Tuesday, June 27, 2017

Dabney S. Lancaster Community College
Clifton Forge, Virginia

Roaring Run and Greenbrier State Forest

First stop of the day was for tree "photo-ops" at Roaring Run near Eagle Rock in Botetourt County.

Before looking at trees, we had a short exercise on observing nature without sight.

After listening, smelling, touching, (probably not tasting!), we wrote in our journals.

Next was a slow walk up Roaring Run to learn tree species and take photos for our e-guides.

Examining a striped maple.

The rhododendron were starting to bloom.

It was too crowded (very unusual!) to go to the falls at the top, so we took our break just a bit lower on the trail.

The "Polar Bear Club" returned this year. The water in Roaring Run is cold!

We tried to figure out what made these very round holes fairly high in a tree trunk. They look man-made? Perhaps a owl or woodpecker condo?

We returned this year to the Greenbrier State Forest overflow (group) campground on Hart's Run near Caldwell, WV. It's a beautiful campground.

For the first time in quite a few years, the weather cooperated and we were able to get a telescopic view of the Moon, Jupiter, and Saturn.