Summersville West Virginia – Page 6 – LLOYD'S LENS PHOTOGRAPHY LLC

Waiting for the thaw.

I’m Setting here in my recliner with my dog and we’re dreaming of warmer temperatures. The Arctic blast has turned my mountain into an icy prison. We’re looking forward to the smell of the moss covered forest floor and a game of chase in the yard. On days like this I like to go into my archive and pull out pictures of warmer times. The image of ground pine here was taken in August at Carnifex Ferry State Park in West Virginia. The trail that leads to the Gauley River passes through a stand of virgin timber. It’s been a little over a decade since I was all the way to the river. Perhaps when winter is over I take you dear readers on a virtual tour.

Goodbye 2017

Color Photography, Thoughts and Musing

The old year is fading away like the last few minutes of the setting sun. I’ve spent the past few days listening to talk about New Year’s superstitious. If you’re to ensure a prosperous New Year there’s a laundry list of do’s and don’ts. Does it work? Well, that depends. Ceremonies formalize intention. It helps us focus on actions and actions bring results.

I can’t tell you what your 2018 goals should be. I can’t tell you what you should leave behind in 2017. What I can tell you is that resolutions without actions are just another wish list.

I plan to spend the last day of 2017 creating a playbook for 2018. Each entry will include a goal, actions that will be needed and a blank page for adjusting the actions.

My 2018 wish for you is that your plans are actionable. 🙂

Into the dawn

Color Photography, Thoughts and Musing

Every day is a new beginning. Every moment is the opportunity to build the future. Every child of 80s knows in his or her heart that the future is so bright that we gotta wear shades. 😎 I could focus on not knowing where the road goes but I choose to focus instead on the bright day lying just beyond the fog. I’m looking for big things to happen in 2018. I hope they happen for you too.

Morning Drive

Color Photography, Summerville, travel, Uncategorized

Early on the morning of August 21st 2017 I stopped by the roadside park at Summerville Lake in West Virginia. The shot was taken by placing the camera directly on the road. The road crosses the Summerville Dam which is a Flood control dam. My grandfather was a engineer who helped build the dam. Below the lake is the flooded town of Gad. The traditional way of naming Dams and Lakes built during the flood control project had to be suspended to prevent a scandal. The local community just couldn’t allow the existence of “Gad Dam” and “Gad Dam Lake “. The resulting history is somewhat of a local joke today.

I spent a large part of my youth on or in the lake. By the time I was 16 swimming from the beach to the campground was a ritual way to celebrate the opening the summer lake season. Just to left of the road here there’s a cliff where I used to dive. I’m guessing the drop was about 60 feet high from the surface of the water and the bottom of the lake is about the same. We’re not allowed to have such adventures there today. Unfortunately a person was injured because he dove from the wrong spot. The Corps of engineers decided to ban diving altogether.

On the right side of the road is the Gauley River. The outlet for the lake creates class 6 rapids and so that spot is popular with rafters and kayakers. The river is a great place for trout fishing. There’s a local story about a specific DNR officer who came up on two guys fishing. When he asked to check out their licenses one of them dropped his pole and took off running downstream. After a harrowing chase the officer finally corners the fisherman and once more demandsfor the license to be presented. When the fisherman produces the license everything checks out. No laws were broken. The two men are completely out of breath from the chase. Panting heavily the officer asked why the first man ran. “You have your license and there’s nothing I can charge you with ” he said. The fisherman replied “yes, but my friend didn’t have one.”

If you come to West Virginia, Summerville Lake is a great place to have some summer fun. Just don’t jump from cliffs and if you plan to fish you better have a license. The DNR officers travel in pairs now. 😉