PBW: Target Rock

I took the day off last Friday, and I couldn't pick a better day. Yesterday a new reader suggested I “get some fresh air”, but my regular audience knows that I actually go out into nature every chance I get. After sitting in a cubicle all week, I welcome trails and beaches. After buying a much-needed new pair of sneakers and a much-wanted DVD, I came home and researched a new location for a photo shoot. Searching online, I found Target Rock National Wildlife Refuge, 80 acres of territory I'd neither heard of nor explored. It was only two miles from Caumsett, which I shot last November, so I didn't think I'd have much trouble finding it. Indeed, on a warm Spring day, I pulled in to an empty parking lot and set out on another Photo Blog Wednesday Expedition.





Apparently, admission worked on the honor system, perhaps because this is still the off-season. There was no one collecting money, only envelopes and pencils with instructions to place four dollars in the envelope and drop it in the nearby box. The envelope had a tearaway piece for my car's dashboard. Even though I was in the middle of nowhere, and absolutely no one was around, I didn't risk coming back from my hike to find a ticket or worse, a missing car. I paid the fee, put the tab on my dash, and set off down the trail to the beach.






Along the way, something small scurried across my path, pausing on the roots of a large tree. I managed to capture a grainy photo of a chipmunk. I didn't dare walk any closer and scare him off, so I did the best I could with my zoom lens. He paused long enough for only three shots, and the above photo was the best one.






Eventually the trail split. Rather than venture further into the woods, I noted water on the horizon and took the path leading to an impeccable deck structure set on a cliff, overlooking a closed beach where wildlife could be observed discreetly.






These symmetrical and colorful smoke stacks seem oddly out of place with the rest of the landscape, a strange blend of Dr. Seuss and Willy Wonka.



As I wondered if this could be the Target Rock for which the refuge was named, I heard a scuffling sound down on the beach...






For the first time in my life I observed a live Fox, scavenging for food in the wild. At one point the small creature stopped and looked around, but never looked up as I quietly document its trek across the beach. Eventually it was too far for even a 12X zoom, but I was fortunate enough to be where I was, when I was, to capture these images.




After leaving the observation deck, I followed the second trail which led down to a lake, and another deck. I waited by those windows to see if any wildlife might appear, but the Fox would be the most exotic subject that day. However, when I began my mile or so journey back to my car before the sun went down, I noticed some discoloration in the grain of the wood. Closer inspection revealed blue marker tracings of the patterns, turning them into magical characatures, including one of the preserve's denizens.





I was glad to see the sign showing the way back, and once back at my car I took a detail shot of a weed and a flower.





It was a good day and a great alternative to work, and it was hard to leave that place. There are very few places so tranquil and silent. There are several trails and preserves in my home town, but it's a less secluded area and I'm never far from the sounds of traffic, or boats, or other people. This was my first visit to Target Rock, but it certainly won't be my last.