A Hike and a Canoe Trip

"The woods are lovely, dark and deep, but I have promises to keep, and miles to go before I sleep."  --Robert Frost

This spring we have been canoeing in and hiking around the Iowa River and Pine Lake.  Photos here are assorted shots from the lake on March 28th and the river on April 16th & May 9th.  You'll notice some variety in the stages of spring.

"There is a spot to me more dear than native vale or mountain, a spot for which affection's tear springs grateful from its fountain.  'Tis not where kindred souls abound, though that is almost heaven; but where I first my Savior found, and felt my sins forgiven!"  --William Hunter

The bridge on the lower right is no longer in use.  We might never have known it was there,had we not travelled down the river.

“Lord, thou hast been our dwelling place in all generations. Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God.”--Psalm 90:1-2

"There is no school equal to a decent home and no teacher equal to a virtuous parent."  --Ghandi

"I don't think of all the misery, but of the beauty that still remains."  --Anne Frank

"Think about all the beauty still left around you and be happy."  --Anne Frank

"I am still determined to be cheerful and happy, in whatever situation I may be; for I have also learned from experience that the greater part of our happiness or misery depends upon our dispositions, 
and not upon our circumstances." --Martha Washington

"For in the true nature of things, if we rightly consider, every green tree is far more glorious 

than if it were made of gold or silver."  --Martin Luther

The stretch of land beside the river on the upper left used to be a dump or junkyard.  There are still old cars and other large items.  On the right is the Hardin City Bridge.  It was moved from the river and sits beside a gravel road.  Hardin City is a ghost town that even the ghosts have forsaken.  The bridge and the Hardin City woods remain; that's about it.

"The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched.  
They must be felt with the heart."  --Helen Keller

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