A quick ride east from German Town on Leif Erikson and up Saltzman to get outta da house and further test the climbing potential of the new rides. But we never thought we would experience our first close-up owl encounter. And my camera was at home, because it JUST Forest Park. Aaaauuuuuugh!!! Seriously I was almost in tears.
We came across 2 (most likely) juvenile Baird owls halfway into the ride while cutting back into one of the canyons. One was on a branch watching us just 25 feet off the trail, the other was flying around down in the canyon as they talked to each other. The other one was on a tree above us about a mile farther east. They were super cute and fluffy. And the local Towhee population was not happy with their presence, nests close by.
So the ride is 12.5 miles and 500 ft of climbing, decent for an after work outing. Enjoy the super blurry low-res pictures as REALLY cheap Android phone desperately tried to function in super low light. You can almost see my crushing despair in each blurry photo.... We are going to do this again WITH my camera... SOON.
We came across 2 (most likely) juvenile Baird owls halfway into the ride while cutting back into one of the canyons. One was on a branch watching us just 25 feet off the trail, the other was flying around down in the canyon as they talked to each other. The other one was on a tree above us about a mile farther east. They were super cute and fluffy. And the local Towhee population was not happy with their presence, nests close by.
So the ride is 12.5 miles and 500 ft of climbing, decent for an after work outing. Enjoy the super blurry low-res pictures as REALLY cheap Android phone desperately tried to function in super low light. You can almost see my crushing despair in each blurry photo.... We are going to do this again WITH my camera... SOON.