Just north of the bridge that goes over Oakton and Caldwell on the North Branch Trail you get to the Miami Woods part of the trail. Although if feels a little like you are in the deep woods, we are still in a pretty populated area as you can tell by the joggers off in the distance in the photo above.
As I stopped for the photo above, I noticed 2 deer just off the trail on my right and managed to get a couple of photos of them. They were fairly cooperative but moved at the wrong times as I was trying to get these photos.
This guy stood still for this photo but then moved when I tried to shoot the better one. Deer! No respect.
After a short time these 2 deer just casually crossed the NB trail right in front of me. I don't usually see such fearless deer. most of the time they get startled and bolt off.
A little further into the Miami Woods section you can see the North Branch River off to the right of the trail here (mostly you see the green reflection). The trail runs along different sides of the river at different locations (the river is to the east of the trail here) and on both sides of the river in some locations.
Yellow jersey rider on the North Branch Trail.
Blue and white jersey cyclist crossing the small stone bridge on the NBT.
I noticed this huge, old fallen tree in clear view off to the side of the trail. I was trying to imagine how old it was. I'm sure it lived long before I was even born.
And eventually that fallen tree will probably end up like this one which I thought was colorful and would make a nice photo sequence (so here it is). These wooded scenes are easily visible along the trail.
Here's the photo tour of the North Branch Trail from Devon Avenue in Chicago to the northern end of the trail, at Dundee Road and then into the Chicago Botanic Gardens, from July, 2012.
North Branch Trail Photo Page 1 - Devon to Oakton and Caldwell
North Branch Trail Photo Page 2 - Miami Woods to Dempster < you are here
North Branch Trail Photo Page 3 - Dempster to Harms Road
North Branch Trail Photo Page 4 - Golf Road to Edens Exp.
North Branch Trail Photo Page 5 - Edens Exp to Skokie Lagoons
North Branch Trail Photo Page 6 - Skokie Lagoons and Botanic Gardens
Here are some Fall Photos of the North Branch Trail from Lake Street in Glenview to south to just past Touhy Ave near Park Ridge (from October 10, 2012):
The NBT Fall Photos 7 - Lake St. to Miami Woods
The NBT Fall Photos 8 - Miami Woods and backHere's the GPS Map of the ride above.