Officially it is Spring, and today the weather agrees.
We went back to First State National Historical Park/Beaver Valley Unit, this time to hike south along Brandywine Creek.
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| Brandywine Trail is wide |
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| We took the Creekside Trail along Brandywine Creek |
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| A small birch tree on the right has been surrounded by what may be a maple tree |
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| Ficaria verna/Fig Buttercup, an invasive plant |
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| Is this how burls begin? |
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| Brandywine Creek; note the couple on chairs |
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| Mostly a Fagus grandifolia/ American Beech forest (KSS) |
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| First stream crossing that brought us into Brandywine Creek State Park, once part of a Du Pont family estate and dairy farm before becoming a state park in 1965 |
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| Trails go under Thompson's Bridge |
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| A tree growing at a 45-degree angle |
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| Do you see Kent through the tree canker/ localized dead spot |
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| The new (2015) and old Rocky Run Bridges (KSS) |
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| Looking downstream from the new Rocky Run Bridge |
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| Looking upstream from the new bridge |
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| Now on the Rocky Run Trail, with evidence of civilization |
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| Directional arrow pointing the way to a hunting blind |
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| Looking down into the Rocky Run valley (KSS) |
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| A short portion of Rocky Run Trail is located in First State National Historical Park |
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| The crossing of Rocky Run was not marked; this is where we crossed to a small island in the creek |
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| And this is where we crossed Rocky Run on the west side of the island (we did NOT use the log) |
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| Symplocarpus foetidus/Skunk Cabbage is already in leaf |
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| Another obstacle was climbing over the nearly waist-high tree trunk |
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| The trail disappears into a rock field |
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| A two-part stream crossing |
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| Atrichum undulatum moss (KSS) |
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| Yet another stream crossing |
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| Skunk cabbage bog |
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| We had to skirt several large muddy puddles |
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| We headed back on the Brandywine Trail, where two benches were given in honor of Governor Jack Markell and First Lady Carla Markell for their service to the people of Delaware |
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| Brandywine Trail was paved |
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| Appears to be an Ajuga sp/Bugleweed seedling |
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| Stone retaining wall |
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| Stairs in the stone wall (KSS) |
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| Brandywine Trail as we headed back into First State National Historical Park/Beaver Valley Unit |
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| A steep downhill in a mountain bike trail |
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| A couple mountain bikers approach across a bridge |
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| Rock outcropping |
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| Gray beech trees against the blue sky |
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| Kent holds a catkin |
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| The catkins are the male flowers of Corylus americana/American Hazelnut |
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