Hiking along the Little Miami River

Saturday
We went a bit further afield for our daily exercise today - up to John Bryan State Park and the adjacent Clifton Gorge State Nature Preserve. It was a pleasant day, with intermittent sunshine. We were happy to see the new bridge over the River was now open. This was a replacement bridge, and the old one had been out for quite a number of years now. This meant we were able to cross the bridge and follow the trail on the other side of the river for a change. However, I guess they haven’t had access to work on it until recently, so there was a certain amount of clambering involved, climbing over fallen trees! We walked down to the village of Clifton, with its mill, through the extremely narrow gorge, then back along the upper trail, for a total of over 6 miles! There was a profusion of wildflowers, especially large white trillium and Virginia bluebells. I’m so thankful for our almost daily walks out in nature, which not only provide us with exercise, but I find so important for my mental health, calming me and soothing me, especially when, as today, we were walking by running water, which I find a relaxing and soothing sound.