Wildflowers along Haw River

Friday, we took Alex for a hike at Lower Haw River State Natural Area.  With no official trails, its more used by fisherman than hikers.  The parking along US-64 on the east side of the river was crowded so we parked on the west side of the river at the Chatham County canoe launch.  Only one other car was here.  First, we hiked north passing some rocky bluffs along the river.

A lot of wildflowers were blooming and the pinxter azaleas were really pretty.

Purple dead-nettle are non-native species.

About a mile in, we had to cross a tributary.

The trail started to peter out at this point and we only went a little ways further and took a break.  There were some dragonflies buzzing around.

On the way back, we stopped at a couple scenic points along the river.

At one spot, we climbed out on the rocks into the middle of the river.

Alex thought a spot where leaves and pollen in the water was solid and tried to jump down.  He made a big splash and was quite shocked to have gone under.  Back at the parking area, we headed south.  There were some nice cascades and little drops along the river.

And lots more wildflowers blooming along the river.

At a steep bluff, little flowers were thriving in the shaded shelter.

The star chickweed were really pretty.

At this point, the trail ended and we took another little break here to enjoy there river.

Then we hiked back to the car and headed home.