Tag: hiking trails

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Field Trip Report: Beautiful Vistas at Tejas Park

— by Nancy Pumphrey

We wish all of you could have been with us on the field trip to Tejas Park on Saturday, June 10. The first part of the walk was through the woods with sightings of American germander, snapdragon vine, and black-eyed Susan. The river was on the left and we peeked down there.  We pressed on and walked out to the open area.

group of people on field trip
Tejas Park field trip, June 10, 2023

WOW, what a sight! The whole field was blooming! Monarda, American basket-flower, black-eyed Susan, Indian blanket, prairie acacia. Then we came upon a devil’s claw (Proboscidea louisianica), another great sight. Then a dung beetle came by pushing a piece of dung 10 times bigger than itself… But the star of the day was the American basket-flower. It was so stunning to see so much of it in full bloom.

We wound up the walk with lots of water and Sue’s lavender brownies. It was a beautiful day and a great field trip.  Hope you can come with us next time.

image of American basket-flowers
American basket-flowers, Centaurea americana
image of black-eyed Susans
Black-eyed Susan, Rudbeckia hirta
image of American germander
American germander, Teucrium canadense

Photos by Nancy Pumphrey

Click the button to see photos from some of our past field trips.

Field Trip Photo Album
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Field Trip Committee meets with Eagle Scout candidate

— by Cindy Chrisler

The NPSOT-Williamson County Chapter’s Field Trip Committee met with Zachary Adams, an Eagle Scout candidate, at Brightwater Park in Round Rock on June 1 to evaluate his proposed project to put plant signs along the park’s crushed granite trail. Zachary, his older brother, and his mother met committee members and walked the path to discuss the project’s scope and identify plants of interest to include in his request for signs.

image of group of people

In addition to single-species signs usually provided by the NPSOT-Wilco chapter, a multi-species sign may be considered for small wildflower meadows along parts of the path. The park also has a manicured pollinator garden with a mix of native and non-native species.

The park and the associated pollinator gardens are maintained by the Fern Bluff Municipal Utility District and Zachary will partner with them as well as NPSOT for his project. Zachary sent a request for assistance via the chapter’s website. The Williamson County Chapter is very pleased to work with Zachary on this project.

image of group of people
image of group of people
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Field Trip Report: Phil Hardberger Park

— by Cindy Chrisler

group of people

The April Field Trip took chapter members to San Antonio, where we were treated to a guided hike in Phil Hardberger Park.  The park is perhaps most famous for its award-winning land bridge for pedestrian and wildlife traffic over Werzbach Parkway, a multilane road in northern San Antonio. 

We met Education Coordinator David Jimenez at the outdoor classroom and took a leisurely walk on one of the many improved trails through the park that led to the land bridge.  The bridge itself is planted with native plants that were blooming prolifically, attracting pollinators as well as providing a beautiful setting for a stroll. Interesting plants featured in the park included cacti growing in the canopy of an oak tree and plateau milkvine, which we could identify although it was not blooming. 

group of people

Those who participated spent a very enjoyable morning identifying plants in the company of fellow botanical enthusiasts. 

image of Plateau Milkvine, Matelea edwardsensis
Plateau Milkvine, Matelea edwardsensis
image of cactus growing on log
Cactus on log

Photos by Cindy Chrisler.