High on Bowman's Hill

With such beautiful weather on this fine day, my mother and I set out to have an adventure.  Bowman's Hill Wildflower Preserve, in New Hope, PA was our destination.  The 134-acre preserve is home to a fantastic variety of plants native to the Delaware Valley region of Pennsylvania.  And if anyone knows my mother, you know that plants are kind of her thing.  

 
As we drove into the gated preserve, we were greeted by a sign that read "Native Plant Sale".  I knew right then and there that this place would be perfect for my mom.  After signing in at the visitor center and grabbing a trail map, we were off!  We headed down the Cabin trail to a stone bridge crossing over Pidcock Creek.  As we hiked along, we relished in the blissful quiet of the forest; the only sounds to be heard were the whispers of the light breeze through the trees and the occasional chirp of a nearby bird.  The brilliant yellow flowers of the prickly pear cactus were the first to catch our eye.  The petals peeked out from beneath a small tree right along the main trail.  We snapped a few photos of the beautiful blossom and hiked on.  We ventured on down the main path until we came to the Medicinal trail.  

We hung a right to explore some native flora that have therapeutic value.  As we followed the trail through the trees and along a small brook, we discovered a few witch-hazel shrubs.  A little further down the path we found a bit of bloodroot.  We meandered our way back to the main trail.  We walked a quick loop through the laurels, but alas we had missed their blooming.

Now I would have to disagree with the woman at the visitor center about the next leg of our adventure.  Although I'm quite sure this picture does not do the hill justice, you'll just have to take my word for it.  When we asked how to get to Bowman's Hill Tower, the woman said to follow the main path out of the preserve.  She said the path got "a little" steep...that mountain we had to climb was not "a little" steep!  As we exited the gated preserve, the path curved up.  We now had to share the road with the occasional car.  When the road finally leveled off, we paused to catch our breath and wipe the sweat from our faces.  We were now in the Washington Crossing Historic Park where Bowman's Hill Tower sits atop the mountain.  The large stone tower was built to commemorate a lookout point of Washington's troops of the Revolutionary War.

After only 128 steps (or a quick elevator ride), we had an amazing view of the Delaware River and the surrounding area.  On a clear day such as this, we could see at least 14 miles in all directions.  I can only imagine how pretty the view is in autumn.  We spent a bit of time checking out the view; took a couple selfies and enjoyed the breeze atop the tower.  After counting all the steps down to the base, we took a break for lunch.

The hike back down the mountain wasn't nearly as bad.  Once we met up with the main path again, we continued exploring the side trails.  We combined a few paths and walked along the Fern and Gentian trails.  We got to enjoy the natural beauty of the ferns while listening to the croaking of nearby bullfrogs and the buzzing of damselflies darting to and fro.  The Gentian trail circled around a small pond full of large wetland plants.  Finishing that small loop, we found ourselves back on the main path, and we made our way to the Pond trail.  Along the way, we

stopped to smell the roses...quite literally.  Pretty pink blooms lined the road; they smelled sweet and perfect.  This pond was probably my favorite part of the preserve.  It was surrounded by so many different types of plant, and the peaceful babbling of the water from the upper to lower pond created a beautiful, relaxing scene.  









On the walk back to the car, a large hawk flew over our heads and landed not too far off.  We tracked him down to a nearby tree and watch him for awhile.  It is quite amazing to see wildlife, especially large birds of prey, up close.  He quickly caught sight of something far more interesting than us and swooped away.  Back at the visitor center, we had our chance to hit up the plant sale and check out some smaller birds. 
 
We wrapped up our adventure in the town of New Hope.  A very unique spot if you ask me.  It's rich in early American history with a new age vibe, add a couple of biker bars and voila!  My mom and I each discovered a couple of cool finds hidden away in the cluttered shelf of antique shop.  All in all, a successful adventure and great mother-daughter time!