Cahaba Lily Trip

Took a day trip/day hike with Skippy to the Cahaba River on Saturday 5/24 to see the endangered Cahaba Lily in bloom.  These plants only bloom in the free-flowing Cahaba River and it's tributaries like Hatchett Creek, the Tallapoosa River, Socapatoy Creek, etc.  They only bloom from early May to early June.  We chose to see them at the Cahaba River Wildlife Refuge near West Blocton, AL, home to Hargrove Shoals -- the largest known stand of the lily in the world.  There were tons of people there, including one group over 60 members.

The highlight of the day was wading through some knee deep rapids to make it out onto the shoals with the lilies to photograph them close-up.  The road along side the river ends about halfway through the refuge, but a hiking trail takes the hiker the remaining half.  Huge stands of lilies with gorgeous scenery are your rewards.  We arrived around 9:45 am and left around 2:30 having seen and photographed most everything.  However, we could've easily stayed longer.

Directions:

http://www.fws.gov/Refuges/profiles/index.cfm?id=43665