We headed out a little earlier this morning. We headed to Piedra Falls and the weather is great. I read the falls were really nice and the hike was pretty easy. The falls are located about 30 miles away on mostly gravel National Forest Access roads. Two years ago when we traveled some of these same gravel roads they were terrible and I wasn’t sure how well this was going to work. We were pleasantly surprised. This time around the roads were all in very good condition. You could easily maintain 30-40 mph without any real discomfort. We arrived at the trail head and found ourselves the only ones here. What a treat. The hike was pretty easy and mostly level. Since we were by ourselves Maverick got to run off leash the entire time. The hike was ½ mile to the falls and because we got there by 10am the temperatures were nice and cool. We thought the falls and river were beautiful. After a short time at the falls another group arrived. By the time we made it back to the car there was three cars in addition to ours. We got lucky to experience the hike and a little time time at the falls by ourselves.
After the falls we went to Williams Reservoir. This lake was the destination a two years ago when the roads were bad. On that trip we were at the lake near 4th of July and it was very crowded. Visiting today only added about 8 miles. As always the lake was very beautiful. The lake was calm and the surrounding mountains reflect in its surface. Today, the lake didn’t have very many people so it was quiet and serene. Maverick enjoyed wading in the lake. On the return trip we stopped at a gorge we stumbled on last time. There isn’t any signage for the gorge but if you pay attention there is a parking area where you can hike a few hundred yards down a hill to the cliff edge of the gorge. The gorge is probably 200 ft deep with a very scenic river. Maverick enjoyed climbing on the rocks around the gorge.
When we got back to town we decided to eat at the Buck Stops Here again. This time the wait for food was really long and Donna’s grilled chicken wasn’t very good. Bummer.