Hiking At Ha Ha Tonka
I got up pretty early this morning and went hiking at Ha Ha Tonka. I would guess I was there about 6 hours and would have stayed longer but it started getting really crowded. When I left all the after-church crowd was showing up and every parking lot was full. With it being Sunday and one of the nicest days we've had in a while it came as no surprise.
Walking around all day I heard so many people acting like they knew all about the park and playing tour guide to their families selling their theories they think sounds good as facts about that place. When I was just about ready to leave I was standing on a trail and a little boy about 6 years old goes walking by with his family and he knew the call of the Kingfisher and he knew a Northern Fence Lizard, I was genuinely impressed!
Saw a lot of interesting stuff today! There were several boats out on the Lake and one Jet Ski. It's still a bit chilly to be on a jet ski I think! Saw a young teenage couple walking around the castle being very clingy and they were on one of the overlooks and the young lady bent down with her head below the railing for a few minutes as if to tie her shoe.... I'd passed them earlier, she was wearing sandals. Sunday in the park it's a bit to crowded to find a quiet spot with no one around to fool around. lol
Getting down there early before the crowds came out I saw a lot of wildlife! I saw a bumble bee buzzing around, a lovely sign of spring! At the water tower I could have sworn I heard an owl hooting up towards the top, but there was no way of seeing him. Just inside the door I noticed a clump of bird feathers torn from the wing of a medium sized bird, perhaps pigeon. The feathers were a connected clump, part of a wing I think may have fallen from the owls lunch.
I saw an unidentified mystery mammal. It was in the big sink hole walking into one of the caves. Very far away and I only caught a glimpse before it disappeared into the cave. My guess it was an extremely large raccoon, if it was it would be one of the largest I have ever seen.
Saw a huge crawdad/crayfish at the spring. It put river ones to shame, it was the size of a small lobster. Surprisingly I saw lots of snakes! Two Eastern Garter Snakes and two Northern Water Snakes. All of them were in the water too! It was about 70 degrees today, but with the cold weather we've had lately I was surprised to see them out.
One of the Northern Water Snakes I jumped down a retaining wall to get some better shots and get closer. We swim over to where I was, not aggressively I had just picked the spot to jump down on a large rock because it made the drop less and he his destination just happened to be right by there. We came face and had a bit of a starring contest before he swim off. He was just worried I was going to have him for lunch and I just wanted to take his picture. It's a shame everyone thinks they are copperheads. I think 90% of the time "copperheads" are Northern Water Snakes. I hardly ever see a copperhead and but I can't even count how many Northern Water Snakes I see and they are a wonderful little snake. I think they aren't as shy as a lot of other snakes here in Missouri, they see a human and they don't take off and hide. They just have no interest in us one way or the other, they leave us alone and they expect us to return the favor.
There were lots of turkey vultures down there today. It was a nice steady breeze and they were riding the air currents. Pretty common, but today they were incredibly low soaring at tree top level and usually they are a lot higher or don't come as close to people.
I'm a little envious of the guys who were out on the lake in their boats today. I need a boat so I can cruise around, it just sounds relaxing. I don't care about fishing or skiing or anything, just drive around the lake exploring.
The last couple weeks I've really been studying fashion and model photography. I'm fairly confident I've got it down, now I just need some beautiful models to put my theory to the test.
Walking around all day I heard so many people acting like they knew all about the park and playing tour guide to their families selling their theories they think sounds good as facts about that place. When I was just about ready to leave I was standing on a trail and a little boy about 6 years old goes walking by with his family and he knew the call of the Kingfisher and he knew a Northern Fence Lizard, I was genuinely impressed!
Saw a lot of interesting stuff today! There were several boats out on the Lake and one Jet Ski. It's still a bit chilly to be on a jet ski I think! Saw a young teenage couple walking around the castle being very clingy and they were on one of the overlooks and the young lady bent down with her head below the railing for a few minutes as if to tie her shoe.... I'd passed them earlier, she was wearing sandals. Sunday in the park it's a bit to crowded to find a quiet spot with no one around to fool around. lol
Getting down there early before the crowds came out I saw a lot of wildlife! I saw a bumble bee buzzing around, a lovely sign of spring! At the water tower I could have sworn I heard an owl hooting up towards the top, but there was no way of seeing him. Just inside the door I noticed a clump of bird feathers torn from the wing of a medium sized bird, perhaps pigeon. The feathers were a connected clump, part of a wing I think may have fallen from the owls lunch.
I saw an unidentified mystery mammal. It was in the big sink hole walking into one of the caves. Very far away and I only caught a glimpse before it disappeared into the cave. My guess it was an extremely large raccoon, if it was it would be one of the largest I have ever seen.
Saw a huge crawdad/crayfish at the spring. It put river ones to shame, it was the size of a small lobster. Surprisingly I saw lots of snakes! Two Eastern Garter Snakes and two Northern Water Snakes. All of them were in the water too! It was about 70 degrees today, but with the cold weather we've had lately I was surprised to see them out.
One of the Northern Water Snakes I jumped down a retaining wall to get some better shots and get closer. We swim over to where I was, not aggressively I had just picked the spot to jump down on a large rock because it made the drop less and he his destination just happened to be right by there. We came face and had a bit of a starring contest before he swim off. He was just worried I was going to have him for lunch and I just wanted to take his picture. It's a shame everyone thinks they are copperheads. I think 90% of the time "copperheads" are Northern Water Snakes. I hardly ever see a copperhead and but I can't even count how many Northern Water Snakes I see and they are a wonderful little snake. I think they aren't as shy as a lot of other snakes here in Missouri, they see a human and they don't take off and hide. They just have no interest in us one way or the other, they leave us alone and they expect us to return the favor.
There were lots of turkey vultures down there today. It was a nice steady breeze and they were riding the air currents. Pretty common, but today they were incredibly low soaring at tree top level and usually they are a lot higher or don't come as close to people.
I'm a little envious of the guys who were out on the lake in their boats today. I need a boat so I can cruise around, it just sounds relaxing. I don't care about fishing or skiing or anything, just drive around the lake exploring.
The last couple weeks I've really been studying fashion and model photography. I'm fairly confident I've got it down, now I just need some beautiful models to put my theory to the test.
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