On the First Bridge We Crossed…

Father’s day. I don’t know what you did, but my family and I went on an amazing walk down Seven Bridges Road. We were at the first bridge for the majority of picture taking adventure which began with me trusting a little overgrown pathway down the steep side of a hill/cliff that ended at a short rocky waterfall. My determination to get down (and get down safely) was realized with success and allowed me a nice vantage point of the falls. A short while later, I returned to the road.

But that wasn’t the end of it, oh no! We arrived at the actual bridge (#1) and scaled the rocks on either side of the bridge to achieve river level. I was on one side and my brothers were on another. This arrangement I was perfectly happy with until our parents returned with the car (after driving it around a closed road) and I suddenly really wanted to go to the other side, but was wearing shoes and didn’t want to climb up and then down again. Selfish, indeed.

My mother was extremely nice and swapped shoes with me (she was wearing an old pair of mine) which allowed me the glorious opportunity of walking through a stone riverbed in squishy shoes. Goodness me, it was brilliant! Such nice, cool water and not having to worry about getting my feet cut. For the rest of the time there I was sloshing in and out of the water. Around the point of my first entry, our dog had decided to join in the cool currents as well. You’ll notice a picture of a swimming dog further down.

It wasn’t long before I had worked my way downstream and around a bend, out of sight of everyone else. I waded out to a rock in the middle of the river and sat on it for a while, snapping pictures here and there. The swift grasp of water wooshing past my feet in soggy shoes accompanied by their chilling embrace was nothing short of amazing. Sitting on that rock I was able to take in the beauty that surrounded me, and it succeeded in making me continue my adventure.

Picking my way across the river multiple times, I enjoyed displaying to no one besides the trees that I knew how to be careful. I never realized, truly realized, how much I deeply enjoy a good exploration adventure. Off the beaten path is my home. Following deer trails through the pines is my road. I’ll slip past a tree branch and try not to snap a twig. Leaving this place the way it was is a personal goal.

Soon, I made me way so far that I returned to the original falls. With soaked shoes, this time I was prepared to cross and get the falls from another angle. Snapping shots, not thinking too much about composition and just capturing what took my interest. I was only there a short while before my adventure was called to an end. My oldest brother found me and we returned to road level. Not much picture taking was involved after that, some was, but this was the best part. I can’t wait to get out there again. Not just for the pictures, my adventurer has been aroused and I don’t want it to fall asleep again.

~ by R.S.Sharkey on July 18, 2012.

2 Responses to “On the First Bridge We Crossed…”

  1. That sounds like a nice place. Your pictures of it are pretty.

    • Thanks, Jon!
      We’ll see when I can go back again, heard the flooding affected it along with everything else…

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