Hike

Yesterday was Martin Luther King, Jr., Day. To celebrate we all decided to go for a hike. But as usually occurs when my parents elect to take an outing or day trip, it took the two of them a while to figure out where to go.
To Sugarloaf Mountain?
To the monuments of Washington, D.C.?
After several hours of this, we all got into the car. They still had not yet decided. Typical.
Father had to go pick up work supplies from Potomac so on the way there, they settled upon Great Falls, Maryland. Mother became a little nostalgic as we wandered through the woods along the river, because she used to come here as a young human and would hike with the family dog, Romeo. I hear a lot about this Romeo. Apparently he was a terrier and could open Christmas presents with his teeth. I admit I am somewhat envious of that particular skill.
We saw some other doggies but I was not forced to pass within close distance of them, for which I am grateful. An advantage to this particular park is that there is a riverside trail--the Billy Goat Trail--and a wide towpath AND not a lot of underbrush so I was free to choose my own route through the woods. Sometimes to the detriment of the human attached to the other end, but it isn't my fault that their faces are right at tree branch level!
First we ventured along the river. I am quite skilled at climbing over rocks. The Potomac certainly is a fast-moving river! And icy. I would not have liked to be a duck right then. Well, I wouldn't like to be a duck ever, really. I much prefer being a canid.

Then, we circled back to the towpath. There was something on the other side of the canal! Something intriguing! My parents couldn't see it. But I could.

I sought for ways to cross the canal, but like the river, it was icy.

  

Blast. In the end, the Thing went unsniffed. But it was a wonderful winter hike, in any case.