Lost In The Right Direction

When you make plans and the weather changes, you can either bale or just ride through the rain.  The Echo Ridge trails are a great place to ride after a long day at the office.  Close to work, easy to get to and a very peaceful quiet place to ride.  Sometimes you need just a little bit of time in the great outdoors to shed the stress of the daily grind behind a desk.  We didn't get to wet, just a little mud speckled and dampness to brighten our day.  The adrenaline rush from just riding a bike, feeling the wind rush by always puts a smile on my face.  Most of the time I run out of gas a lot sooner than I would hope, but just getting out and breathing in that clean forest air makes every minute worth it.  Stopping to smell and admire a few flowers along the way add to the wonderful ride.  This is our go to place when time is tight and we need a  quick ride.

Wow, the amount of water coming down this waterfall was incredible.  I have visited this falls in mid summer, but spring is the time to go see it.  With spring run off this falls is pretty fascinating.  We were able to visit it in late afternoon and catch the light filtering through the trees with the spray from the falls bouncing up and creating beautiful misty light.  The trail to the bottom falls is a short distance on a paved trail with a gentle grade.  You can continue on farther up the trail for more views.  Nature is a beautiful thing, it's so good to get out and enjoy it. 

One of my favorite things to do after a days work is take an evening stroll through fields of wildflowers.  As the flowers start to bloom I try to spend as much time outside as possible, soaking in all the beautiful wildflowers that grow around us.  For some flowers the season is really short and enjoying them in all their splendor requires getting outside a few evenings a week.  Spring seems to come and go so swiftly on our dry hills.  It's always fun trying to locate new places to explore that have an abundance of wildflowers.