Bailey Road to Veteran's Memorial, Andover Leg

I think our run of beautiful spring weather has come to an end (as I sit here in my car in the pouring rain), but while we were still in the midst of it this past Friday, the girl child and I decided to beg a ride off of The Map Man and whack a few miles off our big East Coast Greenway trek.  We started at Bailey Road in Andover (where our turn-around point was in our last out-and-back walk), and walked 3 miles down the Hop River Trail to where we'd left our vehicle at the Andover Veteran's Memorial.

Chilly but sunny, and just plain delightful, this rail trail is level and well-maintained.  Thank goodness, because I mistakenly forgot to bring my knee brace, which caused me to be a bit nervous for the entire walk. But there was no reason to fear, I easily handled our stroll with no mishaps whatsoever. If you had told me two months ago that I would now be comfortably walking 3 miles in one go without a brace, I never would have believed you.  It's amazing what our bodies are capable of with thoughtful training.

Above, not long into the day's adventure we came across this industrious garter snake and his amphibious lunch.  

Below, one of the little tributaries of the Hop River.

Above and below, we crossed several local roads along the trail, the girl child posing at each gate with the name of the crossing road painted on.

Above and below, the trail eventually leaves the lovely woods and runs along route 6 in Andover.

This covered bridge is an iconic landmark on the Greenway, and very near the end of our walk for the day.

Above, looking back at the bridge from this day's end point.

Below, the Andover Veteran's Memorial, where we were parked.  I appreciated the nice clean porta-john as much as the easy trail access.  Thank you, Andover!

A little over 20 miles walked, a little under 2,980 miles to go!