Lovers' Tree

Today I paid Jess an overdue visit. We went down to a local park in her town and walked a 2.5 mile section of the Point of Honor Trail. The topography is fairly flat and the entire trail is paved so the walking was fairly easy. Unfortunately it is not a loop so we also had to hike the 2.5 miles back!

The most intriguing aspect of this trail is a huge railroad trestle that spans the valley. Between the angle of the sun and the trees I was unable to produce any satisfactory images there. This was one time when I really wish I had a nice wide angle lens.

Another such time was later when we came upon this tree which has been carved with initials and messages over the years. I same "came upon" but Jess knew it was here. After all, she has visited this park multiple times in the past. I spent some time climbing around it and getting closeups of some of the inscriptions.

At the end of our hike (or really the midpoint I suppose) there was a wide waterfall created by a dam in the creek. This proved to be another lovely spot along the trail. Whoever designed this urban oasis did a good job of planning for usage by families and cycling enthusiasts alike. While the trail itself is many miles long, there are frequent access points with parking lots and benches for resting.