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Cornus Florida, a.k.a. Dogwood |
The park includes a riding stable, but having already finished a trail ride the previous day at Big Cedar Lodge, I figured I would use my own two feet this time. (Okay, so I didn't know about the Dogwood Canyon stables till I got there, but I'll remember to make reservations next time.) Anyway, I took the six-mile walking path by foot, photographing the many beautiful scenes along with way. The leaves were just beginning to open, slowly adding color to the grey deciduous trees.
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Vulture on the rocks, please... |
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I'd turn back, if I were you... |
And I have never seen a wider variety of waterfalls. From a faint trickle over mossy rocks and wild flowers, to a cascade waterfall pouring into a glassy stream, and enough block and tiered waterfalls adorning the gurgling streams to inspire the Keats in even the most unpoetic traveler.
The Hope Wilderness Chapel was a nice surprise to come upon, and their wedding brochure online says that you can arrive in a horse and carriage. Unfortunately, they were running short on grooms that day, so after taking a few snaps of the photogenic chapel I trudged on ahead, still, as the old vernacular would say, a spinster.
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Hope Wilderness Chapel |
The finale of the walking tour was the Jumping Hole -- I mean Glory Hole! The site of the crystal clear water really does give you the urge to go swimming. Behind the plunge waterfall gaped a deep, dark cave that looked right out of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer or Journey to the Center of the Earth. If you don't know what I'm talking about, spend a few lunch breaks getting acquainted with Mark Twain's and Jules Verne's fertile imaginations.
The grey sky that day could not minimize the canyon's beauty one iota. I left the canyon that day with a new love for, well, everything about it, but especially dogwood trees--now I want a house just surrounded by them!--and mossy stone bridges, not to mention a new addition to my photographic collection of unique signs.
And I just found out that Dogwood Canyon stands in the Mark Twain National Forest. Mark Twain! Now if that ain't cool, I don't know what is.
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