Bombay Hook National Wildlife Refuge, Bowers, DE, 9/21/24

 Ironwood tree

 Planned on hiking the loop at the Bombay Hook National Wildlife Refuge only to find that the trail actually was a road used by visiting birdwatchers.  An alternative, the friendly ranger at the Visitor Center told us, was to explore newly created Forest Discovery Tree Trail.  

The 2.7-mile trail wandered through hardwood forest and vernal pools. Posts, as the one in the above photo marked a series of 19 native trees.  Trail was not well marked and we ended up meandering until we finally turned back. Managed to locate about 12 trees. 

Soldier's Delight East Loop, Owen Mills, MD, 8/24/24

With this hike we completed the two connected trails at the Soldier's Delight Environmental Area.

 For an account of our outing hiking the Serpentile trail, see blog post 12/23/23.

At the very start of this hike, we passed the remnants of an old chromium mine, 

dating from the early 1800s. The first one in the US.   All that remains is a number of dark bottomless shafts.

Moving along the trail we came across this endless expanse of Hay-scented ferns,

leading to a large meadow of Little bluestem grasses.

And, all along the trail, in sun dappled sections, the proud spikes of the native Dense blazing star.

Distance: 2.15 miles with ~ 175 ft elevation.

Badlands National Park, South Dakota, 8/6/24

 Day 3 of our trip to South Dakota took us to the "Badlands" a large expanse  (244,000 acres) of prairie interspersed with phantasmagorical rock formations.  Apparently, the Lakota natives already called it 

" "bad lands" and the early French trappers called "les mauvaises terres a traverser,"  due its unusually harsh living environment. 

 

Jim crossing a small mount leading to the higher butte plateau.

Extraordinary beautiful, arid and desolate landscape. We were not prepared for a full hike but I did make it up to the upper plateau and found myself alone in the middle of a moonlike landscape and surrounded by an eerie silence, except for an occasion breeze. 

Mount Rushmore, South Dakota, 8/5/24

 First of our micro hikes in the South Dakota Black Hills while visiting with Jim's grandson, Micheal.

Above the Mount Rushmore rock carvings of four presidents: George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodor Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln. The presidents were chosen to represent the country's birth, growth, development and preservation. The moment is called the "Shrine of Democracy" although some call it the "Shrine of Hypocrisy" because the land was taken from the Sioux Nation.   

Wincopin trail, Savage Park, MD, 4/16/2024

Midweek afternoon stroll along the Wincopin red trail in the company of Master Gardener Ann Coran, who invited us on a spring wildflower hunt.

Photo above taken from the ridge between the Middle Patuxent and Little Patuxent rivers, close to the confluence of both. 

While pulling invasive garlic mustard along the trail, Ann drew our attention to numerous native ephemeral spring wildflowers.  Above: Spring beauty (Claytonia virginica)

Cutleaf toothwort (Cardamine concatenata)

Blue stones. Unusual enough that a sign drew our attention to them. None of the other stones in the river are blue. Apparently no one knows why they are blue although theories abound: mineral leaching, result of heavy storms? 

This hike, just 11 minutes away from our house, is a hidden treasure.  

We will be back.

 

Marshyhope Hike & Bike trail, Federalsburg, MD, 1/23/24

Our 3-day escape to Maryland's eastern shore brought us to Federalsburg, MD, just west of the Delaware border and east of Easton, MD.  Picnicked by a Marshyhope creek inlet and set off to explore the hike a google revue promised us.  As it was the tail end of a week of snow and bitter cold, we struggled at first to find an ice-free trail.

Then, heading north rather than south, we found a trail winding along the outskirts of town and crossing the wide creek twice.

 

 I decided to call it "the hike with the bridges."

The pale afternoon sun helped make this a delightful winter stroll.

Distance: 2.4 miles, no elevation.

Serpentine Trail, Soldiers Delight Natural Environmental Area, MD, 12/25/23

Set out to explore an area recommended by friends on this sunny Xmas day. 

And with good reason: we walked over serpentine rocky terrain formed 500 million years ago,  bordered by beautiful expansive savanna-like grasslands. In addition, the area is of historical importance as the soil is rich in chromium ore that was mined from the early 1800s until 1860. 

Above you can see the serpentinite rock that easily dissolves and erodes, leaving this stony unfertile soil. The area used to be called "serpentine barrens" as in barren of trees. The area is the largest grassland ecosystem of the eastern US. It was once part of the 100,000 acres of the Great Maryland Barrens in the Appalachian piedmont. 

Distance: 2.5 miles with ~ 300 elevation change.