Tag: field trips

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Field Trip: Museo Benini and Middleton Ranch Hike, Saturday, April 27, 2024

[4/14 directions updated. Left on FM 2147; 4/12, option to park inside Middleton Ranch gate added]

image of museum entrance

— by Cindy Chrisler

  • What:   Museo Benini and Middleton Ranch Field Trip
  • When:  Saturday, April 27, 2024
    • 10:30 AM-11:30AM – Museo Benini
    • (optional) 11:30 AM – Middleton Ranch hike
  • Where: 
    • Museo Benini, 3440 FM2147, Marble Falls, TX 78654.
      • Directions: From FM 1431, take 281 south for about 2.5 miles to FM 2147.  Turn left on FM 2147 and proceed 3.2 miles to Museo Benini.
    • Middleton Ranch directions will be provided at the field trip
  • Our field trip is free and open to the public. Reservations are not required.

Meet at Museo Benini at 10:30 AM to tour the site and view their wildflowers.  Optionally you may enter the museum and visit the artwork (free admission).

At 11:30, those who wish to continue to the Middleton Ranch will be given directions and a waiver to sign.  It takes about 20 minutes to get from the museum to the Middleton Ranch.  The ranch roads are one-way gravel, and there are some ruts and steep hills, but you do not need high clearance. (My husband’s MG can handle the road!)  You are invited to bring a picnic lunch and eat in the shade of live oak trees.  Bring lawn chairs and your picnic lunch.  The chapter will provide a dessert and water.  Bathrooms are available.  After lunch, Cindy Chrisler will lead a guided hike around the property, and you may wander after that until 5:00 p.m., although you may leave earlier if you like.

If you are uncomfortable driving your vehicle on the ranch roads, you may park inside the gate and we will transport you to the property and back to the gate.

Wear clothing appropriate for the weather, including closed toed shoes and long pants if you plan to go on the guided hike at the Middleton Ranch.  Participants may also want to use insect repellent. 

The Middleton Ranch is a working cattle ranch and cattle roam freely.  Some terrain is uneven, steep, and rocky in places. The guided hike will mostly be on flat areas, but there are some spots that are steep and rocky and we will cross a shallow creek twice.

image of milkweed
image of blooming wildflower
image of blooming wildflower

Above: flowers at the Middleton Ranch

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See photos from other field trips ==>

Field Trip Photo Album
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Trip Report: Spring Tree Walk, March 17

— by Cindy Chrisler

Gary Bowers led five hearty NPSOT members on today’s field trip at Old Settler’s Park in Round Rock.  This was the second field trip in a series of four to observe the same trees in all seasons of the year. 

This trip showed many trees and shrubs in bloom, including Mexican Buckeye, Possumhaw, Rusty Blackhaw, and Green Hawthorn.  Other flowers were also spotted, such as Large Buttercup, Texas Baby Blue-eyes, and the ubiquitous Texas Bluebonnet. Many other trees, shrubs, and forbs are poised to bloom in the next few weeks for a spectacular show. 

The next field trip in this series is scheduled for June 29. 

Mexican Buckeye, Ungnadia speciosa
Flowers and fruits. Mexican Buckeye, Ungnadia speciosa. Photo by Cindy Chrisler.


See photos from this field trip and others in our album=>

Field Trip Photo Album
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Field Trip: March 17, 2024, Tree Walk at Old Settlers Park

— by Gary Bowers

What: Tree Walk in the Park, led by Gary Bowers
Where: Old Settlers Park, 3017–3099 Whitlow Way, Round Rock
When: 10:00am-Noon on Sunday, March 17, 2024
Our field trip is free and open to the public.

Join us for the 2nd Tree Walk of 2024 at Old Settlers Park on Sunday, March 17, 2024. We will continue learning about identification of trees during dormancy but, with some luck…

🍀

… and good weather, we will hopefully start seeing some trees break dormancy and bud out.

View directions on: Apple Maps or Google Maps

We’ll meet in the parking area at the Virgil Rabb Pavilion off of Whitlow Way, in Old Settlers Park. From there we will walk around the pavilion to the nature trail. The walk is around 2 miles and will take around 2 hours to complete with relatively brisk walks between talking points.

For anyone interested, a few of the NPSOT members will continue on to Cork & Barrel after the walk to celebrate St. Patricks Day (and native plants).

map
Meeting point and parking. Rabb Pavilion, Old Settlers Park, Round Rock, TX.