Photo Day Redux: Spring Has Sprung

In mid-February, I took my camera and walked around my new hometown, taking some interesting photography.  (link)  I was happy with the results, but looking forward to spring.

Well, 3 months later, I can finally say that Spring has arrived in Eastern Idaho.  In May.  Late May.  Sheesh...

I'm still not used to this '4 seasons' BS.  In California you'd have Summer and Fall, that's about it.  Summer would be March thru mid-October, then fall from about Halloween to Valentine's day.  The remaining 3-4 weeks is just 'meh' weather.

Not in Idaho.  The seasons are distinct.  It takes a little bit of getting used to.

Anyway, I spent Sunday afternoon walking around the Snake River.  Home to where Idaho Falls gets its name (from the falls, get it?  I know, how clever of them...).

See the mormon temple in the background?  I'm convinced they do that on purpose.  You find the most picturesque shot to take, and boom, there it is in the center of the picture.  Granted, it's really far away, but still somewhat distinct.  This way, it's in as many "Hi from Idaho Falls" postcards as possible.

Smart marketing.  Very business-savvy, for a church...

There is a pathway you can walk that takes you on a 3ish mile loop from one side of the river to the other, and back around again.  I took a stroll and decided to take in the spring weather while it lasts.

Oh yeah, another thing about Eastern Idaho.  Apparently it reserves the right to regress into winter whenever it sees fit.  It could be June and still snowing from time to time... (wtf???)

As you can see from the before/after shots, the river is much more fun to look at in the spring.  Granted, seeing a massive body of water completely freeze over is pretty cool, but I prefer the sound of rushing, crashing water.

It's almost inspiring enough to consider trying river rafting sometime this summer.  I wonder if I could cut it?  Or am I too much of a city boy?  We will see.

Walking around, I noticed a lot of signs and touristy crap, telling people about the Oregon Trail, various indigenous wildlife, as well as the different trees planted in this area.  One of my favorites, by far, was the elusive 'invisible maple' tree...

Its fruit, if you can find any, is the sweetest you'll ever taste.  Well, half of it anyway.  The other half is poison. The funny thing is they both look exactly the same.  Good luck in your choice...

For a day that started off so crummy (link) I'm glad my Sunday ended on a nice, relaxing note.  Happy Monday!