Views from the Trail

The SECOND draft is done! Yes, I’ve crawled out of the writing cave yet again.

With a Vengeance has been sent off to my beta readers—fresh eyes to read the entire manuscript straight through. In the meantime, I’m taking two weeks off to do other things. Like blog. And begin outlining the next Zoe Chambers mystery.

And get out in the sunshine!

This weekend, my camera and I hit the bike trail between Ohiopyle and Confluence on a beautiful summer day.

I wasn't the only one enjoying the day. This guy was fly fishing at the confluence of the Casselman River, the Youghiogheny River, and Laurel Hill Creek. My hubby was out there on the Yough (pronounced YAWK) somewhere, too, but this wasn't him.

 Here's a view of Confluence...both the town and the spot where the Casselman comes in from the upper right, is joined by Laurel Hill Creek on the upper left, and merges with the Yough at the bottom of the frame.

Further along the trail, I took a few moments at this little mountain stream, which slices through the wooded hills on its way to the Youghiogheny.

 There were kayakers aplenty on the river.

 The Great Allegheny Passage is an old railroad bed. Across the river, a still-active line carries a lot of train traffic. One train passed while I was taking photos.

 Lots of rafts float the river, too.

I love this abandoned railway trestle over the bike path. Notice how the town's kids have created murals on the supports.

The one sight I didn't photograph was the beautiful, but camera-shy doe, who crossed my path.

I'm glad I took advantage of the day off. And I hope the rest of you take some time to enjoy the view from wherever you are, too.