visitor center. Then, since there was a flower show inside, we wandered through that, cameras at the ready, before heading out to the rose garden.

Then to our great dismay -- just as we were ready to enter the garden -- the heavens decided to rain on our parade. "Don't let the rain come down," I hummed to myself as we all scurried back inside the building to keep our precious equipment from getting soaked. When it eased up a bit, we made another attempt at shooting outdoors, but that, too, proved fruitless. Not only did it start to rain again, when I got to the rose garden I discovered that hardly anything was in bloom. Most of the crop was in disarray, weatherbeaten and chomped over by beetles. Perhaps, I thought, the rain was trying to tell us something!

We drove on to the lily pond, but here, too, it was sprinkling and much too dark to get decent photos. So, we came home (by way of a Long John Silver's, where we had lunch) and downloaded what few photos we'd been able to take. Not surprisingly, neither of us had much to show for the outing. But not so Jackie and Jarrett! Oh sure, there was the smattering of stupid photos plus flowers and landscapes blurred almost beyond recognition. But there, in the midst of all that junk, were some real gems. In fact, they managed to get at least two apiece that not only are good enough to enter in the contest, but they're better than either of us managed to get.

Hmmm. That's not supposed to happen. Pretty soon, we'll be getting lessons from them!

Run for the Roses

Ah, the rose garden! Reportedly, this wonderful place -- located at the back entrance to the D.D. and Velma Davis Visitor and Education center -- is the most popular place in Mill Creek Park. Anyone who visits this time of year would understand why: everywhere you walk in this garden, you encounter some of the most beautiful roses you'll find anywhere. At every turn, you're greeted by arrays of reds, pinks, oranges, whites, yellows and even some that combine two or more shades in one.

On our July 6 visit, I wanted to avoid the direct overhead sunshine, so since our choices were fairly early in the morning or in late afternoon, we opted for morning. By the time we arrived around 10, though, the sun was a bit stronger than I'd have liked, but it was doable.

Of course, I hauled in my trusty Canon EOS Digital Rebel (a hand-me-down from my husband, Jack, when he got his new Canon Digital Rebel XTi). Mine, for the record, is equipped with a powerful Canon EF 100 f/2.8 macro lens, which I acquired courtesy of our good friend Amanda, a skilled photographer from West Virginia. This time out, though, I wanted to try another camera.

I've always carried a pocket-sized, all-purpose camera wherever we go, mostly as a back-up and partly to use when lugging the SLR is just too bulky to deal with, like on a hiking trail. For several years, my back-up of choice was a Sony Cybershot DSC-P200; but recently, it developed a couple of "shadows" on what I assume is the sensor -- there's no way to remove them -- that are obvious on photos of something plain like a clear blue sky. No, I said -- that simply won't do.

So, I forced myself to go on a camera quest and ended up (with Jack's help) with a Canon Powershot A590 -- a bit bigger than I'd like, but we've had very positive experiences with the Powershot series and the price was right. When I got it home, I discovered that it has an easily accessible macro mode -- and the few times I tried it, it worked quite well.

Trying to get good macro shots of roses, though, would be the real test -- and believe me, the camera got a good workout on this occasion. All told, I took nearly 300 photos, mostly of roses, about a third of which were with my new "baby." And guess what? It performed like a pro. In fact, in the end I deleted more less-than-perfect photos from this camera than I took with my SLR!

That said, this is a wonderful time to visit Mill Creek Park. After we left the rose garden, we found relief from the 85 degree heat -- and quite a few more photo opps -- inside the visitor center. Ah, but we were hungry. No problem! There was no line at all in the cafe, which on Sundays serves up a fabulous brunch catered by The Georgetown -- at $12.95 per person, it can't be beat. We sat at a window overlooking Lake Glacier (choosing that instead of on the outdoor patio because of the heat) and chowed down on breakfast goodies like scrambled eggs and biscuits with sausage gravy and then moved on to entrees like chicken francaise and two kinds of pasta. Dessert was fresh fruit -- strawberries, pineapple, grapes and two kinds of melon -- and generous slices of delicious cherry pie.

For an encore, we wandered around the well-landscaped parking lot and found a number of other floral treasures to "capture" -- in fact, that's where I snapped my pick of the day's litter and one of my all-time favorite photos -- a beautiful pale peach daylily.

That was, or so I thought, another wonderful day that ended too soon. But then, more great news: First, an em-mail message brought me the news that my black-and-white photo of the grist mill at Babcock State Park in West Virginia. That was followed a couple of hours later by another message informing me that the same photo was selected as the June Photo of the Month in the Black & White category at MyParkPhotos.com. Wow, I said -- it doesn't get much better than this!

A Rose Is a Rose

Fellows Riverside Gardens, which surround the D.D. and Velma Davis Visitor & Education Center at Mill Creek Park, see more than 400,000 visitors each year, park officials say. By far, the most popular collection here is the Rose Garden.

Count us among them. In this scenic area, four groups of roses flourish, reaching peak blooms in May and June. The Visitor Center also hosts an annual rose show -- this year on June 21 and 22. So it was that with cameras in hand, my husband and I trekked to the park on the first day of the show to see what we could see. My interest is in macro photography, particularly of flowers -- and not only was I hoping to get some wonderful photos of show entries, it was possible that at least some of the buds we'd seen a couple week earlier in the Rose Garden would be in full bloom.

Quite honestly, the rose show was nothing to crow about. Last year, both the main and lower levels of the visitor center were filled with fragrant, colorful roses grown by members of the local rose-growers organization. This year, less than a handful of tables were set up, and the flowers weren't very impressive.

