Sharon and I noted that we must have had an infestation last weekend. It was a beautiful day, otherwise, and we found ourselves both bitten by the hiking-photo bug (Caminha photoensis). With powerful effects from the bug’s stimulant injection, we were compelled to find a path, focusing here and there along the way. Of course, the cameras were remembered to document the infectious behavior.

Edging forward in a giddy blur of energy, we ventured some seventy decimeters away from the safety and comfort of our abode, and its guardian front entry. The trail we found in our hustle led us to a scenic and expansive, though isolated ravine, with a reflective pool beneath slippery ledges all around.

As we both took turns, cameras in hand, both digital and analog, we surveyed the surroundings this trail had led us to. Our imposed yen for further exploration prevented us from actually going in the water.

Looking around, and traveling the requisite steps further in the distance, we saw rising slopes ahead of us.

The slopes held familiar glade-like vegetative cover and exposed substrate.

We kept to our frenzied hike, and continued taking pictures to remember the impact of our bug bites, and where it led us. More sights were found along the way.

The pool turned out to be part of an intermittent set, resembling fjords of the northern European lands. We encountered vegetation that we had either not seen, or not remembered.

We wanted to explore more, even as the intoxicant weakened, and our attention kept being drawn to new and exciting finds.

Exhausted, we returned home, traversing the great distance … back to our front door, from under the maple and shrubs in our yard. Hmmm. There’s a lot to look at, when you take the time to travel and discover. Remember that, wherever you go, there you are.