Today was Hump Day of my road trip...the halfway point. When I left Hot Springs, SD this morning, it was sunny and 45 degrees. By the time I reached
Agate Fossil Beds National Monument, it had warmed up another 10 degrees with gusty winds. Not again! Wind kind of put a damper on my visit to the Badlands, but I wasn't about to let it ruin my day. As I parked my car, a dove landed on a sign as if to welcome me. I'm pretty sure it was a collared dove, which is a non-native (invasive) species.
After looking at the park's museum exhibits, I headed out on the 2.7 mile Fossil Hills trail. The path was paved the entire way, which made it easy walking. I couldn't help but notice the many small, black hairy caterpillars walking on the concrete. It was quite humorous, since the strong winds kept blowing them off their multiple feet! Those caterpillars weren't the only critters on the walkway. Ants, grasshoppers, crickets, other caterpillars...even a spider, which was eating a grasshopper! It was a veritable insect highway! Okay....spiders aren't insects, they're arachnids. But, you get the idea. Yes, those dark specks on the path are those black caterpillars. I tried to avoid stepping on them!
The trail took me to the University and Carnegie Hill dig sites, where in the early 1900s, most of the parks fossils were uncovered.
After consuming my picnic lunch, I hiked the shorter one-mile Daemonelix trail, named after the unique corkscrew fossils. These unusual fossils formed from the spiral burrows of the large rodent-like Paleocastor. As I walked to the Daemonelix, still embedded in the bluff, I passed rock outcroppings formed from ancient sand dunes.
After a week of visiting parks and staying in smaller cities and towns, I'll hitting Denver tomorrow for some urban sights...and Thai food!
No comments:
Post a Comment