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The Sara Lee Foundation
is the Major Sponsor of
Fresh Air Family Nature Hikes
Sponsored by Sara Lee.
Saturday, September 5, 2009
Native American Presentation & Birding Trip
Rock Springs
Time 9 am meeting
Te-lah-nay, a Yuchi Indian, endured the Trail of Tears, but refused to remain in Oklahoma. Instead, she walked all the way back to Alabama, a feat memorialized by her great-great grandson, Tom Hendrix. He build Te-lah-nay’s Wall and wrote the book If the Legends Fade about her life. Learn more about the Native American culture from a master storyteller. http://www.ifthelegendsfade.com/index.html
Then, we will go with Dr. Tom Haggerty to study birds, beaver ponds and wildlife. This UNA biology professor is an expert in the Carolina Wren and editor of the state bird journal Alabama Birdlife and recently edited and published the Alabama Breeding Bird Atlas 2000 – 2006 on the web at: htp://www.una.edu/faculty/thaggerty/BBA%20Homepage.htm
Meet: 9:00am in the parking lot in front of UNA’s Norton
Auditorium. Led by Dr. Tom Haggerty, UNA Biology Dept.
Bring water, snacks and lunch. Wear comfortable shoes.
Fee: Free
Registration: www.freshairfamily.org or call Charles Rose
(256) 366-1937
Saturday, October 24, 2009
Medicinal and Edible Plants, Nature Walk & Picnic
Joe Wheeler State Park
Time: 10 am meeting
Take a taste of the wilderness as you discover which plants are edible. Or find out a folk remedy for every thing from cancer to athlete’s foot in a fascinating walk into herbal history. This walk is led by master herbalist Darryl Patton, ND, author of Mountain Medicine, the Herbal Remedies of Tommie Bass. More about Darryl Patton:
http://www.naturalreaderpress.com/darrylpatton.html
Meet 10:00am at the trailhead, on the west side of AL-101, perhaps ¾ of a mile south of Wheeler Dam in Laurence County. Bring water, snacks and a picnic lunch. After the walk we will eat lunch at the nearby picnic grounds where there is a playground for the kids and other trails to explore.
Fee: Free
Registration: www.freshairfamily.org or call Charles Rose (256) 366-1937.
Saturday, November 14, 2009
All Things Small
Shoal Creek Preserve
Time: Meet 10:00am at the preserve.
Led by Dr. Paul Davison, our expert on “all things small”. Learn about mosses, lichens, leaf litter arthropods & stream invertebrates. They’re cool! This is a great event for the whole family. Paul Davison is an Associate professor of Biology at the University of North Alabama. He is the creator of the MicroAquarium™ (info at http://www2.una.edu/microaquarium/) and the author of A Trailside Guide to Mosses and Liverworts of the Cherokee
National Forest (info at http://www.blurb.com/bookstore/detail/422248). Shoal Creek Preserve in Lauderdale County consists of 298 acres, with over 4 miles of hiking trails, horse trails, pristine, cascading creeks and a great variety of flora. It was purchased by the State of Alabama under the Forever Wild program.
Directions: From Cox Creek Parkway in Florence, take Old Jackson Hwy. (CR 47) to St. Florian. Turn left on Butler Creek Road (CR 61) & go 3 miles. Turn right at the Shoal Creek Preserve sign to the parking lot. Bring lunch, water and snacks. Wear hiking boots or sturdy footwear,
Fee: Free
Registration: www.freshairfamily.org or call Charles Rose (256) 366-1937.
Saturday, February 13, 2010
Caney Creek Falls Hike
Bankhead National Forest
Meet 9:30am
This waterfall is one of the most beautiful to be seen anywhere and runs all year, even during a drought. See the wonder of the Bankhead National Forest in a hike that takes you to the most beautiful places. Led by Janice Barrett, Outreach Coordinator for Wild South, who is an expert naturalist and a popular hike leader. More about Janice Barrett at: http://content.wildsouth.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=50&Itemid=67
Description: Hike will begin on County Road 2 in the Bankhead National Forest. This will be a great hike for kids and families.
