Old Pictures

This is the path that inspired me to display these photos and then take new photos.  It is part of an abandoned railroad.  It is miles long and perfectly flat.  There are very few curves.  It seems boring to walk where there are no hills to climb or surprises around the bends, unlike many of the trails that I frequent.  If, however, you look to the north, you can see geese swimming in the cold winter water.

And if you go down to the water's edge, there is a much nicer view of the geese.

Then, when you turn back to this boring trail, there are truly exciting surprises.

This is the trail, as seen from the north side.  The drop from the trail to the small river is about 30 feet.  Notice the beaver dam on the other side of the bridge.

As you step back, it can be seen how large this bridge is. 

There is no concrete in this bridge.  According to town records, this bridge has stood for over 150 year.

It is thrilling to see such workmanship!

The beaver dam is great workmanship too.

From the south side of the trail, the bridge reveals even more of its spectacular structure.  The morning sun in the winter time comes from the south.  It overwhelmed my cheap camera.

This is truly a monument to engineering.

And absolutely no concrete was used to make this bridge.

But, the beaver dam is not quite so impressive from this angle.

This view shows the majesty of this beautiful structure.

And it really is deep in the woods, just off the path commonly traveled.

This is a visitor to my house.  In addition to porcupines, I have raccoon, deer, turkeys, coyotes, fox right outside the front door of my house.  The porcupine was the only one who let me take his picture.

During one of my treks, I came across some interesting tracks.  I followed them through the woods for hundreds of feet until I finally identified them as bear.  The biggest animal I have ever seen in the woods is a moose.

My pond in the winter.  If you look at the tops of the trees, you can see that these pictures were taken just after sunrise.  That is my favorite time of day.

Almost empty from the summer drought.  But still beautiful to see.

The road to my house after a small winter storm.

The railroad tracks into town.

The road into town in late autumn.

It is a long road, with a little snow from the first storm.

The smokestack of the abandoned factory is now a tower for cellular telephones.

The same road in the winter.

And there is a train coming.

This is my kind of path.  It is hilly, snowy and there is a surprise around the bend.

And there is the surprise.  A quarry abandoned over a hundred years ago.

Other hills and other surprises await.

Like a cliff into a frozen pond.

And what is on the other side of that cliff?  Another cliff!

And questions abound.  Who worked here and what was their story?

And now the path home.

Spring is my favorite time of the year.

And soon everything will be green.

One of my favorite pictures.  On the morning that I took this picture, everything had a thin layer of ice.  This is a small area of low brush.  Every facet of ice refracted the light into hundreds of colors.  It was like looking at a pile of diamonds.  I wish my camera could have captured the colors as I saw them.