tour de wolf

It is always fun to hike the Tour de Wolf Trail in Shelby Farms. There are forests, lakes, open fields, hills and flatlands to traverse. The loop that I do most of the time is about 6 miles, starting and ending at the parking lot on Pine Lake Road.

golden ragwort

Found along the Tour de Wolf Trail in Shelby Farms.

moccasin

I watched this water moccasin for at least 30 minutes. The pond at the end of the wetlands boardwalk was teeming with activity on this visit. There were two beavers, a woodland duck, and this guy. every few minutes the moccasin would hiss... just a little message to all the pond paddlers that he was awake and on duty.

He's quite graceful in the water... skimming along the top of the water. One of the ways you can spot a non-poisonous water snake versus a moccasin is that the water snake swims with just his head above water, and the moccasin skims along the top of the water.

William B Clark Preserve
Nature Conservancy
Rossville, Tennessee

in the pines

stone path

One of the most enjoyable aspects of hiking in the foothills of the Rockies were these fantastic stone paths... natural staircases. Going up I could see beneath the stones. Coming down was not quite as carefree. You never know what might be lurking in the shade of these warm rocks. I am always extra cautious going down. There just might be a rattler beneath the rocks.

I asked a local resident about rattlers in these hills and he informed me that rattlers usually don't make it up to 7000+ feet and he had only seen two in the past 14 years. That was a bit reassuring, but it only takes one! I have seen rattlesnakes in the Smokies at just below 6,000 feet.

6847

visit to the foothills

I just got back from a few days in the foothills of the Rockies, just southwest of Denver. What a great time. I had an opportunity to do a bit of hiking around Indian Hills. Great weather. Great trails. Great time.

just dandy

found along the boulevard trail.