Sunday was put aside for Trevor and I to hang out before he heads back up to college!  We had set out on our journey with the plans being, he would catch trout to go with the dinner he was planning to cook for us!  Lucky for me, trout fishing is done out in the forest with nature all around! While he fished, I shot photos!  That said, let’s get started :

Trevor knew about this awesome old train bridge over the Maple River that he thought would be a good place to catch fish!  I had no idea it was even there, and it is only about 1 mile from our apartment! (:  While he fished from the bank, I climbed up the steep hill and onto the train bridge itself!  Since we don’t have any trains up here anymore, the bridge has been converted in order to be a part of the Michigan Snowmobile Trail!

Here is the view from the top, in all 4 directions!  The Maple isn’t very deep right here!  The water level is very low again this year, but you can see that in years past it was much higher!

Here is us on the train bridge!  Trevor has no idea that I even took this shot of him!  Shhh!  Don’t tell him, okay?! (:  I was having a very bad hair day, but you can see how much weight I have lost, so I included this shot!  I just wish my pockets hadn’t been so full of everything under the sun!  I think that I would have looked better with them empty!

I think that these are Baneberries, but I am not sure!  They are also very similar to choke cherries, so maybe that is what they are!  The ones in our complex are a bit different, but I am sure there are many types of choke cherries!  I imagine the birds and the bears love them! 

There were a few of these flowers up by the bridge itself!  I have fallen in love with them!  Does anyone know what they are?  JJ?  Annie?  Hersh?

Since we struck out at the train bridge, we headed over to the Dam!  This is still Maple River btw!

This is the back side of the dam!  The actual concrete part of the dam is on the other side of the road!  Unlike the train bridge, this section of the river bank isn’t as steep!  There are trails to follow all along the river’s edge,which I did!  Trevor had several good nibbles here, but didn’t actually catch any fish!

Here are the trails that are off into the forest!  I love the way they look so rugged but beautiful little paths!

I am not sure if this is the work of beavers or the current, but I thought it looked pretty cool over on the other side of the river!

This tree branch resembles a spider web, but this wasn’t done by a spider!   This is fishing line, some even have sinkers on them where fishermen have cast their line only to have it get tangled up in the tree!  I thought it was rather funny!  Trevor said that some of it might be his from earlier fishing trips! ( :

Here is the view looking down the river!  I bent down on one knee to photograph a leaf while I was out here on the river’s edge, and was actually  down about 2 seconds before I jumped up and realizing that I was kneeling on wet marshy weeds and mud! My pants were indeed wet! (:

This is more trees, sticks, and roots that have spent some serious time under water and in the current!  The bark is all stripped off, and the white of the wood shines! It looks freshly polished! This is also my 2nd favorite shot of the day!

I looked across the river and into the dense forest, and realized just how lush and green it is!  I love nature!!!

Trevor moved over to where the river bends and that is where he got his nibbles and tugs on his line!

Somebody left behind their Whoopin Stick!  Well that is what we call it up here! (:

This is just where the trail is right directly beside a shallow part of the river!  I liked the way it turned out with the reflection from the sky!  It sure would have been nice to have a sunny blue sky kind of day, but we didn’t!

I found this and it gave me the sadz!  It is still supposed to be summer!  We are not ready for this yet!

Just down the trail we found this!  We figure it was done by a woodpecker, but there is no way to know for sure without seeing one!  What are your opinions, my fellow nature lovers?

This tree fell over into the river and made a beautiful design with it’s roots!

I was suprised to find this big blob of foam on the water!  I never thought to ask Trevor why this happens!  I mean he is about to earn his first degree in Biology specializing in fish, so he should know!

There once was a babbling brook!  In spring there is always a lot of water in this little stream that flows into the Maple River!  I am not sure where it originates!  But I always love how those tiny green leaves grow on that big old fallen tree trunk!  Some people have stepped on the top of it this year, which bums me out!  They don’t have to ruin it!  There is a log bridge that goes over the brook and onto the last leg of the trail !

On our way back to the van, I decided to stop and take a shot of the pretty thistle that is growing everywhere up here right now!  It is such a beautiful shade of violet!  I liked how this one was just starting to open up as opposed to the ones that are already open!

Last is my favorite shot of the day, like always! They used the old railroad ties to make a few steps as you climb up to the train bridge!  One still has the spike in it, so I had to get a shot!  I didn’t put the thistle there either!  It had just grown to the side!  I do think it adds a nice touch though!

Sorry for this being SO long, but I haven’t done one in awhile, so I thought what the heck!  I didn’t include the shots I took that day of my neighbor’s petunias, or more from the basketball court that day!  I still have no idea how we ended up at the basketball court, but somehow we did! And then…the sun came out! ( :

Let me know what photo is your favorite?