Troutbirder II

Troutbirder II
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Sunday, August 8, 2010

New Horizons

It’s fascinating how our interests can branch off in new directions. A satisfying experience, a good book, movie or television show can open our eyes to new experiences. For me, friends have often opened the door. A long time friend and tennis partner got me interested in prairie restoration and birding. My mother engendered a life long interest in reading and music. Camping, at Sawbill, opened my eyes to canoeing in the Boundary Waters wilderness. And on and on....
More recently, our friends Steve and Jewel traveled with us to France. It was my second trip but Steve’s ability to speak French allowed us to see France in a new and more intimate way. A morning in the Parisian suburb of St. Denis, with its cathedral rich in the history of the French monarchy, wouldn’t have been likely possible on our own without Steve.
This week I opened up a new horizon, in a small way, for Steve. I had mentioned the cave/spring in Forestville Park that was the fount of one of my favorite trout streams - Canfield Creek. Although a lifelong resident of the area, he had never seen it and expressed an interest. We made the several mile trek through the woods to the site. In karst region of sinkholes and disappearing and reappearing rivers, the cave from which the stream emerges is a fascinating sight. The mouth lies at the base of a one hundred foot limestone bluff.
The trail to Big Spring Cave was once a narrow fishermans trail. Now with the expansion of the horse campground, that trail has been widened and graveled. We meet many horsewomen on the trail but no hikers or fisherman.





Some years ago, I was invited to help explore a newly discovered cave. Looking for new horizons, I quickly discovered that slithering on ones stomach, unable to turn around until you came to a "room" some yards ahead was an experience I didn't really care for. It wasn't panic claustrophobia that gripped me but it was an feeling I didn't like. Spelunking was a new horizon that I never repeated.

11 comments:

  1. What a lovely hidden jewel. And, I agree with you... slithering on my tummy with no room to move does not sound like my idea of fun either!

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  2. Glad you guys enjoyed France. It's a wonderful place to visit. Great photos.

    Jane

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  3. Spelunking is one horizon I'll pass up, thank you very much. Nice photographs.

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  4. The thought of those dark, tiny places produces absolute panic.
    Marnie

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  5. I agree with you TB, sometimes our lives and interests take a huge diversion off our normal tracks and we find ourselves in fascinating places.

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  6. There just has to be a trout hiding in there...LOL Nice place!!!

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  7. Kia ora TB,
    I love climbing on and about and in the forests, mountains, and streams, but NOT beneath them! Lovely area.
    Cheers,
    Robb

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  8. Great post!-it sounds like you have an open mind which is an important ingredient to discovering new horizons.I'm always hoping to do the same but you never know where and when they will appear.

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  9. No wonder it's a good trout stream--limestone! I share your anxiety about cavin' having tried it once upon a time in central NY--I found the acoustics nearly as disturbing as the water & confined space.

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  10. I think most people would share your unease. I know that whenever I have to get an MRI I have to lie with my eyes closed the whole time, or else it gets VERY "icky."

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  11. I would not go in there..but you were very brave to do so! :)

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