Monday, August 15, 2011

Walker Ranch Historic Landmark Park

Today's photos:




















For the three month anniversary of this blog, I thought it would be appropriate to return to the Salado Creek. The Walker Ranch Historic Landmark Park is located on Salado Creek between McAllister Park and Hardberger Park. It is on West Ave just north of Nakoma Dr. There is also an entrance with a parking lot off of Rhapsody Dr.

There is a trail map both online and at the park, but the trails themselves don't have signs. I parked in the West Ave lot and walked south along the Meadow Loop Trail and continued across the long bridge over Salado Creek to the Rhapsody Dr lot and back to the loop trail. 

Then I walked west along the Meadow Loop Trail to the Salado Trail. The Salado Trail continues west to the park boundary which is not marked at all. There are numerous dirt trails that crisscross the creek bed. There is no way of knowing which is specifically intended to be the Salado Trail. I walked to where I thought the park boundary is located and returned to the Meadow Loop Trail.

I then returned to the park entrance by way of the Monte Galvan and Panther Spring Trails.

The trail confusion not withstanding, I found the park to be very fascinating. There were at least two large herd of deer along the Salado Trail, but they weren't at all semi-tame the way the deer are in Mcallister Park. The rather large doe pictured above had no interest in pausing to pose for a photograph as it bounded across the trail and into the trees.

There was also what I am fairly certain was a red fox. All I saw was a bushy fox-like tail bouncing through the underbrush as fast as the fox could run.

Overall, I think the Walker Ranch Historic Landmark Park has great potential for ecosystem restoration, but I'm sure the Parks and Recreation Department has more pressing priorities at this time.

One footnote is appropriate here. This park is very close to the San Antonio International Airport and is under the final approach for the main runway, so it is not the place to visit if one is trying to suspend disbelief and imagine that civilization has been left behind:


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