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@ crrdlx
2025-06-12 14:36:24After dropping off a relative at the airport, my wife and I found ourselves in an area that was rather new to us and we had the whole afternoon open. So, what to do? We stopped by the local Visitor Center for ideas. The usual shopping and dining routine isn't a big interest to us (though I like to eat!). No, it was time to get outdoors.
So, some local trail maps gave some ideas and off we went. Hiking is nice, and, even though you're huffing it out when you hike, it's relaxing to be outdoors. An aimless amble in nature is the reward itself. But, it's also sometimes nice to have a destination in mind, a goal to reach. The trails we chose had a few waterfalls and three were within our range. Waterfalls are great as destinations: you usually have to hike rugged trails to get to them, but when you do, there's a big payoff. Here's a teaser:
Along the walk to waterfall number one, an interesting shadow caught my eye on the trail. The shadow looked like a wreath on the ground in a nearly perfect circle. With the other leaves, the shadow looked like a large blooming flower. Overhead, the maple branch was filtering out the light just right to make the shadow. I thought it was neat.
Just below that shadow, we came to the stream and saw the falls through the trees.
Here's a closer view of the falls. From where I took the pic, there was a steady roar of water, of course, and, you could feel the cool mist and breeze like natural air conditioning...a multi-sensory experience and yet another payoff for the hike. The young man in the image decided to do a hand stand, because, that's what you do at the base of a waterfall, right?
A second falls was called Triple Falls. I bet you can guess why...
We went to a third falls which was low and wide, but really more of a swimming hole because the pool at the bottom was also wide and deep. It being a warm and sunny day, it was rather crowded with people cooling off. No photo because I didn't want to be the weird person pulling out a camera and taking pictures of people in their swimsuits!
The hike back was a nice, relaxing trail walk that looked like this:
Returning home, my wife agreed we made a good choice for the day.
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