SHARPE SPRING

Yesterday was another good day so I decided to take the youngin' on another short hike. Actually I upped his mileage to a mile and a half to get a little more strength into his legs. Instead of going back to Hemlock Cliffs I took him to the Sharpe Spring trail east of Leavenworth, Indiana. The trail is only about a mile long but it's got a lake and creek that makes things a little more interesting. We found a Canadian good standing one legged in some shallow water and a couple of pintail ducks were swimming about until they saw us then made a quick exit. Near the back of the trail is Sharpe Spring. This spring is one of the biggest around and with the spring rains loading up the water table it was pouring out plenty of water. On days like now you can expect to see tens of thousands of gallons of water coming out of the rock wall in the background every hour.

There are several big rocks around the spring which makes it a nice place to have a snack or take a break. On the other side of the stream is a place a person can even camp out if they wish. With the stream right next to the campsite it makes a great place to get water if you need it. Since I wanted to get Clayton a little more mileage we went ahead up one of the horse trails for a few hundred yards. I checked out another creek bed that turned out to be dry and then we turned back. With temps climbing into the upper 70's the little guy wanted to go back to the spring for another break. He seemed to be pretty content at this place.

I found this streaming moss whisping in the water next to a limestone rock. The moss was like hair dancing in the swirling water complete with gracefullness. Finally we headed back toward the truck. I asked him if he wanted to go on another walk but the little guy said he was ready to go home. It might have had something to do with a video game he hadn't finished yet. We'll be going out again. Before long I'll move him up to two miles and see how he handles that.