Henninger Flats

Liverworts (above)

Deerweed (above)

Rose clover (above)

Inside the visitor's center at Henninger Flats (above)

I took a hike up to Henninger Flats and then to the Idlehour campground yesterday. The skies were overcast, the temperatures moderate. What I planned on being just a morning hike to the flats, turned into another all day event. I had food, plenty of water, and nothing to do, so I thought, "Why not?" The hike up to Henninger Flats was a rather nice workout, all uphill. The fire road is practically a two lane highway, leaving plenty of room for hikers and mountain bikers.

Am I the only one who has always found visitor's centers depressing? Even as a kid, I always got and still get a strange feeling in these buildings. It's not just the dead stuffed animals nailed into the walls, I think it has something to do with the exhibits that seem to have been arranged 40 years ago and then left to collect dust. Who needs universal health care when we can have interactive visitor's centers with flat screen TV's, computers, live animals, actors and tour guides!