Click on the photos for full-sized images.
 Bird's-Eye view of the covered bridge on the Greenway Trail. 
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One of the rewards of climbing mountains is the wonderful view of the surrounding countryside from the summit. Although the hills around the Greenway Trail aren't exactly mountains, if you leave the paved path and head up one of the hiking trails through the woods, you can get a different perspective of the area. The Greenway's covered bridge takes runners, bikers, walkers, roller-bladers, and dogs who should be on a leash, across a tributary of the New River. Do you think that the couple in the photo knows that you are looking at a photo of them right now? |
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Looking in the opposite direction, from the covered bridge up to hill, you can see the steep trail that the ASU (Appalachian State University) runners use for a Class IV Hill workout.
After Norm climbed it once, he found another route to the top which was less suicidal. Frieda reminded Norm of the hike up Mount Brown they did at Glacier National Park that involved an elevation gain of over 4,000 feet. Just as he proclaimed concerning River Run, Norm said that he is never doing that hike again. |
 The cross-country runners from ASU refer to the trail up this slope as "Suicide Hill."
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 Our Condo beyond the ASU parking lot. (Square building in the center of the photo.)
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Further to the southwest from the top of the hill, you can see our condo with more hills behind it. During the summer, the parking lot stays pretty empty but when the fall sememster begins it will be packed with student and faculty vehicles which will probably create a traffic jam in our neighborhood :-( The Appalcart Red Route makes a stop in the parking lot so you can see we don't have to go far to catch a bus. Norm waved in case Frieda was looking out of the window but she was out on the deck reading a book at the time. |
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Also, when you get on the cross-country trails, you are more likely to spot wildlife. This may include rabbits, deer, wild turkey, groundhogs, and assorted birds. Norm was able to get a photo of a deep blue colored bird before it flew off.
A check of a the Columbia University Ornithological Website, revealed that it was an Indigo Bunting. If you click on the "Zoom In" button, you can see a really nice photo of an Indigo Bunting that Norm "borrowed" from them. We had some bird feeders when we were at the Grandfather Campground but there isn't a place for one at the condo and Norm got tired of spending lots of money to buy bird seed. |
 A bird in the bush is worth a thousand pictures.
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