Tag: nature

Visiting Weeks Bay Pitcher Plant Bog in Foley, Alabama

December 7, 2023 – Traveling with Rich & Julie

I did not know what a pitcher plant was before today. Pitcher plants are carnivorous insect-eating plants with flowers shaped like pitchers. The only insect-eating plants I have ever seen or known of previously are Venus Flytraps. We used to have these when we were kids. I loved watching a fly get trapped and closed inside the plant. Is that so horrible?

White-topped pitcher plants such as the ones in the photo above and below have a small pool of water in the bottom of the leaf stalk or pitcher.

Insects are forced down into the water by stiff angled hairs inside the pitcher. Bacteria in the water then decompose them so the plant can absorb the nutrients from the dead insect.

The Weeks Bay Pitcher Plant Bog and Kurt G. Wintermeyer Nature Trail is a nature preserve that offers visitors an easy boardwalk for a peaceful walk through a wooded bog back to the water of Weeks Bay. It was windy and chilly, but a beautiful day for a walk through the woods.

I was hoping to find more butterflies or birds as we walked through the woods. Migratory birds are often found here, and butterflies are attracted to the many flowers, but not today. The only life we saw was a few dragonflies.

Most of the plant species found in these bogs are rare. White-topped pitcher plants and purple pitcher plant

s are common here. I would love to come back in the spring when they are blooming and everything is coming alive.

Pitcher plant bogs are an exceptional ecosystem. The soil is nutrient-poor and moist. Only these special unique types of plants can flourish here. The bog is also dependent on regular forest fires to prevent shrubby vegetation from overtaking the area and drying up the moist soil.

Pitcher plant bogs are an endangered habitat. Rural development, fire suppression, and draining the flooded areas is threatening the bogs. Other rare plants such as orange milkworts, bog buttons, toothache grass, yellow-eyed grass, sundews, and white-topped sedges are also in danger.

Bog habitats are quickly disappearing throughout the country. More than ninety percent of bog acreage along the Gulf Coast has already been destroyed or severely damaged. This makes the Weeks Bay Pitcher Plant Bog rare and more valuable with each passing day.

Thanks for coming along on our travel adventures. Have you ever seen a Pitcher Plant Bog?

When in Nature Pay Attention to Your Surroundings

November 9, 2023 – Traveling with Rich & Julie

You might miss something

Do you see it?

Since I have hurt my feet, legs, and knees so much, I pay attention to every step I take so I don’t trip on something or step in a hole.

Looking down allows me to see what I might otherwise miss.

Like in the photo above.

Now do you see it?

I believe this is a brown anole. But I can’t be certain.

Take time to be still and listen when exploring outside. You never know what you might miss otherwise.

 

I Saw a Praying Mantis Today

September 21, 2023 – Traveling With Rich & Julie

Praying mantises are a rare sight in this area, but I always get excited when I spot one. They’re either well-hidden or not very common, but I’m grateful for every glimpse I get of these fascinating creatures.

Masters of disguise, praying mantids are rarely seen. They are typically green or brown, but many species will take on the color of their habitat. They may mimic leaves, twigs, flowers, grass, and even other insects. — almanac.com

I’ve always considered the presence of praying mantises as a good omen, a sign of good luck.

I can’t decide for sure if this is green or brown. I believe it is a green one that is camouflaged because brown ones have no green on them at all.

I love the spiritual meaning of a green praying mantis…

The green praying mantis is an incredibly powerful spiritual being that reminds us that no matter how small and helpless you may feel, you are still inherently powerful and have the potential to achieve great things. — ipublishing.com

This is what I am claiming today!

 

Theodore Roosevelt National Park Day 2

North Unit

August 10, 2023

An unusual fact about “Theodore Roosevelt National Park” is that the South Unit is in Mountain Time Zone, and when we traveled to the North Unit we noticed that we entered Central Time Zone and lost an hour. We visited this part of the park on Thursday, August 10.

It was sprinkling and cloudy as we traveled north from the campgrounds but the countryside is beautiful and breathtaking whether it is cloudy and raining or not.

The North Unit Entrance and Visitor Center is located on Highway 85. The small visitor center doesn’t contain much but you can get your National Park book stamped here and purchase stickers or small souvenirs. They also show the same 17-minute video that we already watched at the south unit.

The rugged solitude of this wilderness is not to be missed or underestimated. This section is much less visited than the south unit, probably because it is more than 50 miles north of the interstate. But don’t let that fool you into thinking it isn’t worth the trip. I wouldn’t have missed it for the world.

The scenic drive here is 14 miles long one way to the end at the Oxbow Overlook and then you have to turn around and come back the same way. The first half of the drive stays low in the badlands and the first sight to stop and see is the Cannonball Concretions.

These large round rocks littering the ground and protruding from the side of the cliff are mysterious and bizarre. It seems they simply formed this way from the sediment, and erosion is slowly exposing them within the walls of the mountains. Eventually, they fall out and land on the ground.

The rain and clouds cleared away and a blue sky appeared. I just love the look of the photos when the sky is this blue.

As we continued down the path, we did see one buffalo lying by the side of the road and one deer up on a hill. We were told that the deer in the park were mule deer. I can never tell the difference from a distance.

The middle area of the park is filled with grasslands and prairie. It’s almost like leaving one world behind and entering another totally different landscape. Sometimes the change is as quickly as you can drive around the bend in the road.

Here we saw some more prairie dogs, which some countries, I think, call ground squirrels, and even caught a glimpse of a few wild turkeys in the distance.

We were told to keep our eyes out for bighorn sheep on the steep cliff ledges, but it just wasn’t our day to see any, even though they say driving is the best way to view wildlife.

Most of the road through the park is paved, with a few small exceptions where it must have been washed out and temporarily fixed.

The Little Missouri River winds through the countryside and there is a short 0.7-mile easy nature trail that explores the river valley, or you can hike the longer 1.4-mile moderately difficult long loop trail.

Other trails include the 4.2-mile Caprock Coulee Trail loop which contains some of the most scenic views in the park. The River Bend Overlook has a wheelchair-accessible viewing deck or an overlook shelter down a short trail. And at the Oxbow Overlook, there is a 2-mile round trip trail up to Sperati Point by way of the Achenbach Trail. You can also take a short stroll up a sidewalk to the rim of the badlands.

Theodore Roosevelt National Park North Unit is remote and rugged. The landscape is beautiful and I want to see as much of this country as I can while I can.

Thanks for coming along with us on our travels and journeys. I appreciate the time you spend reading my articles and stories.