Driving 33 Miles To Walk 2 In The Woods

Being in a timber, walking in the woods at any time of the year has always been one of my most redolent pleasures, but especially in the Fall. It didn't use to matter what the terrain was like, now it does, so a walk in the woods for me becomes, "Where can I find a smooth, level path through the woods and how close is it to home? 

I remembered one of the earliest "rail to trail" paths was in nearby Mt. Ayr from my school bus driving days in the early 80's. One evening after taking one of the Corning teams there for a game, I explored a bit of the new trail from the west terminus which was nearby. A little online searching showed that we could access the trail at Poe Hollow Park just east of Mt. Ayr. That would be a perfect place to park and then have the picnic lunch I planned to take - though the picnic was scrapped because of the gusty winds.

Always the one who wants to see/do everything "as long as we're in the area", I noted two or three other spots to check out while there. But, first, Poe Hollow and the Ringgold Trailway.

My first surprise was that the path wasn't paved. Oh, well, at least it is through the woods.

Bud would walk his fast, two-mile cardio pace, while I would amble along enjoying the sights and smells and stopping often to take pictures.

I needn't have worried about being wrong about the smooth, paved, path. After a short walk on the dirt path and some bridges and stairs......

......there it was, under a carpet of leaves.

Care to follow along?

 

A conundrum:

Leaf spotted or spotted leaf?

First I noticed the large, bright green leaves then I noticed...

....how far and high it vined into the canopy. 

It was a picture taken for its color and to show how the wind was blowing,

then I noticed the last quarter of the Harvest Moon was visible in the morning sky.

On the way back, tired, achy, happy.

A final picture from Poe Hollow of the water side gazebo ....

.... and then a little sight-seeing from the car.

Liberty Lake is Ringgold County's newest park. The 40 acre park includes this 12.5 acre lake, formerly the Mt. Ayr reservoir, docks, a shelter house and disc golf. It is a pretty park along highway 169 on the northeast side of Mt. Ayr and still being developed. 

Loch Ayr is a larger lake NW of town. I couldn't understand why it was not more prominently featured until I saw all the, I assume, privately owned lots with cabins and RV's. Some weren't too bad, but others gave the area a shabby feel, run down and crowded close together. 

Just south of Loch Ayr is a nice little pond and park. Fife's Grove Park has shelter houses, a playground, camping spots and a much more peaceful feel about it.

From here it was back home for lunch, a nap, and importing my photos. One of which I neglected sharing: 

One of the first pictures I took along the Ringgold Trailway was this mushroom. It was so cleverly disguised among the fallen leaves I almost missed it. (And completely missed the other one on the right side until I had the pictures on the computer.) 

I don't remember ever seeing those little white spores(?) on the underneath side of a fungus before. Must investigate further.

Just this short trip out of town reminds me that there is still a world out there which can be enjoyed while still taking precautionary measures against Covid-19. And I thoroughly enjoyed my morning walk in the woods. 💛

(Something I didn't notice at the time was that the previous post was my 1700th. Had I realized that I would have tried making it more significant.) 😉