I have been meaning to write a post about the covered bridge in McConnells Mill for some time. You can see the bridge in this image taken on a foggy September day.
Well it turns out, this post is not about that particular day nor is it about the bridge.
A few weeks ago I decided to head over to the park to take a few fall pictures of the bridge for the post about it. I did not expect how many people would be running around taking photos of scenery. Many of them had some pretty fancy cameras compared to my simple 'point and shoot'.
In any case, I wanted to take a picture
like this one to illustrate the change in the foliage.
I did not notice there was someone taking a picture in my direction at the same time. You can see him in the close up to the right.
He seemed to be hanging around at that spot. I imagine he was waiting for people like me to wander off.
From there I walked around the mill intending to snap a picture of the bridge.
It didn't turn out as you can see in the below image. Not only because the left side is over exposed but I don't think you can miss the guy with the tripod. Like the previous photo, I did not see him until after the fact. He was also waiting for everyone to leave.
Seeing that every good spot was taken for getting a clean shot of the bridge, I decided to make my way over to nearby
Kildoo Falls.
There is actually a girl sitting on the top of the cliff! She is hard to see in the close up to the right, but trust me she is there.
She looked like she was posing for someone else with a camera.
Yikes! She is so close to the edge! What is she thinking? It made me edgy and worried she would fall, so I left.
Off to
Cleland Rock! I should be able to hopefully get a few good shots there.
At the bottom of the photo you can see the edge of
Cleland Rock. I wanted to move closer to the edge (not too close) but someone was in the way. He was sitting there when I arrived, dressed in black and engrossed in writing in a journal. I waited awhile for him to move before I took the above image. Two couples came and went beforehand. They had to stand behind him to see the view. Eventually I did the same to take the hurried shot. He was not acknowledging anyone and I figured best to leave him alone.
As I said in a previous post about Cleland Rock, something unusual always happens there when I visit. On that day, it seemed to be true for the entire park.
Last week I was pleasantly surprised to receive a new camera after a family dinner. Apparently a few of our relatives pooled money together for a Nikon Coolpix P90. I can't express how delighted I am with it.
I should have posted this photo before my last one. The above image was taken before we arrived to the covered bridge from Kildoo Trail. Behind the bridge you can see the old mill.
A photo of the side of the covered bridge in McConnells Mill. The sun was beginning to rise high enough to fully immerse the gorge in sunlight.
On that day, my oldest and I had starting hiking Kildoo Trail from Eckert bridge on the North Country National Scenic Trail portion. When we reached the covered bridge, we crossed the creek and headed back. The trail is a relatively short 2 mile loop and is considered 'moderate' hiking.
The covered bridge in McConnells Mill was built in 1874. In 1980, it was placed on the National Register Historic Places. Lawrence County rehabilitated the bridge in 1998 and it is currently open to traffic.
