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PA State Parks: Summer Edition

My recommitment to the Pennsylvania State Park Challenge I’d set for myself at the beginning of the year led me to book a camping trip for the FOURTH time at Hickory Run State Park.

A weekend of scenic drives to 4 PA State Parks

On Saturday I traveled up and down the mountains from Bald Eagle State Park to nearby Black Moshannon State Park, Whipple Dam State Park, and Greenwood Furnace State Park. The first stop at each park was to get my passport stamp for the 52 State Park Challenge that I’ve been doing this year.

Fall Foliage, Camping, and Hiking at Raymond B Winter State Park

A crisp, fall afternoon of hiking followed by roasted marshmallows over a campfire is my ideal fall weekend, which I was lucky to enjoy recently at Raymond B Winter State Park. I drove up late on Friday evening (November 5th) and set up my tent to a walk-in site. Surrounded by the forest and a few other campers, I had an enjoyable time listening to podcasts and audiobooks while stargazing.

Pennsylvania’s beautiful lakes, creeks, trails, and the night sky

As I continue to share the 52 Pennsylvania State Park 2021 Challenge, in which I plan to hike in up to 52 state parks this year, I’m happy to update the tally after this week to 17 after visiting Cherry Springs State Park, Lyman Run State Park, Patterson State Park, and Marsh Creek State Park.

52 Pennsylvania State Park Challenge Announced!!

Inspired by my travels to California last year and picking up the National Parks Passport, I knew I wanted to check out the many Pennsylvania State Parks in 2021. Pennsylvania went from 1 park in 1893 to 121 State Parks in 2015, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and National Resources.

Epic West Coast Road Trip, Part 7

When arriving in San Francisco the first thing to see was the Golden Gate Bridge. What’s really crazy about this is that I had a photo of the Golden Gate Bridge on my 2020 vision board, which I created in January.

Walking in the Petrified Forest

“This life is yours. Take the power to choose what you want to do and do it well. Take the power to love what you want in life and love it honestly. Take the power to walk in the forest and be a part of nature. Take the power to control your own life. No…

Find Calm Here 2020 Calendar~

Each year for the past eight years I have created a photo calendar curating the best of the year’s photos. I’ve offered this to friends and family over the years as so many are interested in supporting my work.
For this year, I’m opening it up to anyone who’s interested in purchasing a calendar and the theme for this year is Find Calm Here, destinations for mindfulness.

New partners and projects: Learning to grow a photo business for success in 2020

By offering a portfolio not just on my website, but also on Adobe Stock, and Shutterstock, I hope to grow my visibility as a stock photographer. I’m also working to align with Creative Market soon to allow stock photography on their platform. So I am making a decision to try to grow a stock portfolio and see what happens over the next year with revenue. Now that I have some more clarity with the direction, and I’ve done some extensive traveling, I have a new body of work to share with the world and that’s exciting!

Colorado Travels: Standing off with bison

It’s been a few weeks since I’ve returned from my trip to Colorado and the Rocky Mountains but I’m just getting around to writing about the experiences and wanted to share the story of the time I fearlessly approached a bison and survived. My best friend Christina arrived later than expected in Colorado on Sunday, July…

Longwood Gardens, Blooming of flowers and new beginnings

“I know a bank where the wild thyme blows, Where oxlips and the nodding violet grows, Quite overcanopied with luscious woodbine, With sweet musk-roses and with eglantine.” ― William Shakespeare, A Midsummer Night’s Dream A Saturday stroll at Longwood Gardens had me stopping to smell the roses and learn about some history for a few hours. This…

Last weekend at Glen Onoko Falls

“You must live in the present, launch yourself on every wave, and find eternity in each moment. Fools stand on their island of opportunities and look toward another land. There is no other land; there is no life but this.” ― Henry David Thoreau As sweat collected on my brow and my breathing deepened, my heart…

Truths & Travel: The Butterfly Effect in Mexico

“Change one thing, Change everything.” – The Butterfly Effect Rising early Thursday morning in my flat in Mexico, I was excited about the day ahead. One of my fellow travelers in our mastermind group titled “Lionesses” (A group founded following the DenEx trip with Location Indie) booked a handful of us a driver to transport…

Why I’m excited to turn 40

To be honest, I had these thoughts and strived for most of these things in the past. I pursued relationships that were unhealthy just to see if I could get the right “box” checked, I tried to be someone who wanted kids or someone who should be running marathons. But that’s tiring, trying to be someone else when I’m just me. It’s better to just be me.

Family Firsts, Beach Vibes, and Cranberry Bogs in New Jersey

“Oh the places you’ll go” – Dr. Seuss This past weekend I took a trip to New Jersey to visit my aunt. While we were there, we decided to explore the area and found some amazing places. Our first stop was to Seaside Heights. Best Burgers in town! Along the Seaside Heights Boardwalk, we discovered Spicy Cantina….

Rediscovering Annville, my hometown

“If you really want to escape the things that harass you, what you’re needing is not to be in a different place but to be a different person.” ― Seneca, Letters from a Stoic Recently I took on a challenge to walk around my hometown of Annville, PA as a tourist. I’ve always wanted to…

Feeling alive at Lehigh Gorge State Park

“Thus sometimes hath the brightest day a cloud; And after summer evermore succeeds Barren winter, with his wrathful nipping cold: So cares and joys abound, as seasons fleet.” – William Shakespeare The cold weather has arrived and it reminded me today just how cold winter feels, and that feeling means I’m alive. Life is short….

Finding Truth while walking at Wildwood

“The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, but in ourselves.” ― William Shakespeare, Julius Caesar I find that it’s super easy to make excuses and lie to myself in order to justify things, to myself ,that is… I’ve had the discussion with myself, while laying in bed in the early morning, of considering…

Learning to trust at Swatara State Park

“And once the storm is over, you won’t remember how you made it through, how you managed to survive. You won’t even be sure, whether the storm is really over. But one thing is certain. When you come out of the storm, you won’t be the same person who walked in. That’s what this storm’s…

Enjoying the journey at Mill Creek Falls

“Adopt the pace of nature: her secret is patience.” ― Ralph Waldo Emerson Today I learned a bit of patience, gratitude, strength, and kindness. All of this while walking in nature. I ventured to Mill Creek Falls, located near River Rd., Airville, PA. The trip took me about an hour to drive there, but just…

New work up at Zeroday Brewing Co.

My Exhibit “The City I See: Chaos & Calm” is on display at Zeroday Brewing Co. in Midtown Harrisburg. The artwork will be up Feb. 17 – March 16. I’m so excited to announce some new work that I’ll be showing this month! The images attempt to show my feelings of confusion about where I…

Peace Exhibit up at Yellow Bird Cafe

Digital Photography by Deb Schell/2017 The Peace Images Exhibit is a collection of photographs of peaceful and scenic landscapes, rivers, lakes, and waterfalls. These images each remind me of a time when I felt at peace. While on a hike, while sitting by the river, while by the lake, sitting alone, or sitting with a…

Chickies Rock, Columbia, Pa.

I recently visited Chickies Rock in Columbia, Pa. Out for a short hike, up the hill, got a bit lost, then found my way to this spectacular view. In post-processing, decided to create a “paint-like” image using filters. ALL Images © Debra Schell / 2014 ~ All Rights Reserved Prints can be purchased via my website.

Travel. Hike. Click. Write.

Category: Nature Photography