Brandon researched hiking boots, ordered boots, tried on boots, returned boots, and then when he finally found the perfect boot at the outfitters, I asked the salesman to bring me a pair too. We have matching feet! We were excited to try out our new footwear at the Red River Gorge on Friday, and ended up hiking over nine miles - no blisters!
This pretty yellow flower, that looks like six leaves circle the stem, is called tickseed (Coreopsis major).
I think this bicolored flower is called goat's-rue (Tephrosia virginiana). It was growing in small dense clusters near big swaths of bracken and wild blueberries (or cranberries, farkleberries, or deerberries (Vaccinium sp.), I can't tell them apart).
We've hiked this trail before, so we knew to save our lunch break for the top of the ridge, when we could enjoy the views from our perch on the exposed rock.
See those exposed rocks on the other side of the valley? There's a natural arch in the stone there, and we were headed that way to get an up-close look.
We hiked across this narrow spine with stone puddles filled from the recent rain. I imagine bats flying along the ridge could swoop in for a quick drink.
We made it all the way over the ridge, through the valley, and back up the other side! I took this photo from the natural arch that we could see during our lunch break. See those rocks? That's where we were sitting and where we saw the puddles! How cool that we can travel so far through that forest on a narrow foot path.
We stopped under the arch carved in the sandstone by the wind and erosion, and planned our trek back to the car.
Growing in crevices on the shady side of the cliff was this pretty red flower with jagged petals and soft round leaves. My book says this is round-leaved catchfly (Silene rotundifolia).
This little flower was growing on the edge of the trail. I believe it's a species of houstonia, probably Houstonia purpurea, called Venus' pride, since the leaves are broad. My boots are ready to hike again!
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