the greatest of falls

before april came to a close, bae and i drove out to great falls park. it’s a beautiful location less than an hour away from our house, and we’d been planning on going hiking once the weather warmed up a bit. i had so much fun taking pictures and filming short clips of our walk. i hope you enjoy some of the pictures!

there’s a few trails all throughout the park, some near the water, some more into the woods. i love bodies of water, so we opted to follow the river trail.

there’s a stunning overlook that gives you a full view of the falls. the sound of the roaring currents made it difficult to talk, but it gave you a sense of peace being around the sound of the water.

as we continued on our hike, i kept finding extraordinary views – it was difficult to not take pictures of everything i saw. this one, in particular was so enchanting because of the soft white flowers on the right, reaching out into the sun.

i was really fascinated by the different flora we found along the trail. this one, in particular caught my eye because of how it seemed to almost grow out of the bed rock.

as we went along, there were different educational signs telling you about the canal that once was maintained in the area to help boats get downstream without running into the falls. there were various structures, and i found all the little stones and designs captivating.

this “lock” in particular, was so cool, to me. we walked through it, instead of around it, and i felt a bit of magic – like we were strolling inside a different time. it was both haunting and whimsical.

as we made it higher and higher in the trail, the views got even more breath-taking. the best part was that it wasn’t too sunny, so you didn’t feel as though you were being beaten down on by the sun.

once we got to one of the highest points, i wanted to take a picture. i was so happy and having so much fun. at this point i was so sweaty, and i was exhausted from blowing my nose, but i couldn’t stop smiling.

as we made our way down, i found another patch of the same flowers from earlier. again, they seemed to almost grow out of the bedrock. these ones were even more beautiful than the ones from earlier.

we headed down a large crevice, and the rocks seemed to climb higher and higher above us. there was this striking red flower growing off the cliff’s edge. it was the only brightly colored flowers i’d seen the whole time.

we made our way back through a winding forest trail. i found more cute tiny flowers, i had to stop and stare for a while. i’ve never seen so many different types of wildflowers before, and they all had their own unique shapes and ways of growing. i was so enthralled.

my favorite, by far, had to be these blue beauties. they were a like a pop of color on a seemingly green landscape. the wind kept blowing while i was trying to take a picture, so they wouldn’t stop swaying. i felt as though they were waving to me.

we ended up passing by a part of the canal that was still filled with water. these ducks were clearly taking advantage of the shallow waters and searching the mud for food. they kept looking at me cautiously before they would dive down to search some more, but i got a few decent shots.

as we got closer to the entrance, i found some buttercups. this one was so beautiful, the petals seemed almost perfectly shaped. it was so bright and yellow.

as a kid did you ever do the butter test? you’d hold the buttercup under your chin and if you glowed yellow, that meant you like butter. bae looked at me in shock as he’d never heard of this before, and i giggled when i held it under his chin and proudly exclaimed “you like butter!” as you can see, i’m clearly a fan.

we went to the overlook just to enjoy the view of the rapids one more time before heading home. i felt that against the murky water, the buttercup became even more beautiful, and i twirled it in my hand while we listened nature around us.

i was so tired after, my legs were shaking quite a bit, but it was an afternoon i’ll never forget. we had so much fun walking, talking, and enjoying the scenery. we even went ahead and got a park membership so we could come back here several times this year.

a simple date like this can really help you appreciate your partner, your health, and the world around you. sometimes i’m in awe at how blessed i can be.