What a day!

[the place] Little River Canyon, National Preserve, Alabama

[what] high bluffs, rapid flowing water, waterfalls, large river and small creeks, 600 ft deep canyon

[who] anyone who wants to take a trip into the rugged country, view mountainous terrain, pic-nic on a high bluff over hanging a cliff, hike into the forrest, and end your day by wading barefoot through a fast-moving river or dangle your feet into the various little ponds, and walk away feeling refreshed and tired all at the same time.  It's worth it!! 

trail leading into the forrest where the river is located

this pic really doesn't do the waterfall justice; we were standing to the right of this picture on the one above

it's a wide river and there were some who waded across it; waist-deep; it is shallow here, where the boys are, but out in the middle, it is deeper, but you can see the bottom and it's very clean-thankfully we didn't see any snakes

it was so nice to sit and dangle our feet into the cool, clear flowing water--refreshing!!

walking along the side of the river, we found thousands of tadpoles; some were in this little pool

just to the left of where the kids are, is the 600' waterfall; the boys were so interested to 'feel' the rushing water through their hands, so they knelt down and leaned into it; yea, they could have fallen in!

waterfall is just behind the kids; it's wide and fast and rocky and deep down there

we drove over the bridge and around to the other side of the river; there was an overlook, so we stopped to take a pic--gorgeous!  the tree is blocking it, but just to the left of the waterfall, is where we just were in the water above

we drove down the scenic way, along the river's edge; every so often we would stop, get out and snap a few pics--"Booooo!" Said the kids! But if I didn't take some pictures, how in the world could I have blogged about it! Ha!!

This is Mushroom Rock-we had a little lesson about how the rock formed into this shape and why. Hey, we are a homeschooling family, and not a day goes by that we don't sieze a {teaching moment}-you homeschoolers absolutely KNOW what I mean! It's a lifestyle!

There were all kinds of rocks in this area that we could climb; "Next time, we are climbing Mushroom Rock, Mom!" "yea," I said,thinking to myself..."I don't think so"...lol

driving down a little farther along the scenic trail, we found this [GoRgEoUs] cliff area, so we stopped and took a hike through the woods and then to this little overhang;

Uhh, "Yes, it was steep."

Since I injured my ankle, I haven't really been able to hike as well as I used to.  It was so much fun though, I IGNORED the pain! (and paid for it the next day)

the river flows in this canyon for about 12 miles; we stopped at the designated over looks to {LooK}

some areas have protection barriers, some do not; extra-attentive, [caution] MUST be taken, especially with very young or disobedient children; hate to put it that way, but it's the truth! No room for error here- I love children too much to take any chances with their lives...my children are, of course, COMPLETELY OBEDIENT---[not!!] { jk-jk }

we came across a little waterfall (Graces High Falls) and it was beautiful; plunging over river-carved sandstone onto huge fossil exposed rocks below-and hey, you can go see it if you want to hike your way on across that canyon...not us! 

we stood over the river on a boulder over hanging the cliff; 'daughter' was brave and wanted to [Look]down into the canyon; [W H Y ?] yep! there was nothing below her...just canyon and trees...well, they would have at least broken the fall...uh, I don't want to think about the word "broken"

very steep grade; have to drive down it; can't see clearly; may drive off into the river; may slip off the side of mountain; hold on!! but what if I just drive off the side...am I the only one who has ever thought that??

"sons" wanted to hang over the cliff on this dead tree; again I say, [W H Y ?]

(ok, they're not really hanging [over] the cliff;) if you look in the pic (above), where they are walking up the trail, you will see the old, fallen, dead tree

walking back to the truck we found another good place for a pic-nic, a smooth, flat boulder; next time

 

crossing a bridge where another small creek flowed by

after driving down a very steep grade we found this {tranquil setting}; it was late in the day and so we only stopped for a minute, then headed on our way

the end of our trip brought us to the [mouth of the canyon] which is an actual swimming hole and how nice for us...there was nobody there;

very, very deep; calm waters though; too wide to swim across with children; the shallow shore is only shallow for about a foot and a half (1 1/2 feet), then it quickly drops off to about three feet (3 feet), then much deeper; NOT CLEAR WATER;

nevertheless, is was peaceful; there are picnic areas set up with tables, grills, and restrooms; hiking trails thread all through the lower canyon platueas and walls

We are planning another trip to Canyon River and this time we are going to bring some friends! Ok, friends...better get ready, 'cause we're gonna have some fun!

National Park Service

U.S. Department of the Interior

National Preserve

Alabama

The National Parks Service cares for special places saved by the American people so that all may experience our heritage. To learn more about parks visit http://www.nps.gov/ 

(taken from the Little River Canyon brochure)