Dam piers

I took a side trip home from work today, stopping by the Winfield Locks and Dam on the Kanawha River. I got a ton of photos, as the dam sort of faces the late afternoon sun. Perhaps I'll post more photos later, but this one sticks out at me.

When I took it, I was trying to get the mist at the base of the piers as the water flowed under and over the rollers.

When I downloaded the pictures tonight after helping someone with his homework, I noticed something that I didn't see when I took it.

To me, getting a good closeup of a heron in the wild is something like the Holy Grail.

Too often I scare one when I'm careless, and I kick myself for not being more observant as I'm walking to the river. This time I didn't even see it on the pier when I was there, and I didn't see it fly away while I was there.

One other thing about the Winfield Locks and Dam: On the side where I was shooting, there's a hydroelectric plant. When you walk to the fishing area farthest out in the river, you walk right by one of the outfalls. You can feel the water flowing around you. It's like, I guess, infrasound -- too low to hear. But you feel the vibration. It's so -- drawing upon my professional writer's vocabulary -- cool.