Our 12 Mile Nature Bike-Hike

Near our home is a VERY nice nature trail.  It winds around in a low lying area and eventually leads to a small river.  This trail is about 5 miles from our home.  Well, today I had this great idea!  I convinced my daughter that we should ride our bikes to the trail.  We had a nice thunderstorm this morning which lowered the temperature to around 90 degrees.  In Tennessee, 90 degrees in the summer is as good as it gets.

We rode the bikes about 5 miles to reach the beginning of the trail.

It is amazing what can be seen in nature if you just take a few minutes to look and notice.  I am no photographer.  I just have a small "point and click" camera, but all of these photos were taken with my little camera.

Once you enter the nature trail, you immediately come to the swamp.  The cypress trees here are so beautiful!

This picture was taken at the edge of the cypress swamp.  This is where I collect pond water for my biology classes during the school year.  Drops of this water under a microscope yield incredible results.  We almost always find Euglena, Stentor, and my personal favorite, Vorticella.

 Teaching the concept of "invasive species" is super easy in our area.  When talking to my students about invasive species, I only have to say one word ..........   Kudzu!

Just pretty pictures........

........... and really big turtles.

My daughter spotted this beautiful lizard sunning on a fallen log.  This was a "2 for 1" sighting.  Not only was the lizard adorable, but the fallen log was covered in gorgeous bracket fungi.

The lichens we saw in the woods were so pretty.  As my daughter always says, "I'm likin' the lichens!"






And so now I sit exhausted in my chair, trying to stay awake as I make this post.  The bike ride to the nature trail was 5 miles.  The trail itself is a mile down to the river, and a mile back to where we left our bikes.  Then a 5 mile ride back to our house.  The grand total is a 12 mile excursion today.  I think that's pretty good for an old person like myself!