Before it gets too cold outside

We decided to go back to Line Creek Nature Area. The weather was warm this afternoon - hovering around sixty degrees - so we decided to give the dog a last romp at the park, which is pretty tolerant of off-leash pups.

While Gracie was not interested in getting totally wet today, she did enjoy drinking long drafts of river water and splashing in the shallows, as well as scaring people and running around like a half-crazed dingo.

The day was beautiful, in spite of a lack of sunshine, and the changing leaves, while not spectacular this year (or in this area in general) were quite unexpectedly nice to look at, especially along the lake shore. The water was as clear and still as glass today, like a reflecting pond.

I want to visit the park at Lake McIntosh sometime soon, but I'm not sure if they've finished with construction yet. A lot of maps still have not been updated properly to show the lake's existence. I assure you - it is very much there. I have the pictures to prove it.

I actually took about fifty pictures of the area, Gracie, and my partner this afternoon. A lot of them turned out very nice, especially for pictures made from a cell phone. It's a Samsung Galaxy something-or-other.

Anyway, the trail was relatively short. All told, we walked 3.1 miles with a lot of up-and-down, including some scrambling over rock piles, tree roots, and other rugged terrain.

This is just an example from the shoals area of the creek, not too far from the entrance. We were moving too fast to get any decent trail shots. Maybe next time, which will likely be in the spring, unless we have an unexpected warm spell during one of the weekends I'm not working.

I'm not betting on it.

Still, fun times today. I may post more pic-spam with dog later on.