Sunset Trail to Huber Lake

The 1.4 mile section of Sunset Trail at Governor Thompson State Park was packed with wildflowers in July.

But suddenly the mowed trail crossed over granite.

I'd been walking in the heat for awhile and decided it was as good a time as any to stop for a snack and a rest.

I was busy admiring the lichens when I noticed some adorable plants flowering right next to my pack, growing in the cracks of the granite.

Pale Corydalis

Pale Corydalis growing in a nest of fruticose lichens 

I wandered around checking out the lichens growing on the rock but didn't see anything too unusual.

some sort of Rock Shield

Tile Lichen?

Just when I thought I wouldn't spot anything else new, I noticed some blueberry shrubs growing off to the side.  As I crossed over the section of rock and reconnected with the mown trail the blueberry plants were left behind.

Blueberries-to-be

The dragonflies got more plentiful as the trail wound its way toward Huber Lake.  I found a good website for dragonfly and damselfly identification for Wisconsin species, but like the mushroom one I found you have to select each species one at a time to view the photo.

I found some red dragonflies on the website but none with multiple spots on their wings like the one below.

 Damselflies are similar to dragonflies but carry their wings parallel to their body.

Azure Bluet

When I reached the lake I was surprised at how small it was.  It's only 8 feet deep!  Obviously motorboats are not allowed, but apparently there are geocaches in the area for those of you who are into that sort of thing.

Huber Lake

Once I reached the lake I continued straight ahead to hook up to the Thunder Mountain trail again, this time trekking through a sandy area instead of in the woods.

Harebell

By this time I was 3 miles in, with 2 miles to go back to my car.  I drank the last of my water but luckily the Thunder Mountain trail eventually moved back into the shade.  I just kept checking my shoes every few minutes for invading ticks and I was back to the car and a big jug of water in no time!  It was all worth it.

Today I'm hitting the highway after work to make my way to the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore.   Lots of sand there and the weather forecast looks great!