Meet: at Jack’s, Woodward Ave. in Muscle Shoals or 10:30am at the Warrior Mountains Trading Company store in Wren, Alabama (on AL-33, at the intersection of AL-33 & AL-36, a couple of miles south of Moulton). Park on the south end of the building and come into the store where there will be sign-in sheets at the tables in the back.
Bring lunch, snacks & drinking water. Other items you may want: Walking stick, camera, binoculars, and magnifying glass. Wear clothes layered for warmth and comfortable for hiking. Shoes need to be sturdy hiking boots or sneakers with good tread (slippery rocks at the falls). There is always a possibility for wet feet!
Fee: Free
Registration: www.freshairfamily.org or call Charles Rose (256) 366-1937.
Saturday, March 13, 2010
Wildflower Hike
Cane Creek Canyon Nature Preserve
Meet 12:30pm at the preserve.
Led by Dr. Jim Lacefield, author of Lost Worlds in Alabama Rocks. Many rare wildflowers bloom in this amazing canyon. At one point, you can see 8 miles without a hint of civilization. See a waterfall and scenic vistas with flower-strewn boulders and cascading creeks. The woods will be filled with color: on this date expect to
see in bloom such wildflowers as Yellow Trout Lily, Beaked Tout Lily, Sharp-Lobed Hepatica, Round-Lobed
Hepatica, Bloodroot, Slender Toothwort, Cutleaf Toothwort, Allegheny Spurge, Spring Cress, Star Chickweed, Trailing Arbutus, Cumberland Spurge, Eastern Redbud, Wood Vetch, Pennywort, False Garlic, Sweet Betsy Trillium, Twisted Trillium, Violet Wood Sorrel, Hairy Phlox, Jacob’s Ladder, Wild Blue Phlox, Early Saxifrage,
Foamflower, Wood Betony, Birdfoot Violet, Wood Violet, Yellow Woodland Violet, Common Blue Violet, Rue
Anemone, False Rue Anemone, Hispid Buttercup, Common Serviceberry, Quaker Ladies Bluet, Small Bluet, Harbinger of Spring, Solitary Pussytoes, Wood Anemone, Roundleaf Ragwort, Virginia Spring Beauty and more.
Bring water and snacks. Wear hiking boots or sturdy shoes. Moderately rigorous: at least a 2-mile hike, with up-hills & down-hills.
About Cane Creek: Dr. Jim Lacefield and his wife Faye own and maintain Cane Creek Canyon Nature Preserve
and offer it free of charge to the public all year round for hiking, camping and other activities. With the new addition on its north side, the preserve now totals more than 700 acres. It contains 12 miles of hiking trails, with another 3 miles currently under construction in the new addition. The preserve features canyons, huge boulders, waterfalls, scenic vistas and rare wildflowers, such as French's Shooting Star.
Dr. Jim Lacefield is the author of a book about our state’s geology, "Lost Worlds in Alabama Rocks." He has taught for over 25 years and has special interests in Paleobiology and Earth History. His articles have been
published in many magazines such as "Meteorology," "Geology," and "Botany." Cane Creek Canyon flier: http://schuffertstudios.com/catalog/Misc/CaneCreekPreserve.pdf Dr. Tim Martin’s Cane Creek Canyon photo page: http://www.flickr.com/photos/tlmartinsr/sets/72157594201647721/
Shoals Magazine article about Cane Creek Canyon:
http://www.timesdaily.com/article/20070912/SHOALS/70828014/-1/SHOALS20
Directions: From Muscle Shoals, take US-72 W. At the Colbert County Farmers’ Co-Op (3.4 miles west of US-43), turn left onto the access road & go down the hill to Frankfort Rd. Turn left (south) on Frankfort Rd. & go 7.25 miles. After passing Piney Grove Church of Christ (on the right), go ¼ mile & turn right on Loop Rd. (CR 41). Go .1 mile & veer left onto the gravel road as Loop Rd. bends to the right. Follow the gravel road past the chicken houses (on the left) to the Lacefield’s Spanish-style house.
