25 in 25: #20 hamilton pool

#20 was a quick trip to the beautiful hamilton pool. amid the strobe lights and party rockin' of aclfest (post to come), david and i slipped away to enjoy a very tranquil and peaceful morning at hamilton pool. i have read time and time again about how wonderful hamilton pool is and how it is a must see. i had to see what all the hoopla was about for myself. so i did, and it did not disappoint.

on the drive there we picked up lunch and brought it along to enjoy outdoors. we ate on a little picnic bench, had some laughs, cleaned up our mess, then began our short hike to hamilton pool. as i ran through the trail playing my own personal game of hopscotch, david stopped me to admire the area. it was lovely. the sites were amazing. every which way you turned, there was some little piece of nature just glimmering in the daylight with nothing but utter beauty.

once we finished our hike and arrived at the historic swimming hole, an overwhelming sense of peace took over. there are no words to describe it. we lucked out with just a handful of people already occupying the area. other than that, we had the place to our ourselves. it was filled with such beauty and such serenity. people talked in quiet whispers as if they were in a library and all you could hear was the soothing sound of droplet after droplet falling from above. it was not a large waterfall, but it was perfect. i had to mentally talk myself out of not curling up among the rocks and taking a nice little nap.

we walked behind the fall and through the cave-like structures just awing at everything and anything. i could have explored for hours but even though time felt as if it was standing still, it wasn't. we had an aclfest to get to and left in the knick of time. as we were walking back up the trail to leave, many people were walking down the trail to enjoy hamilton pool. i've read in many places that hamilton pool fills up rather quickly so the earlier you can go, the better. i believe it!

unfortunately due to recent flooding, there was no swimming or touching of the water allowed. this took away nothing from the calming beauty of our surroundings and our overall hamilton pool experience. i could only imagine what fun it would be to splash around and jump in and out of the beautiful watering hole--and i will be back to do so, but the peaceful and calming experience i had was unreal. i wouldn't trade it. and i was with david, we always know how to have a good time ;)