Cape Fear River Trail & Cape Fear Botanical Gardens - Fayetteville, NC

Thursday Oct 5th we hiked the Cape Fear River Trail & visited the Cape Fear Botanical Gardens.

The Cape Fear River Trail is a paved greenway trail running along the Cape Fear River from Clark Park to Jordan Soccer Complex. The trail is part of the East Coast Greenway that stretches from Florida to Maine, with a four-mile stretch in Fayetteville. Despite being an urban trail, it passes through marshy areas and mixed hardwood/pine forests and supports a large diversity of plant and wildlife.

As we were driving into the parking lot we saw a young buck beside the railroad tracks.

There really were a lot of birds along the trail. Nothing new, just the usual Titmice, Chickadees, Cardinals, Blue Jays, Brown Thrashers, Woodpeckers and more! 

Blue Jay

Brown Thrasher

We walked the Wetlands & Bear trails and visited the Clark Park Nature Center before breaking for lunch.

Hairy Woodpecker

We had passed a Mexican place that got good reviews. It was mediocre at best. Not bad food, just not great.  

 Mi Casita

 tres enchiladas

Chile Relleno y taco

Cape Fear Botanical Gardens is a private garden founded by gardening enthusiasts in the Fayetteville area. The gardens are separated into two parts – cultivated and not. The cultivated section has several different gardens, such as the Shade Garden, featuring shade-friendly plants such as hostas, and the Butterfly Stroll, featuring plants that attract butterflies. The non-cultivated section has a few trails leading through a flood plain forest along the Cape Fear River.

It wasn't as much a botanical garden as it was a park with trails. The gardens are pretty and most are "natural". It would have been more peaceful without the sounds from the shooting range and the freeway. It still was a very enjoyable afternoon.

their farm area

 Tobacco Barn

 inside the barn

 Rough Green Snake - very small thin harmless snake

Northern Flicker

 Red-bellied Watersnake - large fat harmless snake (about 3 or more feet long)

 Cape Fear River

 Carolina Wren

Tufted Titmouse

 this tree is still rooted

 Cape Fear River

Gulliver's Chair

 lily pond

 

We made a stop at Camping World on the way home. (they seem to just suck us in as we drive by) Actually, some parks have very specific requirements on sewer connections or leveling pads when needed so we have gathered a few extras where needed. I think the rules are aimed at smaller campers, but just in case we buy the "lesser quality" requirements just in case ours isn't what they want. 

It was Taco Thursday here at the RV Park and for some reason they were free for all. There were hard and soft with meat, beans, lettuce, cheese, chips, peppers etc. Not bad at all. (free is good too)

Tomorrow we are off to the Airborne & Special Operations Museum. Fayetteville is home to Ft. Bragg after all.....