Since most of our recent hikes at Three Rivers Wildlife Management Area have been from Potter Road, Erin and I decided to meet at the parking area on Sixty Road and do the "turtle hike," which is what we have called this route since we saw all those hatchling turtles there back in 2014. We knew it would be too late to see the baby turtles this year, but we selected it mainly for variety. This hike is an out-and-back along a two-track service road, totaling about 1.8 miles. There are a few tiny little hills, but it's mostly pretty flat. It was the first time Frankie and I had hiked there with Alden since he's been hiking independently. He is such a good little hiker! I don't think Frankie was covering that kind of distance when he was 2 years old.
It was hot and muggy, but the bugs were not bad at all, surprisingly. While we didn't see any baby turtles, we did see four adult turtles, three snapping turtles and one painted turtle, all at very close range, since they were literally right in the trail. Although we skirted around the mama snappers, we did disturb them, unfortunately, because they were no longer there when we returned. We also saw frogs and a bald eagle. It's great to see all these critters, and so fun to watch those boys playing together! It was a really nice morning.
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| comparing treasures |
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| snapping turtle (Chelydra serpentina) |
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| northern leopard frog (Rana pipiens) |
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| painted turtle (Chrysemys picta) |
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