Once again I found a spot to visit on Facebook (such a wonderful resource for potential trip ideas). I saw a post about Hughlett Point Natural Preserve Trail. With the trail only an hour away and a state park nearby, we decided to make a weekend of it.
Belle Isle State Park is on the Rappahannock River. After we set up camp we headed out to explore the trails that wind through the woods and along the water. As we walked into the woods we noticed that this is a very marshy area. As I followed him down the trail, Chris looked like Pig Pen from The Peanuts. There was a swarm of mosquitoes circling his head and they were biting. We stopped at a clearing by the water to re-up the bug spray, which seemed to work as long as we kept moving.
As we rounded a bend we caught sight of a beautiful blue heron just as it was taking flight. It was magical. The trail then turned, leading us around a soybean field. At this point, the bothersome mosquitoes had turned into monsters. They were larger than a quarter, so big they actually had discernible weight.
We soon found some relief as we arrived at a dock. We spent some time out on the dock enjoying the view. The tiny fish swimming around and jumping were entertaining. Beautiful birds were flying nearby and I was quite fascinated by the hundreds of periwinkles in the reeds.
As we headed back to camp we saw several rabbits, a pair of groundhogs and a bird with metallic blue plumage. After a snack, we went to the beach hoping to get some sunset photos. The beach was lovely with amazing driftwood, but the clouds had moved in making for a less than spectacular view of the setting sun. We could, however, see pockets of rain falling across the river, which was an incredible sight.
Chris built a towering inferno, but even that did not deter the insatiable bugs. At least the tent was a safe haven and with our two fans, we slept fairly comfortably.
In the morning we headed for Hughlett Preserve. We opted for the Off! that we had in the car instead of our homemade bug spray, but even that didn’t ward off the biting beasts. We did enjoy the walk seeing crabs, cicadas, and birds. Once again the bugs diminished when we arrived at the beach. There was even a bit of a cool breeze coming from the Chesapeake Bay on a very hot, muggy day. The beach is an isthmus between the bay and what I am going to call a lake. Where the two connect is an underwater array of fish and crabs. We were even able to see a heron standing in the lake.
After battling the bugs back to the car, we headed to Merrior Tasting Room in Topping for a light lunch. They have mostly outside seating with a spectacular view. The lovely breeze coming from the water made for a very pleasant experience.
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