Found time on Friday afternoon allowed for an unplanned drive and some productive errands. The sky was a gorgeous blue with puffy white clouds that made for a perfect backdrop for some rural pictures and an all around nice afternoon to be out running around.

So I took a leisurely drive on some side roads, found a few quilt barns and stopped to photograph a covered bridge near Glouster.

Palos Covered Bridge is visible from Route 13, north of Glouster. You can still drive through this one and there’s a railroad that cuts right by.

Not to mention these cool windows on one side. I couldn’t find much about this bridge other than that it served a coal company during the early twentieth century, a reasonable explanation given the mining history of this Little Cities of Black Diamonds region.

Burr Oak State Park is nearby and a terrific place to stop for hiking, water fun and a good meal at the lodge.