Fee: Free
Registration: www.freshairfamily.org or call Charles Rose (256) 366-1937.
Saturday, April 10, 2010
Wildflower Walk & Americana Exhibits
Bull Skull Hollow
Meet 9:00am
Gordon & Cecilia Hicks host this event on their 300-acre tract on Spring Creek, near the Lagrange community in
Colbert County. After our arrival the Hicks will lead a tour of “The Village,” 6-7 log cabins & wooden buildings (including a general store, carriage house, schoolhouse-church, smoke house & the “Museum,” all full of old implements, tools, antiques & household items from yesteryear. An amazing display! Afterwards, the wildflower walk along Spring Creek will be led by Charles Rose. On this date, expect to see blooming Jack-in-the-Pulpit, Barren Strawberry, Fire Pink, Southern Stoneseed, Hoary Puccoon, Wood Spurge, Mouse Ear Coreopsis, Two Flowered Cynthia, Wood Betony, Piedmont Azalea, Eastern Bluestar, Wood Anemone, Plantain Leaf Pussytoes, Solitary Pussytoes, Wild Columbine, Wild Geranium, False Solomon’s Seal, Yellow Stargrass, Sessile Bellwort, Large Bluet, Downy Phlox, Mayapple, Solomon’s Seal, Birdfoot Violet, Golden Alexanders, Smooth Meadow
Parsnip, Meadow Rue, Wild Ginger, Wild Comfrey, Dwarf Larkspur, Common Serviceberry, Blue-Eyed Grass, Dwarf Crested Iris, Wild Blue Phlox, Violet Wood Sorrel, Allegheny Spurge, Golden Ragwort, Rue Anemone, Wood Vetch, Quaker Ladies Bluet, False Garlic, Early Buttercup, Sweet Betsy Trillium, Twisted Trillium, Robin’s Plantain, Green Dragon, Common Blue Violet & more.
Info about Bull Skull Hollow, with photos of “The Village” & wildflowers: Info about Bull Skull Hollow, with photos of “The Village” & wildflowers: http://bullskullhollow.com.
Charles Rose is President of Shoals Environmental Alliance, a Shoals Audubon Society board member and active with Shoals Wildflower Society. He is the coordinator and a walk leader for the annual Spring Nature Outings series in the Shoals area and has also led hikes for Alabama Outdoors, Fresh Air Family and Wild South.
Meet: 9:00am at Jack’s, Woodward Ave. in Muscle Shoals. Bring water, snacks & lunch.
Fee: Free
Registration: www.freshairfamily.org or call Charles Rose (256) 366-1937.
Saturday, May 15, 2010
“Tree Identification 101” Nature Walk
TVA Muscle Shoals Reservation
Meet 10:00 am
Learn our local trees & the basics of tree identification.
Jack Paul recently retired from his position of forester at TVA. He also has an interest in herpetology and often
presents “Snake Night” programs for Alabama Outdoors. Bring water and snacks. Wear comfortable shoes.
This is a moderate walk.
Meet 10:00 am at the TVA Nature Trails parking lot.
Fee: Free
Registration: www.freshairfamily.org or call Charles Rose (256) 366-1937.
Saturday, June 12, 2010
Canoeing at Bear Creek and Dismals Canyon Nature Walk Dismals
Meet: noon
Canoe on this water-release creek and then visit the Dismals. Wait for night fall to see the rare Dismalites. Dismal Canyon is home to insect larvae that lights up at night, a rare phenomenon that occurs only there and in New Zealand. Led by Jackie Tipper , a retired educator. She is active with Shoals Environmental Alliance, Alabama Rivers Alliance, a Board Member of Alabama ARISE & Vice President of Save Alabama’s Small Schools.
Fee: $20 to reserve a canoe and $10 to reserve a tent. Canoes are normally $40 but this special rate can be offered thanks to our sponsor.
Registration: www.freshairfamily.org or call Charles Rose (256) 366-1937.
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