Outdoors
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Denali By Bus: Part I
To explore Denali beyond the Savage River you need to access the park system’s bus services. There are several options designed for various experiences, including guided tours and buses that just get to a destination. They are also various lengths as some buses only go to certain locations and turn around. The longest bus ride would be to the end of the Denali park road at Kantishna, some 90 miles down the road. We opted for a transit bus which its sole goal is to deliver visitors to certain destinations along the way. You can also get out at any location along the way as off-trail hiking is encouraged within…
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Escape to the Beach
Double rainbow over Galveston Bay A few weeks ago we talked ourselves out of going to the beach the Friday before my birthday. Not knowing what crowds would look like, it just made us nervous. That said, the beach was still calling. We decided to take a Wednesday off and go very early in the morning so we left the house at 6:30 and arrived at about 8:45. These last few years we’ve usually picked one of the public entrances on either side of Galveston Island State Park. I enjoy walking down the state park beach because it is a lot more wild and less maintained. Also, beach side entrance…
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San Bernard NWR Wrap-Up
I thought I had enough photos for at least two more posts from our trip to San Bernard NWR but it looks like I only have a smattering of photos that don’t really congeal into a write-up about a specific trail. The rest of our time at SBNWR was spent popping in and out of an assortment of trails near the wildlife drive. These Swamp Rose Mallows, Hibiscus moscheutos were seen on the main road into the refuge as we crossed Cocklebur Slough. Climbing hempvine, Mikania scandens We ducked into the Bobcat Woods Trail as we waited for another family to leave the Wolfweed Wetlands area. A swampy view of…
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A Glimpse of Comet Neowise C/2020 F3
Like many folks, we attempted to go and see Comet Neowise on its once every 6700 year fly by of Earth. Last Friday evening we drove out towards Waller and Hempstead and parked ourselves on the side of a narrow road adjacent to some cattle pastures. As dusk set in we listened to the coyotes come out as the cows mooed in the distance. It was a rather clear evening with some haze on the horizon to the west but most of the clouds dissipated as time went on. We stared at the sky from the back of the truck and saw nothing but stars. The Big Dipper came out…
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Catchfly Prairie Gentian (Eustoma exaltatum)
I initially wrote the title of this post as calling this particular species as Texas bluebell. But upon further digging my lumping of all Eustoma sp. together as a Texas bluebell seems to be the wrong way to go. There are three primary species in the US, Catchfly Prairie Gentian Eustoma exaltatum, Texas Bluebell Eustoma grandiflorum, and Showy Prairie Gentian Eustoma russellianum. But then you dig a little further and depending on which site you read, some of these turn into a subspecies of E. exaltatum and other people will use the common name Texas bluebells for them all—and well, maybe it doesn’t actually matter, because common names are common…
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The Beauty of Asclepias linearis (Slim milkweed)
This milkweed species has been on my radar to find since last year when I saw several folks post theirs for the iNaturalist City Nature Challenge. It is a more coastal species relegated to particular prairie habitats and of course, we had to seek those habitats out. When we went to San Bernard NWR last month I knew there was a great chance of seeing them there because there were several logged sightings on iNat. If all else failed and we couldn’t find a plant or two I would pull up the app and see if we could find one using that method. We lucked out by finding them in…
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The San Bernard Oak Trail | San Bernard NWR
Golden Silk Spider, Trichonephila clavipes Now that we’ve returned to being rather homebound for the next few weeks or so, I look back at our hikes in May and June with envy. Hopefully cases will get under control here in the next month and we can begin venturing out again. I have plenty back logged here to write about and will be trying to do more nature in the neighborhood again. Turk’s Cap, Malvaviscus arboreus Seeing Turk’s cap hibiscus thriving and in bloom elsewhere makes me wistful for what was once in our yard. We once had a thriving set of plants around a sweetgum tree. They bloomed profusely and…
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Halloween Pennants | Celithemis eponina
Halloween pennant dragonflies were a mainstay to my experience living in south Florida. They are very common and easy to spot, quickly becoming a favorite of mine. Kind of like red-winged blackbirds as they were similarly abundant in the Everglades. And then we moved and while both of those species are here in Texas, I don’t happen to live near their preferred habitat. While I do live near a pond and have plenty of dragonflies around here my most common species here are common whitetail and green darner dragonflies among some others. No Halloween pennants to grace my yard! This lovely male (see here for comparisons on sexes) was found…
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The Sundew Trail | Big Thicket National Preserve
Rhynchosia sp. The Sundew Trail was our last stop during our East Texas adventures back over Memorial Day weekend. It seems like it was last weekend and also about three months ago. I don’t recall having hiked the entire Sundew Trail in previous visits but I will say that I think I enjoyed it more than the Pitcher Plant Trail! Swamp Darner, Epiaeschna hero Dragonflies and damselflies are two insects that I am slowly (very) trying to learn a bit better. They aren’t nearly as showy as butterflies but they are just as curious and interesting to watch. Forest started going along the boardwalk section of the trails and calling…
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Glacier Bay National Park & Preserve | A Photo Tour
I thought I’d finish up the posts from Glacier Bay with a photo tour. There won’t be a lot of writing (if any) but do sit and enjoy the photos!