Flying by the Seat of Our Plans

Well, that didn't take long.  Only a couple days after my last trip, Laura caught up in the Rec Your Quarantine challenge, so it was time to cover some ground with Lucy again.  We headed to the Tunnel Hill trail again, but this time at the Barkhausen Cache River Wetland Center. I noticed signage as we pulled in that the entrance to the parking lot is closed and locked at 4:30pm daily, which I hadn't anticipated.  We went just a bit back up the highway and parked at an access to the wetlands just west of the road.  We had to walk a short way down Hwy 37, which was stressful with a stroller, to say the least, but were quickly off the road and on the trail. Lucy really enjoyed watching the water flowing on the Cache from this bridge just outside the visitor center grounds We hit the Junction for Karnak and then headed north on the trail a bit further until we hit another bridge over the Cache River.  The river dumps into a diversion canal her...

I was falling behind Laura in the Rec Your Quarantine challenge and needed to put on some miles so that I don't lose the bet.  It has been a bit warm for hiking with Lucy in the Ergo pouch, and she's not quite ready for the backpack, so we headed back to Tunnel Hill trail where I could push her in the stroller.  We had made it to the Breeden Trestle bridge last time, but I was hoping to go further this time and also came prepared with the cameras this time. Soon after leaving the parking lot, we passed through the namesake tunnel. I was impressed by how much more vibrant green the vegetation along the rock walls was after all of our recent spring rains. We didn't make it far from the tunnel before Lucy got hungry and demanded that we stop to sit on a rock for a bit.  While she was laying across my lap, I was delighted to notice the reflection of the tree canopy in her eyes as she stared at the leaves. I could hear water rushing just beyond ...