LYNNE HARTY PHOTOGRAPHY: 24 hours uplugged

LYNNE HARTY PHOTOGRAPHY: 24 hours uplugged: "My boyfriend and I have been threatening to go camping for over a year and a half - as that is how long ago it was that we purchased our ten..."

24 hours uplugged

My boyfriend and I have been threatening to go camping for over a year and a half - as that is how long ago it was that we purchased our tent. Pitiful. How hard can it be to get away for one night? Apparently difficult enough to always claim more pressing things - yard work, house work, real work, social engagements, children, etc. But not last weekend - we finally committed to it and went with our new tent and tons of sort of necessary items to create a home worthy of this mythical getaway: tent, pads, and sleeping bags of course, but then there was the cooler, bottle of wine, food for four meals (and we weren't talking about freeze dried food of course, foodies that we are) and even firewood. Neither of us had the nerve to drag the "cheater's " starter log up the trail - that was one step too far, so it remained in the car. We set up camp about 1/4 mile from the car in a gorgeous bald just under Sam  Knob near Black Balsam on the Blue Ridge Parkway in plenty of time to hike the beautiful trails on top of Black Balsam, photograph the sunset, and get back in time to build a fire and cook our glorious dinner - yellow squash we'd marinated in olive oil and herbs, potatoes wrapped in foil with olive oil and herbs that we threw in the bottom of the fire, and hamburgers. And a lovely bottle of red wine - perfection.

The lack of computers, phones and TV was almost, oddly, deafening. Amazing how quiet it can be removed from it all. Here are a few shots from our trip - I hope to go camping again very soon.