Park Mid-section - Burkett Park to Cougar Overlook and Back

Leg 1 -  Burkett Park > WS to LL Connector > Roller Coaster > West Potts Creek > Potts Creek > Turkey Creek > 5 Points Junction > River Bend > service road (NNE) > Cougar Overlook   5.6 miles

Leg 2 -  Cougar Overlook > Flintstone > 5 Points Junction > Flintstone > service road (ENE) > Trailhead to Trailhead > Burkett Trail > Burkett Park  3.5 miles

Temp started at 75, ended at 81.  Sunny then partly cloudy.  Steady southerly breeze at 1-5mph.  Humid.

A quiet hike along dry trails.  No wildflowers except individual blooms here and there.  Not many birds out although I saw a male Painted Bunting which was nice.  A somewhat rare sighting for me was a Texas Spiny Lizard (photo attached).  Usually, I hear them scamper up a tree and can never find them.  This one scampered up the tree and held still long enough for me to get the picture then he was gone.

Another oddity - at the southern end of Flintstone, I saw movement out of the corner of my eye and a large pale brown snake shot into the brush making a hissing sound.  I don't know if the hissing was an actual hiss or noise made when he rubbed against some bark.  In any event, he went his way and I went mine with no photo.

NOTES

Water, shade, info kiosk and dry toilets available at Burkett Park.

Water, shade, and info kiosk available at 5 Points Junction.

Shade, info kiosk and a bicycle repair station available at Cougar Overlook.