Big, Beautiful Bloomingdale Bog Trail - Part 3

My damaged ankles had begun to hurt and I was just about to turn around and return to the trail head when Daphne discovered this old railroad car off in the forest on its side. I examined it and it looked to me like an old passenger car. It even had the remnants of seats inside. That old sofa might have indicated that the railroad car was used as a hunting camp for some time after the railroad abandoned the line. I could only guess at the history:

But at that point we did turn around and begin our journey back to our parked car:

I thought those waxy, white blossoms were blueberries and knelt down to get a photo. Madeline and Clover got smack dab in the way of a good photo, but it turned out to be a blessing. I ended up with a poor photo of the flowers (which weren't blueberries) and a good photo of the dogs:

And there was plenty of Usnea, or Tree Moss (actually, it's a lichen):

The dogs seemed to have understood my insistence that they stay closer to me and were doing quite well. Of course I'll probably have to repeat the lesson again and again on future hikes:

Every so often they'd break into a run and I'd yell, "Stop!" Then I'd call them back and give them both petting and praise. They were having a great time and I was enjoying their company - and also the scenery:

I don't know what our altitude was there, but given the lateness of springtime to the forest, I'd guess we were already pretty high up in the mountains:

Seamus and Daphne made a few more excursions into the water, Seamus to get a drink and Daphne to frolic. That's what she was doing when I snapped this photo, running back and forth between the water and the shore:

And then we marched onward. I was truly liking keeping the dogs close at hand:

We met a bird watcher and, having seen him coming from far off, I had the dogs on leashes when we met. Once past, I gave them their freedom again:

When we reached the pond near the trail head, I reflected on the spectacular beauty all around me and the pleasant company of my dogs:

Madeline toddled down to the water's edge for a drink and then I put them all back on their leashes to finish the hike back to our car. After that, I just had to finish the long drive home - and I did so without taking any more pictures: