July 13, 2010
Day 3- We are headed today to Dolly Sods. It is a unique botanical area on a high plateau in Randolph County. One hundred years ago it was covered in virgin timber. After being clear cut in the early 20th century it was burned, then burned again when used for bombing practice during WWII. Today the area is wilderness once again and is a great place to study plant secession.
We first walked out Northland Loop seeing spruce, hemlock, blueberry (of which we picked and ate some) very delicious. We saw lichens, the carnivorous plant sundew which captures ants and other insects with a sticky substance that it produces, and a host of other plants and insects.
We continued out the plateau to Bear Rocks. It is a giant cliff like rock formation with a great vista of the valley below. We climbed on the rocks and took pictures of the sights to see. Because of the exposure to the prevailing winds, the trees on the Sods are flag trees, the limbs protrude to the leeward side.
Seneca rocks, our next stop, are a much pictured outcrop of stone. This unique formation was caused by the tremendous forces of the Appalachian Revolution. The sediment layers through upheaval and time have been made vertical when the end of the mountain was exposed by erosion the beautiful and breathtaking cliffs were formed.
Day 3- We are headed today to Dolly Sods. It is a unique botanical area on a high plateau in Randolph County. One hundred years ago it was covered in virgin timber. After being clear cut in the early 20th century it was burned, then burned again when used for bombing practice during WWII. Today the area is wilderness once again and is a great place to study plant secession.
We first walked out Northland Loop seeing spruce, hemlock, blueberry (of which we picked and ate some) very delicious. We saw lichens, the carnivorous plant sundew which captures ants and other insects with a sticky substance that it produces, and a host of other plants and insects.
We continued out the plateau to Bear Rocks. It is a giant cliff like rock formation with a great vista of the valley below. We climbed on the rocks and took pictures of the sights to see. Because of the exposure to the prevailing winds, the trees on the Sods are flag trees, the limbs protrude to the leeward side.
Seneca rocks, our next stop, are a much pictured outcrop of stone. This unique formation was caused by the tremendous forces of the Appalachian Revolution. The sediment layers through upheaval and time have been made vertical when the end of the mountain was exposed by erosion the beautiful and breathtaking cliffs were formed.
Also at Seneca Rocks is the refurbished scite of Jacob Scites homestead. He was of of the first settlers to the area. It started out as a one room cabin and way made two stories by his son.
Today we also visited Smokehole Caverns, so named because settlers could see smoke coming from the enterance when Indians used it to smoke their meat from hunting. It was 54 degrees in the cavern and we saw many intersting rock formations.
We finished the day at Spruse Knob, the highest point in the state. It had been raining and was very foggy. Like Dolly Sods it had many interesting examples of unique flora. By this time i think the group was ready to return to Thomas for a great dinner.
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