When It Rains…

— Whenever I go road biking at the Northeast Metro Park, I always like to keep my eyes open for wildflowers and Gilleland Creek. I especially make it a point to bike in that area after heavy rains. True, at times part of the trail is blocked because of fallen trees or flooding, but often, I run into some pretty spectacular scenery along Gilleland Creek. A point of clarification here is needed. I say Northeast Metro Park, but in reality that is only my riding starting point. The trail I ride on goes through several parks in Pflugerville and covers about 7-8 miles (11-13 km) in each direction. The trail was built along or near the creek path. So, you are constantly able to view it in most sections. The photo above was made in March 2020, just a few days after some heavy rains. This section is right at the start in the Northeast Metro Park area. The creek was flowing pretty strongly there. Now, the photo below is more recent, from late May 2020. There was not much water, but in this section, the creek is very scenic. At times, the bridge from where I made the shot is covered with water. I have ridden it that way when there was water about an inch (2.5 cm) or so over the bridge. Whereas the first shot is a wider section of the creek, this bottom photo is in an area that is more shaded and narrower, towards the end of the trail. On this particular morning for the shot below, the sun was just beautiful highlighting certain sections of the creek. The creek was flowing fast, as you can see on the bottom left corner, but not quite as full as in the shot above. Although I do not carry a tripod when I bike, I was able to use some rocks on the bridge to support and keep my camera steady in order to make the shots with a very low shutter speed to show water motion.