Back to River Bend

Not so many hikey posts lately, as Florian and I have been occupied with family and hardly get the chance anymore to get out in the woods. 

But we got to go on a little one recently, just before Florian had a rehearsal in Great Falls. Yep, it's Nutcracker season again, which means lots of rehearsals right near some of our favorite spots on the Potomac, like River Bend State Park. 

The river looks so pretty in the fall, 

 

and not surprisingly, Fozzie was not deterred by the cold water. It looked so clean and refreshing, it was tempting to join him.

but that will have to wait til next summer.

Of course the trail is pretty flat, and maybe doesn't make for the most thrilling of hikes. 

But it was enough just to be outside in the sunshine, 

to enjoy the last leaves remaining on the trees, and to look out over the water.

With less vegetation around, it's easier to notice really stunning natural features, like this tree with its gnarled roots exposed. 

How do some trees survive with their roots exposed and so close to the water? How did this tree get that way--did the river gradually widen, engulfing its banks and washing away soils along the way?

Whatever happened, it is beautiful. 

I wonder how that tree will look in a few years though, after the water levels rise even higher. 

Fozzie, do you wonder the same thing?

Probably not. Happily for them, I don't think dogs are troubled by existential questions, questions about the future, questions about the natural world and its rapidly shifting systems. 

They're just happy they get to go on a good walk.