Saw this VW Beetle parked in my neighborhood on the way home from work today. A quick google image search showed that this is not the only one in existence, and that spigot in the back really does dispense beer.

The beer that the mohawk beetle is advertising is the Shock Top Belgian White made by Anheuser-Busch and according to one review is a “light-bodied golden-clouded Belgian-styled wheat ale [that] brings easygoing ‘orange-lemon-lime peeled’ tartness to daintily coriander-spiced sour-candied malts. Its watered-down fizzy-hopped orange soda flow softens astringent raspberry-strawberry-soured backend.”

May have to give the Shock Top a try based on that description alone. Whether that appeals to you or not, one thing’s for sure — you couldn’t drive this around without attracting attention.

Shock Top Belgian White at Anheuser-Busch.com

 

 

These photos were taken during an exciting hike at Ricketts Glen State Park (in Northeast PA) last autumn.  We hiked the 3+ mile loop which followed a creek down and back up along 17 waterfalls.

 

Parts of the hike were very steep, and carrying the backpacks and camera tripod over step after rocky step was a bit tiring, but even with food and photo stops, the hike only took a couple hours. We even passed hikers aged from 7 up to 70 — no kidding! I was quite impressed with a group of hikers in their golden years doing the same trail as us.

Since there were so many waterfalls, I kind of lost track of which ones are in the photos, but the most impressive of the falls was the 94 ft tall Ganoga. There is a nice resting area below it with a wading pool. When we do this hike again, we might reverse our direction to put the Ganoga near the end of the hike, so we have it to look forward to.

So here are a handful of the photos I took that day. I set the tripod up and turned my f/stop way up (e.g. f/22) and the ISO setting down (e.g. 100), so the shutter would have to stay open longer to capture the photo (e.g. 1-2 seconds) and get the nice water-flowing effect.

As seen on a sign at the Falls Trailhead:

Warning: This trail has some very steep and difficult sections. Please be sure that you are properly prepared by being in good physical condition and by wearing sturdy hiking footwear. Muddy and slippery conditions can be expected during and after rains. Extensive icy areas frequently occur from early fall to late spring. you are responsible for your safety. Please be careful and prudent while hiking these trails.

For a map of the trails, along with campground information (the park features several lakes, and a swimming/boating area), check out these links at the PA DCNR site:

Ricketts Glen State Park Map

Ricketts Glen State Park Info

We went during the week, and had no problem finding a place to park at the Lake Rose Trailhead parking lot, which is a short walk from the Waterfall Loop.

 

 

Nestled between miles and miles of farmland is an oasis known as Shakamak State Park. We “roughed” in one of the plush bunk houses at the group camp last fall, and really enjoyed our stay. Although the park may seem like it is out in the middle of the boonies, Terre Haute is only about 30 minutes away, and has just about every store or restaurant you could want.

The park features 400 acres of man-made lakes surrounded by forest, walking trails, a swimming pool, and all the activities you would expect to be offered at a group camp (there are single campsites too). Just about every day, I’d drive or bike to one of the land bridges separating the lakes and try to capture the sunset. Here are a few of the photos from around the camp.

Shakamak State Park on the Indiana Department of Natural Resources