Visiting a waterfall, especially on a hot sultry day, can be a favorite way to spend a day. You get in your car, drive for miles, then get out and walk the remainder of the way to a waterfall. Civilization has cleared and marked a pathway for you and the many thousands like you who have come to enjoy these named landmarks. Rarely do you get to enjoy the natural beauty of one by just stepping out into your own backyard. Behind my house, barely noticeable, is a trail leading through the woods to a waterfall. The trail is narrow but well worn.
Any shrubbery that would have grown has been trampled down and all that is left is a very narrow path, overhung with branches from the trees that mark its sides. As I start down the trail, I begin to feel the trees closing around me until the house can no longer be seen. I follow the trail to where it stops at the creek's edge, approaching quietly so as not to disturb any of the wild creatures that has come to enjoy the cool fresh water. I gently cross over the creek using the stones, which show the wear of several previous crossing, so that I can have full view of the creek and the beauty it possesses. I can hear the rush of the water long before I see the falls.