...Exploring W.V...Hike #2...the Carriage Trail...

...have you ever seen something in your town or city that you would like to visit...but just never took the time... ...that's the way it was with us and the Carriage Trail...we'd driven by it often (almost daily)...but never got out and actually walked the trail...

...so after our last hike...we drove a couple of miles to the Carriage Trail...and parked... ...we walked up the ramp and over the tracks... ...and we could see lots of interesting things down below...

...an orange baggage cart... ...a crumbly wall...(Jack is still thrilled to be out in new places)... ...a pretty inlaid bench... ...a wall... ...the entrance to the Carriage Trail... ...a little waterfall... ...Scout off the beaten path... ...proof that we were still in the city...a fire engine roared past... ...a great big knot on a tree trunk... ...pretty daffies about to bloom... ...a little bit of ice clinging in the shade... ...not for long as Scout pulls it off... ...the trail winds up the hill...back and forth to the top... ...a little bridge... ...over a little stream... ...seeing if it's safe to go inside... ...apparently so... ...briefly underground... ...they emerge from the other side... ...more evidence of last year's derecho... ...the cute little waste bins along the trail... ...a gate post?... ...more icicles...these ones had formed around vines...so as they melt they wind up hanging in mid air... ...a small cave...with some modern petroglyphs... ...the retaining wall was built around a tree that no longer exists... ...the sunny path... ...a statue...and a grave?... ...more signs of spring... ...a rather large stone bench... ...Jack enjoys the perch... ...a view of the city... ...a blooming bush... ...our first glimpse of the mansion... ...the back side of the mansion...overlooking the city...I bet the view is fantabulous... ...a glimpse of the front of the mansion... ...and the front itself...it really was a gorgeous day... ...walking back down...we noticed some things we hadn't noticed on the way up...

...these placques for tree/leaf identification...Black Walnut... ...Sugar Maple... ...and Sycamore... ...and some odd petrified wood... ...and coloured stones built into the wall... ...a defunct fountain... ...and as we get closer to the end of the trail going back down...we spied a paddle boat chugging up the river... ...another opening in the trees with a pretty view of the city... ...almost back to the entrance and a train rumbles past on the tracks we crossed over earlier... ...and it's a really long one as it's still going when we get back to the entrance... ...then we decided on our way back to the car...to walk across the bridge...remember when we did that before...last year about this same time... ...a pretty sky...and pretty lamposts... ...looking up river...we could see the gold plated Capitol building... ...Scout looking down... ...it's a dizzying height...and the bridge vibrates with each passing vehicle... ...stairs to the riverwalk...we've been there before...and guess what...that's hike #3 as well... ...I don't know what he's doing...apparently inspecting the rivets... ...a view back up the mountain of the mansion we just left... ...and just when we got back to the car...another train whizzed noisily past...

...Thanks for hiking with us...and have a lovely day!