Ah, but our disappointment faded quickly when we walked the short distance to the Rose Garden. Oh my, oh my! We were greeted by a sea of pinks, reds, whites, yellows and just about everything in between. I felt like a cat in a sand dune; where should I go next?
After half an hour of snapping away with my Canon EOS Digital Rebel, a Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 macro lens and a handy dandy monopod, I'd amassed quite a collection (actually, I'd used more restraint than usual; at this point, I'd kept the total number of photos to under 100). Then, a park ranger asked visitors if they'd exit the garden for 5 minutes or so -- a wedding was about to take place (one of four scheduled on this day, he noted) -- and the processional was to move through the garden to a pavilion overlooking Lake Glacier for the ceremony. Of course, we all agreed, moving to the perimeter where we could watch the wedding party and snap a few shots of other lovely flowers, including yellow and orange Calla Lilies.

We didn't return to the Rose Garden, meandering instead around the rest of the gardens and taking some landscape photos (I'd just purchased a nearly pocket-sized Canon Powershot A590 8 megapixel point-and-shoot camera to replace a similar-sized Sony Cybershot that had developed a fungus on the interior of the lens and wanted to see how it performed). After all, we reasoned, the roses will be in bloom for most of the summer, and the drive is short enough that we won't need to sell our firstborn son to pay for the gas to get there.

From there, we drove through the park to the Lily Pond, where we found several gaggles of geese begging for scraps and, for a couple of minutes, the blue heron who nests at the edge of the pond entertained us as he searched for snacks under the cool green water. For the record, I'm fairly happy with the new Canon, although the lighting at the pond was less than ideal and most of the photos weren't all that great. Although the jury's still out, I think it will serve the purpose nicely -- a highly portable and effective all-purpose camera I can tote with me when the SLR is just too bulky and heavy. Hey, guess I'll just have to make a return trip to Mill Creek Park on a sunnier day!

Welcome to Mill Creek Park

Welcome to my blog about the expansive Mill Creek MetroParks, one of the largest municipally owned parks in the country. My husband Jack and I are fortunate to live about a 20-minute drive away from the system's primary property, Mill Creek Park, and we're frequent visitors -- it's one of our favorite parks in the country.

I'll start by telling you a bit about the park's background and what you'll find here; as we make other forays, I'll report on our experiences and show you more of the sights. I promise there will be plenty of forays; Mill Creek Park is a park for all seasons, and variety is the spice of life. In the spring, wildflowers are plentiful and planted gardens are filled with early blooms like tulips and crocuses. In summer, trees shade the trails and bright green moss covers the rocks and gorges. In winter, you're likely to find a blanket of pristine white snow covering the lakes and sprinkled in between trees and bushes.

It is fall, though, that provides the best photo opps -- who can resist the brilliant reds, golds and oranges of the changing foliage that signals the coming of winter in the Buckeye State?Located in Mahoning County, Ohio (near Youngstown), Mill Creek Park includes 15 miles hiking trails, of beautifully landscaped gardens, historic buildings, wetlands, lakes and recreation areas.

Established in 1891, the park itself encompasses about 2,600 acres; a 402-acre working farm, is located nearby, as is Yellow Creek Park, a 76-acre gorge area acquired by Mill Creek Metroparks in 1991.

One of the don't-miss attractions is the restored Lanterman's Mill, which operates today much as it did in the 1800s, grinding corn, wheat, buckwheat and oats that are sold in a small gift shop. The mill and adjacent covered bridge, situated in a scenic gorge, are perhaps the most photographed structures in the park. Other popular photo subjects are the historic Pioneer Pavilion and Log Cabin, the Newport Lake Wetlands (you can get great photos from just about anywhere along the wooden path that ends in an observation deck) and a couple of small waterfalls. At the Lily Pond, photographers can capture stacks of young turtles sunning themselves on logs in the water as well as colorful Mallard ducks and geese that are willing to stand still long enough -- up to a point -- to have their pictures taken.

One of the most unique structures, though, is a bridge that spans Mill Creek and is often called the "Cinderella Bridge" because of its ornate ironwork. While it is just one of several bridges located throughout the park, it's certainly the most photogenic.

Much of our time is spent at the D.D. and Velma Davis Education & Visitor Center in Fellows Riverside Gardens. The beautiful building houses an auditorium, banquet hall, gift shop, cafe, library and exhibit space that often showcases works of art and photography by local artists, both amateur and professional. Even in winter, we stop in just to take in the wonderful view of Glacier Lake from the floor-to-ceiling library windows.

Fellowship Riverside Gardens, an 11-acre living museum, filled with flowers and plants, decorative fountains and two pavilions (one overlooking the scenic Lake Glacier) that in good weather are popular spots for weddings. The annual rose collection brings thousands of visitors here -- including me -- but I'm also a big fan of the spring display of tulips, crocus and, over the summer, some of the largest dahlias I've ever seen.

Also a big attraction is the Ford Nature Education Center, located in an old stone building. It’s open year-round and features exhibits and nature hikes -- in particular, on the one-mile "People's Trail" next to the center that is handicapped accessible.

The park is a nature-lovers’ delight; it is part of four watersheds: Yankee Creek, Mill Creek, Yellow Creek and Meander. At the southern end of the park is the scenic Newport Wetlands, home to a variety of plants, birds and animals. A quarter-mile wood walkway ends at an observation deck that overlooks several deep water pools from nearby Lake Newport.

Taking in the park can shoot most of a day – unless, of course, you decide to play a few rounds at one of two championship public golf courses designed by Donald Ross; then, you might want to allow some extra time. My husband doesn't play much golf these days, but he's played there often in the past and late last summer toured the course with the manager to take publicity photos.

Check back often -- I'll be writing about our experiences here and, hopefully, showing you some of the wonderful scenery as well. Meantime, if you'd like to see my ongoing collection of photos, visit my gallery at Zenfolio.