For our end of season hike we went to a few places along the Rogue River. It wasn't much of a hike, but it was fun to see something new. We went to Mill Creek Falls, Natural Bridges, the Gorge and to some random reservoir. I had never been to any of those places even though I have driven by them several times. At Natural Bridges, the entire river goes under ground into lava tubes. At Mill Creek Falls there is a nice waterfall where Mill Creek dumps into the Rogue. That was pretty, but what was even more interesting was the giant boulders.
I liked how the roots of this tree were growing down the rock in search of cracks in the rocks.
I have been getting into the lichen lately. Here is a picture of Dragon Skin
(Loberia oregana). It's a really neat looking lichen usually found only in old growth forests. It indicates a healthy forest ecosystem rich in nitrogen. This particular lichen is also a nitrogen fixer, meaning it has a cyanobacteria living on it that changes atmospheric nitrogen into ammonium, a usuable source of nitrogen for plants. The ammonium leeches out of the bacteria when it rains and makes its way to the forest floor.
For our end of season hike we went to a few places along the Rogue River. It wasn't much of a hike, but it was fun to see something new. We went to Mill Creek Falls, Natural Bridges, the Gorge and to some random reservoir. I had never been to any of those places even though I have driven by them several times. At Natural Bridges, the entire river goes under ground into lava tubes. At Mill Creek Falls there is a nice waterfall where Mill Creek dumps into the Rogue. That was pretty, but what was even more interesting was the giant boulders.
I liked how the roots of this tree were growing down the rock in search of cracks in the rocks.
I have been getting into the lichen lately. Here is a picture of Dragon Skin (Loberia oregana). It's a really neat looking lichen usually found only in old growth forests. It indicates a healthy forest ecosystem rich in nitrogen. This particular lichen is also a nitrogen fixer, meaning it has a cyanobacteria living on it that changes atmospheric nitrogen into ammonium, a usuable source of nitrogen for plants. The ammonium leeches out of the bacteria when it rains and makes its way to the forest floor.
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