Our Routzong Hike

After supper on Wednesday we all went on a hike at Routzong Preserve. It was nice and sunny, and as we walked we could hear and see a bunch of birds. We counted at least fifteen robins!

Mark and Olivia looked up birds in the bird book.

Overall, we saw Robins, Mourning Dove, Blue Jays, Red-Winged Blackbirds, Cardinals, Carolina Chickadees, and the Red-Breasted Nuthatch.

Along the path, Georgia found a piece of tree bark that showed signs of woodpecker activity.

And she also found some fungus growing on a fallen tree.

Then we came to the "Big Tree" as I call it. Sadly, it split!

This is what it looked like in May last year. I remember noticing how it was the largest tree around and I thought it was beautiful.

Continuing on, we found several sets of deer tracks! The girls followed them until they went off the path. We also saw several piles of fresh deer droppings, but we never saw a deer.

And the girls found some more fungus.

They also found a tree that made a good hiding spot!

Olivia noticed that there are a lot of sprouts growing under the fallen leaves. New growth for spring!


We made it to the bridge!

After we crossed the bridge it became increasingly difficult to keep track of the path. There were a lot of downed tree limbs, and with no greenery as a guide, we couldn't tell where the path was supposed to be anymore. We'll have to try again in a few weeks when there is a more distinct path.

We hiked for an hour and forty minutes, though!