A Day at Hawk Mountain

We have unanimously decided to keep using this blog for our travels...  and we plan to have a few more this year! So stay tuned for more photos and commentary on the places that we visit in the upcoming months! 

As a matter of fact, I want to share the last day hike that we took recently to Hawk Mountain, which is in the Appalachians... it was beautiful there! There were so many butterflies and bizarre looking mushrooms along the trail. We even crossed paths with a snake, although we didn't stick around to try to see it... the sound of it's rattling and hissing was enough to make us get our asses into high gear and book on outta there!

But check out some of these cool mushrooms!! There was a crazy variety of them all over the place! The shapes and colors as varied as the faces of people that we passed along the trail. It was pretty wild! We didn't see any hawks or falcons, for which the range was named, but the butterflies, dragonflies, flowers and mushrooms made up for the lack of raptors.

 If you're ever up in this area, I suggest checking out the trails. We took several, one of them had us scrabbling over giant boulders, and was pretty difficult. It was fun, but it was a knee-bender. The other trails were milder, and more relaxing. We did both, and it was perfect. The next time we go out, we're going to be visiting during the fall when the leaves have turned. I'll definitely post more pictures then!! That will be a novel thing for me, especially, as I'm used to evergreen forests. I'm really excited about seeing all the maples and dogwoods and birches and aspens all changing colors with the season! I imaging that we'll get to see more birds, too, as it won't be too hot anymore.

One thing I almost forgot about what I loved in these woods were all the little chipmunks! They are so small and cute, and don't seem to be too afraid of people along the trail. They are busy doing their thing, collecting food, burying it, cleaning themselves, that they barely notice you at all! It was fun to stop and watch them for a few minutes before returning to the trail. I love nature!

On the hike, we found some cool feathers, one that was either a hawk or falcon feather, and some pretty looking things that came from a tree, but looked like dried flowers. We also found pretty acorns and some strange bolls, which could've come from the oak trees in the woods. I'm not sure what they are, exactly. We were reprimanded for taking them out of the woods, which I don't understand, but then the volunteer lady changed her mind when more exciting things started happening that took her attention away. A hiker had fallen and gotten hurt, and a good Samaritan hiker had run all the way down the trail to meet up with the firemen who'd come in response to the emergency call. So we were able to leave with our goodies! Though I don't see what the big deal is about taking a leaf, some twigs, a couple acorns and some oak bolls!

Also, once you return from the trail, and are over by the visitor's center, there's a native plant garden where there's a pond with lily pads and cattails, and we saw a frog in the mud! Also, there's a bird-blind, if you want to sit quietly and watch for birds, or make out, or whatever. We didn't see many birds from the blind, though butterflies were all over the place! I had a hard time getting a good shot of the butterflies, however. They are quick and I wanted a close-up. This is the best close-up I was able to get. Check out the cool pond, though. It was especially beautiful with the sunshine coming down, the slight breeze rushing through the reeds and the numerous dragonflies, butterflies and song birds flying through.