Government Canyon State Natural Area, San Antonio, Texas

April 27,  2018

Government Canyon State Natural Area was created more for preservation than active recreation.  There’s no swimming pool or ball fields, but there are 40 miles of trails on 12,000 acres of hills and canyons.  We hiked five miles of trails and saw plants, insects, rocks, and trees.

But first, a geocache . . .

. . . where we picked up a bookmark that made us think.

So we’re drinking water in which dinosaurs swam. Did they pee in it?

A group of young people were building a new shelter.

A painted bunting seemed to enjoy his bath near the visitors center.

We were more impressed with the views along the walks themselves than the overlooks, but we include them for the record.

Rocks in and along the trails were fascinating.

It looks as if the rock with a little more brown in it was once surrounded by the rock on which it rests.

This smaller rock, too, is still firmly attached to the one under it.

The poison ivy we encountered in Florida was nowhere near as elegant as this one.

The prickly pear cactus were blooming.

Most prickly pear blooms are yellow but we saw a few red ones.

A spider caught a bee in this one.

And another bee flies into the area.

And speaking of bugs, we don’t know names either of this bug or the plant it’s on, but we noticed the bright red.

There is something inside this cocoon-like structure.  The opening flexed as we touched the juniper needles on either side.

And here’s a critter on the back of a leaf.  Dave has eagle-eyes.

We often saw gaillardia in Florida but never noticed before how tight the buds are before they open.

For comparison, here’s an open gaillardia flower we saw near Boca Chica Beach in the Rio Grande Valley.

Green on green: netted milk vine

Cardinal flower

Western polemonium