There were a few viewing spots of the pasture but no sign of the bison.
Some ragwort and honeysuckle was flowering along the trail.
We took a short detour on Rock Creek Trail and Bromide Hill Trail to go up to the overlook with sweeping views.
Heading back down, I continued on Rock Creek Trail a short ways to see Bromide Hill from the base. It's not particularly high, but high enough above the surrounding countryside for good views.
Back on Bison Pasture Trail, we followed Rock Creek to a bridge that led over to the picnic area.
We made a quick restroom break and stopped to see the 12th Street Fountain.
The continued through a woodsy area where lots of honeysuckle was flowering.
Bees and white-lined sphinxes were busy pollinating. We also saw an interesting leaf-foot bug with a parasitic fly egg attached.
After returning towards the road, we stopped to see Hillside Spring, one of several springs in the park that still flow.
Some tuberous desert-chicory was flowering near the Platt Ranger Station.
And soon we finished back up at the viewpoint, with no signs of the bison. Our next stop was at the Travertine Nature Center. They had some exhibits inside, including a really cute little turtle eating some carrots and lettuce.
Then we set off on the trail to Buffalo Springs. The trail followed Travertine Creek upstream and came to a pond.
There was a giant swallowtail butterfly on the honeysuckle.
It was just a short ways further to Buffalo Springs.
The trail formed a loop here to head back.
I did a quick detour on Dry Creek Trail before making our way back.
I also took a detour on Tall Oaks Trail.
There was some Lewis flax flowering in open areas.
We also spotted a springwater dancer damselfly on the trail, a really beautiful blue color.
It was almost noon when we finished the hike, so briefly left the park to get lunch at Springs at the Artesian, then returned and parked at Little Niagara Falls.
A short walk from the parking area led to the small waterfall in two sections.
I walked across the top of the lower section. The pool in between looked inviting if it was a bit warmer.
But at least we had clouds for decent lighting.
There was some rusty blackhaw flowering near the falls.
From here, we got on the Travertine Creek Trail to follow its namesake downstream. There were some nice cascades at the lower water auto bridge.
Some coral honeysuckle were flowering.
A funereal duskywing butterfly was nectaring on the white honeysuckle.
We also spotted a beautiful prairie celestial.
Soon we came to the next waterfall, Bear Falls.
The upper section was a small drop into another nice swimhole.
The lower section was a little bigger. Scrambling out into the creek, I could see both sections.
Just downstream was Garfield Falls, a similar waterfall in two sections.
The upper section was small and the lower section was bigger.
About half a mile further was Panther Falls, a dam waterfall.
Some shortpod draba was flowering here.
We also saw the caterpillar of an Ilia underwing.
The trail ended at Pavilion Springs, which had shelter built around it.
We turned around here. On the hike back, we spotted a hawk up in the trees.
Next, we parked back at Pavilion Springs and went under the road towards Flower Park. Lincoln Bridge was a beautiful stone bridge over Travertine Creek.
I climbed down to the creek and there was a nice tributary waterfall here.
The view Lincoln Bridge was nice as well, but hard to see the waterfall.
Some bigleaf periwinkle was flowering.
A little speckled green fruitworm caterpillar was on a tree.
We went back up and crossed the bridge into Flower Park. Blue-eyed grass was flowering in the field.
A large bird was in the little pond here - it was a beautiful yellow-crowned night heron.
I then went down to see Travertine Falls.
It's a small waterfall and I think I liked the unnamed tributary waterfall better.
The heron was still up at the pond so we got a couple more pictures before heading back.
Next, we drove up Perimeter Drive again to view the waterfalls from the other side of the road.
I though Panther Falls looked better from this side.
Garfield Falls also looked better from this side I thought.
We also saw a stray cat near the parking area.
Lastly, Bear Falls may have been better from the other side, but worth a quick stop to see them all.
We made one last stop at the Bison Pasture Viewpoint but no luck again. On a hunch, we drove over to the other enclosure by Veterans Trail. Some Dakota mock vervain was flowering along the meadow.
And sure enough, we found some bison in here.
They were kind of far away and not ideal for a picture, but at least we found them.
Leaving the park, we had dinner at Poor Girls Cafe and then headed back to Davis for the evening.
No comments:
Post a Comment