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.