Cedar Ridge on Earth Day

Saturday morning, we woke and checked out one last time for the trip.  But our flight wasn't until afternoon, so we did a couple local hikes to see some more wildflowers on Earth Day before leaving Texas.  First, we headed to Cedar Ridge Preserve, which was very crowded.  After parking, we got on Cattail Pond Trail and headed down to the Observation Tower.

There were really nice views from here of Joe Pool Lake.

Lots of wildflowers were blooming along the trail.

We made several stops to see the different blooms.

Texas yellowstar and Carolina larkspur were among the colorful flowers.

Soon, we passed a small tributary that dropped over a short ledge.  The water level was low and lighting was poor for a picture.

Roadside gaura flowering here had very interesting flowers.

The trail ended at Cattail Pond and there was a viewing blind here.

We saw some turtles but no birds on the pond this morning.

Here, we got on Fossil Valley Trail to start heading back up and make a loop.

We saw more wildflowers along this trail, including beautiful Texas flax.

There were a few moderately steep sections, but we took frequent breaks to enjoy the flowers.

We also saw some more Texas bluebonnets.

About half-way up the trail was a bench at an overlook, where we took another break.

Several butterflies were fluttering about.

A hackberry emperor and question mark butterfly were on a tree next to the bench.

A little further up the trail, we spotted a red admiral.

Fossil Valley Trail continued on and ended back at Cattail Pond Trail.

Shortly, we took a turn and followed Cedar Brake Trail to extend the loop.

And of course there were more wildflowers along this trail too.

We certainly did get to see a lot of beautiful wildflowers for Earth Day. 

Cedar Brake Trail ended back at Cattail Pond Trail near the start and we finished our hike.

We still had a little time before returning to the airport, so made one last stop at Dogwood Canyon Audubon Center just up the road.  After checking in, we took the West Loop Trail that headed up a ridge and soon came to an overlook.

Dogwood Trail split from this point and led down into the canyon.

After completing the 1-mile loop, we climbed back up to West Loop and followed the loop around.

More pretty wildflowers blooming here.

And we got to see a few more bluebonnets before leaving Texas.

After finishing the West Loop, we headed back to the start.

From here, we headed to DFW to return the rental car and fly home.

LBJ Grassland

Friday, we had breakfast at the hotel and checked out, then made the short drive to LBJ National Grassland.  We parked at the scenic Cottonwood Lake.

There were a lot of wildflowers blooming along the lake.

We saw two different evening primrose species.

The pink and cutleaf evening primroses.

We continued down towards Little Cottonwood Lake and got on the Red Trail.

This multi-use trail for hiking and horseback riding led through the grassland alternating between forest and open meadow.

The trail passes by Coyote Pond, another small body of water.

The views of the open grassland were really pretty between the woodsy areas.

Lots of wildflowers blooming in the open areas.

The purple poppymallow are really pretty.

We went as far as the old windmill and turned around here.

There was a variegated fritillary butterfly flying about.

We turned around and followed the Red Trail for the hike back.

And enjoyed more wildflowers on the way back.

It was getting pretty warm by the time we got back.

Before leaving the grassland, we drove around some on the forest roads to see more wildflowers.

We found some different wildflower species along the gravel roads.

Spider milkweed has very interesting looking booms.

Stopping along open meadows, the ground was blanketed with flowers in various colors.

Lots of Engelmann daisies made waves of bright yellow.

And there were more primroses as well.

Wright's skullcap had beautiful purple-blue booms that were everywhere.

Texas bullnettle has pretty little white flowers but causes a painful burn if handled.

After getting our fill of flowers, we took and headed back towards Dallas.  We stopped for lunch at Backporch Drafthouse and then checked into the Holiday Inn at DFW.  After getting settled, we headed to Irving and parked for the Mandalay Canal Walk.

A paved pathway followed the canal out to Lake Carolyn.  A cute little pied-billed grebe was swimming in the lake.

The trail followed along the lake then looped back to the canal.

We finished up a nice loop then went to Creamistry for ice cream.

It's a unique ice cream place, where it's made with liquid nitrogen.  We got out ice cream and went over to the Mustangs of Las Colinas to eat.

The horse statues made an excellent picture spot.

After dessert, we headed back to the hotel to get packed up to head home the following day.