Cucumber Falls

We were feeling a bit crumpled after days of steady unpacking.  Being brand new to Pittsburgh, we wanted to get out and explore a bit, and nothing restores the soul like a big dose of nature. We headed to green and beautiful Ohiopyle to see Cucumber Falls. It is possible to simply park at the top of the falls and take a short set of stairs down.  Instead we drove into Ohiopyle and took the trail from the Ohiopyle State Park Visitor Center. The trail hugs the Youghiogheny River, and we rested there on the way back and watched many kayaks bravely making their way through the rapids. Cucumber Falls is a much smaller waterfall than the Ohiopyle Falls near the trailhead. It is fed by a small stream that flows into the river. What it lacks in size it makes up for in loveliness.  I love wildflowers, and I was amazed at the number of kinds blooming here in autumn. Few are familiar to me, so I will do my  best to learn their names.  

There is a lot of conglomerate rock, formed by the power of glaciers.

Jewelweed.

The berries of Jack-in-the-pulpit.

Millipede.

Ladies' tresses, a native orchid.

Black-eyed Susans. 

Ohiopyle Falls.