Late Autumn Visit to John Bryan State Park

There's something particularly warming about spending time in nature at this time of the year. Pretty much all the leaves have fallen, leaving the soft crunch of dead leaves on the paths;
the honeysuckle which seems to survive any time of the year is still showing green leaves and a few faded flowers occasionally can still be seen.

I had to get away from my daily grind for one day at this time and this day seemed perfect. The only problem is that it was perfect for many others too.
It was an extremely bright, cool day and I thought I would have some sense of quiet, but the park is still filled with many weekenders taking large groups of children for a stroll through this park. Some of the trail is very easy, making it a good opportunity for a sort of "get away" with the kids. I just wanted wanted to walk and take the occasional photo, but it seemed in some ways like city traffic. I passed one group of probably 20 young people with a couple of adults.

Which is why I also like to go in January when it is too cold for any but the hearty. I'm looking forward to that time when the river waters are shallow and often frozen.

John Bryan affords large cliff rocks with some challenges if you walk all the way from one end into the Clifton Gorge area where the Little Miami River narrows tremendously and the paths are very rocky and with lots of ups and downs.

Despite the leave-less trees, on a day like this, the colors though very muted are still a delight when looking across the small river.