Exploring the trails at Saltwater State Park

After having a nice time with Viva it was time to hit the trails at Salt Water State Park with D'light. 

Up, up, up we go...

 

D'light is in his element and he's very excited to be on in the "woods".

A cool tree that has been in this position for a while.

View of the tree from the other side.

I was very excited to see trillium in bloom

Off we go and you can see by D'light's ears & body language he's on critter patrol!



The trail cuts under the bridge

We are on the lookout for critters, flowers and fungi!

This was cool - a tree growing over an old tree stump
 

This tree grew the same way but the old tree stump is now long gone

A field of ferns

Lots to smell

"Oh critters where are you?"

Silly boy and we didn't see a single critter. But, that doesn't stop D'light from be "ready".

There were a number of bridges to cross on the trail

A woodpecker has been busy

We pretty much have the place to ourselves. 

I'm guessing when it's nice out this park is hoping busy.

D'light was really into this bridge. 

He was doing a lot of detailing and bracketing.  Clearly some kind of critter was here fairly recently.

Time to get moving

We find even more trillium

"Look here!"

A cluster of moss and other living things on this post

There were lots ferns growing up to the trees

A huge cluster of trillium

 

We found some pink trillium! 

"Come on!"

The boys get a move on while I take some more pictures of the trillium

 

We find some big trees

With fungi growing up way up!

This tree had to be over 70 ft tall and I couldn't the whole tree in a picture

Here's what was growing at the base of the same tree

"Come see what dad found"

More fungi growing up trees

Time to get a move on

Here's more of what we spotted on our walk

We cross a stream

And find these great bright yellow plants

We make our way back up the hillside

We've done half of the trail loop - we started on the other side of the bridge.

Up we go to check out the next section of our adventure.

Viva visits Saltwater State Park

 

There are a number of state parks within a couple of hours of where we live. We've decided to visit a number of them in the coming month.  Wanting to visit before summer arrives since they are going to be pretty busy with warmer weather.  Our first state park adventure is Saltwater Park and it doesn't disappoint!

We are bringing Viva along and given how dog reactive she is, timing is everything.  We arrive early in the morning since most folks are not up for early weekend outings.  Good timing and we head check out the beach before we bring Viva out.

It's a pretty beach front with lots of drift wood and the tide was out.

We go back to the car and here comes Viva!

She doesn't miss a beat and she's ready to explore the area.

There's a lot to smell and see.

Lots of new textures on her feet as well.  Those include sand, shells and the driftwood.

She had so much fun climbing all over the driftwood.

As we explore the area, people are starting to arrive and Viva is doing really well when seeing people.

More to check out

Up down and all around she goes

She finds some crab shell and found it well worth some sniffs

Watching the environment around her

We head down to the water

Lots of shells and rocks full of barnacles.

We have a nice walk and Viva is doing great

Back to the driftwood!

More people watching

"What a fun place!"

We head over to another section of the park

A lot of large rocks line the shore

Pretty walk with good sightlines

Lovely view!

We head back and Viva wants to walk the driftwood one more time

Silly girl

There's more of this park to see but, Viva is headed back to the car where she can rest.  We've brought D'light and we are going to explore the rest of the park with him so stay tuned!

The sun is coming!

Viva says "Is that really the sun coming out?"

"Foster mom do you see the sun!?"

Viva is a smart girl and she found the first spot where the sun was streaming in.  D'light followed Viva and he was pleased about the sun.

The sun has moved and the girls have moved too!

A nice relaxing time of sunbathing

Gotta rest the eyes!

Nap time

Catty got hot and left so in moves D'light

He makes sure to get as much of the sun as possible

Viva is dead asleep and D'light having a nice time grooming himself in the sun

Time for R&R

Sweet ratties

Viva loves the sun!