hiking: dutch gap conservation area

this past weekend, the weather in richmond was perfect. plenty of sunshine, a nice breeze and low humidity. the weather was just right for a hike, so beardo and i sauntered on down i-95 to the aptly named dutch gap conservation area. while out hiking last year, we ran in to some people that recommended this hike for the low traffic and amount of wildlife that you see.

the conservation area is bordered by a dominion power coal plant and the first 1/3 of the hike had us walking along the fly-ash ponds. it wasn't too scenic, but if you looked to the left, you were able to see the wetlands that comprise the conservation area.



below is some of the only wildlife that we saw...a butterfly. hopefully dr. snail can identify it for us. we also saw a rabbit and a juvenile hawk. there were plenty of people out fishing though, so i am jonesing to make another trip to see what i can catch.



let us not forget that i also encountered a dirty ass hippie (dirtius hippiecus) on the hike.



the following two pictures are of beached wooden barges. there were a ton of these strewn throughout the wetland. i think i read that the area had been used as a quarry at one time or another.




and below is the best view of all...





there was one exciting thing that happened on the hike. we ran into a retarded redneck. he had on a camo jacket and nascar hat as well and a prominent uni-brow (one of the best i've seen actually). we passed by Goober and his pa (with bushy white beard and overalls), saying hello to be polite. we couldn't walk fast enough though. we heard the pitter patter of retard footsteps behind us and then he spoke. i saw a buck and a baby deer a little while ago. first off, i can't remember the time i ever saw a buck with a fawn. that's hole number one in his story. number two, he said that the buck had a huge rack. i didn't buy this, so i checked the internets. low and behold, antlers begin growing in march and april and are not fully formed until august or later. this kid was just flat out lying to us...how disrespectful. well, we finally got away from him. lord knows he probably would have talked on and on for hours about redneck shit.