One of the big stumbling points I have been fighting with in posting my pictures to this blog is how to show a large number of them without having you page for miles to see them. Well, I finally found a way! Just in time too. We went to the Cope Environmental Center outside of Richmond, Indiana on Sunday and I have got lots of great pictures! It was a great 1.5 mile hike with a couple of small side trips to view a small pond and what was left of some wetlands.
As you may or may not know, Indiana, and most of the midwest, is suffering a drought this year, despite a week's worth of rain recently. Most of it came down too hard and too fast to really do much good, and one of the things you will see when I post the pictures from that trip is just how dry even the wetlands have become! One picture in particular reminded me of the dry lake beds you see in Utah, particularly close to the Great Salt Lake. Huge cracks with good sized cattails trying nobly to withstand the dry conditions.
We also saw a number of butterflies and small animals, particularly a small turtle that was hanging out in the middle of the path. And the flora was absolutely beautiful! I can't wait to track down some of the plants I saw on this trip. I think this is some of my best photography yet.
On the hiking side, although the path was primarily flat at first, as we ducked back into the heavily forested area, the hills and gullies began to appear! That was great fun! You would never know, just by looking at the map, how varied the terrain really was until you got into it. Eastern Indiana is surprising hilly considering how flat most of the rest of state is. Still, if you are into trail running or a little light hiking, I highly recommend the Cope Environmental Center as a good stepping off point. It has several paths with varying degrees of difficulty to challenge the hardiest of souls.
