A day out

 I hadn't been up to Chickasaw for quite a while, today was the last rain-free day before I leave town to visit my mom, they were supposed to be turning off water on part of campus for some work....So I decided to take the day and go.

I need this periodically. To be out in nature, mostly alone, to be able to wander and look at whatever interests me. And I took a lot of pictures.

They had a couple new displays in the visitor's center, or the "critters" were out and active this time:

There's a whole honeybee colony in a Plexiglas-fronted box. I'm sure the drape is to keep the bees from being disturbed when there aren't visitors, but it also might help protect the bee phobic. 

The tree frog was visible:

This is a gray tree frog (A fat one). It looks reddish because of the infrared light to keep it warm.

The tortoise (ornamented box turtle? I think?) was also active:

I saw one "out in the wild" (walking across a trail) much later:

There are also some displays about the geology and hydrology of the area. I photographed this because it made me chuckle:

The syntax on that last sentence is odd but I think they mean that some of the water passes through rock layers without soluble minerals that would flavor/scent the water.

I also photographed this from a trail sign because I liked it

The main feature here for me really are the springs and streams. It is just nice to hear flowing water some times; I don't get the chance to right where I live.

That last one is Antelope Springs, the "natural" of the two springs within a fairly short walk (~1 mile round trip) of the visitor's center. 

 

 

 

And this is Buffalo Springs, which has a brickworks around it (that I think was built by the CCC)

I also saw lots of wildflowers:

I stopped at the visitor's center on my way back, bought some postcards and a fancy fridge magnet to go with my mom's present. Asked the ranger on duty if she could show me on a map where the bison had been moved to - I'd heard on the news they'd been moved (temporarily, I guess) to a new enclosure (I think there's some restoration work going on in their regular one).

She did, and warned me that it was kind of a long walk, and "after noon there's not much shade left, be sure you have a hat and water."

I went and got lunch - as it turned out the first place I wanted to try was closed for a function, so I tried some little Italian place. It was fine but very slow - there was only one waitress on duty and she had to do EVERYTHING. I was patient and polite - it's not her fault - but I admit I would have liked things to have moved a little faster.

Also, I was very full of pasta after that and almost skipped the bison because I didn't fancy feeling sick to my stomach after a long walk. But I took a break and went to the Spice and Tea company that's in the ground floor of the fancy hotel/casino there, and to the little Chickasaw (tribal) Visitor Center and looked at their artwork and found a birthday card for my mom there in their gift shop. 

And.....yes, something for me. 

 Dangit, Moon Moon. (I think her - she looks more like a female wolf to me - name is Moonie or maybe Luna). Of course Moon Moon was one of the Old Memes from the Good Old Times. And yeah, yeah, we don't have wolves here now if we ever did in the past few hundred years but she was cute and the little tilt of the head and cock of the ear (both different from the other two on offer) make her seem distinctive to me.

Then I went up to Bromide Hill. This is perhaps my favorite place in the whole park, and today I was lucky - I was the only one up there so it was quiet (though weirdly, you can hear things from the campground down below:

 

There is also a tiny trail - you almost wonder if it's really a trail people are meant to go on - through a dry prairie. Lots of flowers here, including firewheel (Gaillardia):

Finally, I decided I did feel up to going to try to see the bison. (I am smart enough not to approach, even if they weren't behind a 10' fence with four rows of barbed wire at the top). 

It was a long walk. The trail is Veteran's Trail, near Pavilion Springs, and it ends at a lake - I hoped I wouldn't have to go that far, and I thought the ranger said it was less than halfway down the trail. So I set off. She was right about less shade, and it was kind of humid today. I told myself if I started feeling BAD I would turn around, bison or no bison, I didn't want to have to call the rangers for help. 

I was just about to give up - I saw a pen but it seemed empty (I think it was just the back side of their old area, actually), but then a little bit further down I saw newer poles and wire and what looked like a disassembled cattle chute (they had moved the bison not much more than a month ago) so I kept walking and, yes, success: there was a small group (not sure if it's all of them) close enough to the fence that I could photograph them from the trail using the zoom function:

You can see the big bull in the second and third photos, and in the fourth, one of the cows was cuffing up the soil (you can see the dust cloud) so I guess she had a fresher/cooler spot to lie down?

I stood and watched them for a while, and then the bull looked directly at me and snorted so (even though he was behind a fence) I figured it was a good time for me to leave. 

On the walk back is when I saw the tortoise. And also a scarlet winecup:

I also stopped to look at Pavilion Springs. (I did not drink. Some people do. The water is *probably* safe but I am also prone enough to weird little stomach issues that I did not want to risk it)

 they have analyses (not sure how long ago they were done) of the waters in many of the springs

And then - home.