When I visited Wingfield Pines it was not what I was expecting at all. Our instructor told our class that it was known for its iron ponds. Wingfield Pines has iron deposits that rise from the old mines from underneath, making the water very orange. When the various ponds were created they were made to naturally filter the iron out of the water before it goes into the creek, leaving the water to be clear once it enters the creek.

When I arrived, I had to park in a very tiny parking lot because the road down to Wingfield Pines was gated off. I parked and walked down the shaded path. When I first came to an open area I found that it was the abandoned swimming pool. The pool was filled with dirt and overgrown weeds, but the ladders were still intact along with the surrounding cement. It was an interesting site to see. When I turned around, fog was just about rising over the weed-infested field. That wasn’t the only thing the fields were filled with though. Spider webs literally covered all over. Everywhere I walked I had to make sure I wasn’t going to walk right into a massive spider web. All of us at some point walked into small ones, but no huge ones thankfully. I snapped some shots of the rising fog as the sun started coming over the tree line. I walked along the first trail and stopped in various places for photographs.

After walking for a little bit I stumbled upon a little campsite. There was a sign that said, “No campfires” and yet it seemed to have the rocks perfectly placed in a circle and even a previously burned fire pit. It was fascinating to see, as if something from the past was placed there for everyone to enjoy. It made me wonder how old the scenery was. When I continued my walk that’s when I found the filtering ponds. I could see the iron pond up ahead, but decided to walk the opposite way first and just go in a circle. The park wasn’t that big. I walked around a couple of the different ponds, photographing interesting little details. Ducks filled the sky and the ponds. I even found the small boardwalk that let me walk through the wetlands. That was probably my favorite part. It was neat to feel as if I was walking on water. After walking over that, I made my way to the iron filled pond. It wasn’t as orange as shown in the above picture, which makes me think that maybe most of the iron is gone now. The subtle orange coloring was still beautiful.

I saved the best part of my trip for last. This happened to me twice and it was the best thing ever. As I was walking the trails, I heard a thumping noise. When I turned around, a huge dog was running my way. Thankfully, he was very friendly and immediately just wanted me to pet him. He was a huge baby. I said hello to his owner and asked her what his name was. She said Hershey, which made him even cuter. Later on when I came across the iron pond they passed by me one more time. Hershey didn’t want to leave me this time though. As his owner went on ahead with her other dog, Hershey stayed behind and hung out with me. I tried to coax him into running after his owner, who turned around every now and then to make sure he was at least with us, but he didn’t want to go. He would ask me for scratches and then turn around, watching for his owner. I took the opportunity to photograph him because his position was just adorable. My instructor even captured me photographing Hershey. After awhile a girl from my class ran off with Hershey to get him to meet back with his owner. After a little bit of jogging he took off and disappeared.

Overall, I enjoyed my trip there and am looking forward to going back. Please enjoy some photographs I captured while there.