Kansas - Day 2

We've had spotty internet service, so I'm behind posting about our vacation.

We went to the Konza Prairie on Monday. Very interesting and very hot. We hiked the 2.5 mile loop trail and saw some neat stuff. Mr W was a trooper. Here he is on a little footbridge leading to the grasslands.

Here's some Ironweed. There wasn't as much blooming as I had hoped, but still a few cool things. The big pulses of flowers are in June and September. There also wasn't as much tall grass as I thought there would be. Big Bluestem, but it was kind of sparse.

Compass Plant. This one was about 5 feet tall.

A horned lizard. Definitely a highlight of the hike. It was about the size of a deck of cards. 

Butterfly weed. This was the only one that I saw for the hike. 

Mr W toward the end. It was wicked hot and the shade felt good. I like that this place has a strong educational component to it, as the ecosystem used to be dominant in the middle part of the country, and is largely gone. You can see from this that there are woodlands as part of it as well. The trees grow where there's enough water, and fire has been suppressed in some places, which lets the trees and shrubs start to come in.