Shadow Falls: winter edition

On yesterday's run I ventured down to the Shadow Falls trail, a rare treat. This place is fairly new to me, but I have a soft spot in my heart for it because it's right in St. Paul, next to a busy road and pedestrian path, but it feels so quiet and peaceful. The little half-mile path leads to a waterfall, which I discovered last year in late March. Josh and I visited again in early June, but it was too muddy to get to the waterfall. (We also went there for some of our engagement photos later that month.)

Yesterday was the first time I've seen the area in the winter, covered in snow. The path was neatly packed down by the ice climbers, hikers and runners that use the trail in the winter. I ran over to the waterfall and looked at it (frozen and covered in snow!) from up high but didn't hike down to see it up-close.

First amazement: after an extremely cold winter, the creek is still open:



I think this stream will always remind me of our Tennessee hike back in November 2012, but the memory was even stronger this time because the stream was steaming, just like the creek in Tennessee had been steaming at the end of our hike.

Second amazement: the snow had frozen on the rocks in the prettiest way:

Third amazement: I haven't seen anything green in nature in months, but tucked in this little creek in the ravine, here we are:

I also loved the little footbridge at one stream crossing, covered in snow:

I only had a few minutes to explore, but I love rediscovering this place in each season.