Day 347 > Devil's River Winter

WHAT A MORN ING!! I had almost for gotten how much fun it is to be out shooting on a perfect winter's day. I strapped on my snowshoes this morning and walked down to Devil's River. The temperature was comfortable, the wind was light, the snow was deep and fresh...and as I passed into the cedar forest and into view of the river it was like walking directly into a Christmas card. This place is spectacular in ALL seasons! I had been hopeful to find "my" river and waterfall still free of ice and I had been encourage as I neared that I could hear the water still flowing...but as I feared, the subzero temps had done their worst in the past few days. I found the scene at the falls had been dramatically altered from that of a week or so ago. The water still flowed hard but invisibly now under a shell of ice that had formed over nearly the entire area of the cascades. Still, falling water escaped in a few places and gurgled through open spots in the ice. Above the falls, the river still held some water that reflected the snow covered trees around it and jutting out from the opposite bank, the old stone dam stood partially obscured by the snow. Just a wonderful scene.
It may take a little more preparation to enjoy the outdoors this time of year but it can be so worth it! There is a sense of adventure that I feel when I have to work a little harder to get where I'm going, especially those places that most people would never bother. And when the place I'm headed is as amazing as this, it makes for a special day that I won't soon forget.