Troutbirder II

Troutbirder II
Click on Mark Twain to jump to Troutbirders book review blog

Saturday, August 3, 2013

Shooting Star Trail (Part 2)


Once the Shooting Star trail leaves the Lake Louise State Park it continues to follow a former railroad bed across the prairie.  While corn and soybean field are abundant the right of way preserve in some respects the ancient prairie and its wildflowers.  Lets take a look at some more….
The namesake of the trail are the beautiful shooting stars. They come in colors but mostly white.
 
Easily recognizable because of the common garden varieties are the native prairie phlox.
Another vibrant flower along the trail are the beautiful pucoons.
Mrs. T wants me to make sure of the direction so we're not lost on the trail.  Therefore,   I stop and check a tall plant whose leaves
orient north and south - it's known on the prairie as a compass plant.

All in all we have had great ride traveling and photographing ten miles to the end of the trail. Then it was turn around and head back to our truck not stopping along the way. With a parting view though you can see that there are places were on could spend hours photographing  the myriad summertime flowers of the Shooting Star Trail. Next time we'll take a look at the Root River Trail.

 

26 comments:

  1. Fascinating! Don't tell me you walked the entire trail, and back.

    ReplyDelete
  2. LOVE the natural prairie blooms!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Beautiful. The prairie compass is very interesting.

    ReplyDelete
  4. It rejuvenates a person to spend that much time in good native habitat.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Beautiful prairie photographs. I had never heard of the compass plant so I did a little research. Interestingly enough, the resin was used by Native American children as chewing gum.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Very pretty! I love the shooting star flower. I usually see it in pink and lavender, not white. :-)

    ReplyDelete
  7. I had not yet heard of the compass plant - so tall! Wonderful flowers and place. It's been quite a while since we've spent time on a prairie - we're so closed in by trees here. I enjoy both worlds!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Such a large expanse of space, filled with prairie beauty!

    ReplyDelete
  9. We don't have Shooting Stars up here so it was a treat to see that some do grow in Minnesota. What a wonderful trail! :)

    ReplyDelete
  10. Love it when states take an eyesore like an old railroad and turn it into a delightful recreation path making easy access to such great areas.

    ReplyDelete
  11. You know a lot about native plants and lore!

    ReplyDelete
  12. I have really enjoyed these two posts about the Shooting Star trail. It was such fun hearing about the compass plant too!

    ReplyDelete
  13. I have really enjoyed these two posts about the Shooting Star trail. It was such fun hearing about the compass plant too!

    ReplyDelete
  14. Wildflowers are always the best aren't they? That looks like a terrific trail to follow.

    Happy weekend!
    xo Catherine

    ReplyDelete
  15. Such beauty to behold out there in the wilds. Good for you guys to go check it out!

    ReplyDelete
  16. And whoever says the prairies hold no beauty, is TOTALLY wrong!! You do not need mountains and streams and Lakes to see the beauty. You are showing us.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Great trail for hiking and/or biking... Love the little Shooting Stars.. So pretty... AND that Compass Plant is interesting...

    I somehow missed the post about your losing Baron. SO sorry.. I know he was such a huge part of your lives... He will be missed. He was a gorgeous German shepherd... Are you gonna get another one?

    Hugs,
    Betsy

    ReplyDelete
  18. Fascinating to see the shooting star and puccoon blooming at the same time as the compass plant. Here (south central Kansas), the first 2 are early spring flowers and the compass plant blooms in the late July/August time frame.

    ReplyDelete
  19. Very nice blooms, you are a few weeks behind me.

    ReplyDelete
  20. Excellent wildflower photos!

    ReplyDelete
  21. Thanks! I love wild flowers, but the ones you showed us I don't often see, since I seldom get to the prairie. We're spending a week in the mountains in Utah with family. Our youngest got married here. Our others live in SW Wis and E NC.

    ReplyDelete
  22. Ah, lovely flowers, lovely place. It almost makes me want to do a bit of bike-riding exercise myself!

    ReplyDelete
  23. The prairie looks healthy and watered. Our wild areas, even our ditches that are planted with wild flowers are not putting out much with no rain. I liked seeing all the flowers and glad you two found your way home.

    ReplyDelete