Phil Magistro

There are several well-known waterfalls in the Pocono Mountain region of Pennsylvania.  One of the more picturesque is Dingman’s Falls in the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area.  Because of the floods in 2011, the road to the visitor center is closed.  You’ll have to park at a small lot  on Johnny Bee Road and hike less than a mile to the visitor center.  From there it’s a nice stroll through the woods following a wooden boardwalk past Silverthread Falls to the main falls.  With a vertical drop of 130 feet, the water cascading down over the rocks has cut deeply into the stone walls.

You’ll see lots of mountain laurel and trout in the stream.  It’s a beautiful place to spend an afternoon.

Middle Creek Wildlife Management Area in northern Lancaster County is a well-known stop for Snow Geese and Tundra Swans as they migrate back north.  Each year tens of thousands of the white birds will stop at the lake and adjoining fields on their annual trek to their summer home.  This spring we stopped twice to see the birds but, possibly because of the warmer winter, there were far fewer birds than we’ve seen in other years.  The last trip there we saw a few hundred Snow Geese in a distant field but none on the water.  However there was a heron that spent time posing for me.

It’s been twenty years since I last visited Las Vegas.  I recently spent a few days there for a conference.  The casino names are familiar but the buildings are all changed – much bigger and much more extravagant.  So much to see and do it would take more than a week. The last time that I was here I had some luck at the Blackjack table.  This time I didn’t even play.

We should be through the worst part but it’s been going on too long.  Snow is expected this weekend and it makes our recent trip to Florida a more distant memory.  While in Florida I went fishing with my Dad and son at a place called John’s Pass.  Along the inlet there’s a very narrow strip of sand with a rock wall behind.  While we were fishing an egret and a heron came to visit.  The heron was especially bold, coming within a few feet of us.  These photos were taken with my iPhone at about 5 feet.  I swear if I held out some of our bait he would have taken it from my hand but I wasn’t that brave.

Spent a week visiting my parents in Largo, FL.  Our son joined us from Colorado. Sunshine and near-record temps helped beat the midwinter blues.

The photo above is was taken at the Hurricane Grill in Pass a Grille, the southern end of St. Pete Beach.  My parents took me there a couple of decades ago and the place has grown from a small shack to a multi-story restaurant. Their specialty is grouper and the sandwiches are fantastic.  Across the street the sun setting over the Gulf makes it a magical setting.

Holiday Lights at Grings Mill

Wishing you and yours a wonderful Christmas.

Spending some time at the Outer Banks in North Carolina with family.  Here’s Phil and Apryle kayaking.

This will be a place for friends and family to check in and see the latest news, photos and random thoughts.

Visit my photography site here – www.pmagistrophoto.com