Dreamscape With Tree

With two days of lovely spring weather on the way, my husband and I packed up our backpacks on Sunday morning and headed out into the wilderness of the Quehanna Wild Area.

The trip was a familiar one, back to the Valley of the Elk. Only the hike was much, much easier than last time, without several inches of snow on the ground. We arrived at our campsite shortly after noon and set up our gear, then headed out to our rock that overlooks the Valley of the Elk.

It was all so familiar, yet there seemed to be something missing, and indeed there was: the elk horn that I found last time we visited the site (and that I left there, thinking I'd visit it each time we came to our campsite) was GONE! A quick search of the surrounding area and down along the stream was fruitless.

At least for elk horns. But we did find a lovely, wide bend in the creek not far from where we often sit. Several springs flow out of the hill there, and a wide, flat, grassy bit of meadow runs along it. I suspect it is a very cool place to hang out if you're an elk. (And even if you're not.)

I found a tree by the stream that I particularly liked the shape of, and I spent some time with it, capturing multiple images of its reflection in the water. With the sun moving in and out of the clouds and the tree shape gently undulating on the waters, the scene seemed like something out of a dream.

The song to accompany this image is Mama Cass Elliot, Dream a Little Dream of Me.