Parking at the State Farmers' Market, I hiked up Centennial Bikeway Connector, part of the Capital Area Greenway, to Blair Drive and followed that to Dorothea Dix Park. Last year, I had hiked the Neuse River Greenway to see the sunflowers near the wastewater treatment plant. Since so many people were jumping the fence to take pictures, this year they planted them in a park and even made paths through the fields to see the sunflowers up close. Much less photogenic soybeans are now planted at the treatment plant. I got to the park around 10 and it was already crowded as the sunflowers in Raleigh have become a real hit.
I walked up and down the paths to get pictures of the sunflowers.
People weren't the only ones enjoying the flowers - a lot of bees were busy collecting nectar.
I think the sunflowers were just a little past peak and storms the night before had knocked down a lot plants. After some pictures, I continued on, making a big loop out of Centennial Bikeway Connector, Rocky Branch Trail (which would have been the easiest way to access the park), and Walnut Creek Trail. There's a nice view of Raleigh's skyline from the trail near Wilmington Street.
As I was finishing up the hike, I saw some hibiscus blooming along the trail back by the farmers' market.
It was getting hot and would take some getting used to North Carolina's heat and humidity again after a week of relief in the Rocky Mountains.
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