Overgrown in parts

Penny and I made our first visit to Newell in a couple of years.  The dusty parking area is now nicely paved.  There's even a charger station for EVs.

Not long after starting our hike we came upon a rafter of turkeys in one of the thick blackberry bushes along the trail.  Some trotted farther up the trail and some took flight when they managed to get out of the brambles.  It's a little early in the season for blackberries, but a few had some plump, ripe fruit that were quite tasty.

The main acreage has free roaming cows and we encountered one on the trail that was to be deterred from her chosen path.  She patiently waited, still and resolute. As we passed by on the other side of the jeep track trail.  Once we passed she slowly ambled down the path.

The clean parking area is not reflected on the trail conditions unfortunately.  We found many of the trails a bit overgown and needing some maintenance.  But the most Southeastern portions of the trails were beyond just a bit overgrown.  The trails here were hard to see from the overgrowth and I was happy to have long pants on.  At times we were uncertain whether we were on the official trail or had diverged onto a parallel cow path.  I'd recommend avoiding that area until trail maintainers are able to address the issue.

We were blessed with perfect weather for comfort.  A "June Bloom" of clouds kept the Sun from raising the temperature too much and provided releaf throughout the hike.  Only upon returning to the trailhead did the Sun break out.