So, pictures from that hike and the other park.
There were an awful lot of cicadas around. It's that time of year, I suppose. I was surprised, though, at how
black and red they were. I'm used to cicadas having more of a green color scheme.
We also saw
lots of snails. KJ and her brother were impressed by their size -- especially
this one, which just
kept getting
bigger and
bigger as we watched it.
This snail seems to have been eating well despite being located way up on a cliff.
We also noticed a few spiders. Thankfully, all of them kept their distance, so I didn't have to freak out.
This one was all spread out like it was trying to hide or relax, or maybe pretend to be a fighting ship of some sort. We also got a picture or two of a different spider at the end of the trail (or beginning, if you take it in the opposite direction), but it was of the nasty-looking black-and-bulky variety and I'm not even going to touch those images.
We also saw a variety of fungi. There were
fuzzy fungi (
close-up),
probable slime mold,
tiny red mushrooms, and
this stuff. The fuzzy ones were very soft to the touch, kinda like they were trying to be lamb's ears.
We took pictures of flowers, too, although I can't tell you the names of any of them.
Butterfly-shaped;
purple;
yellow; and this mostly bare
spotty-looking one.
Looking down the hillside from about the trail's midpoint.
Near the end of the trail, we passed
this old building, with moss busy covering it up.
On the way back home we stopped at Lone Elk Park to see the elk and the bison. The bison were not interested in showing themselves, but we
saw a few elk, including that one that strolled in front of us as though we'd come to tell him that it was time to come inside for dinner. We also saw something we didn't know existed in the park: deer! Unfortunately, they were tricky to photograph because of the trees and all in the way, but
here's one of them.
KJ came home with a tick attached to her. >_> Nothing scummier than ticks. Except spiders. And chiggers. And
maybe politicians.