Review: Louisville Nature Center

I went on another field trip with Lovely last week, to the Louisville Nature Center.  I didn't even know it exhisted, but sure enough, it's located right around the corner from the Louisville Zoo.

The class was divided into four groups that took turns hiking a shortened version of a trail, meeting insects, and playing peeping toms with birds.  Here's one of the many critters that I didn't touch:

I learned millipedes are OK to touch, but stay away from those nasty biting centipedes...someone better restrain me...NOTE:  the hands above are the guide's hands.  I didn't want the millipede to "get nervous" on me.

Below is Lovely playing with her pet snail.  For some reason, it looked like it was breaking free from its shell just to get closer to her--maybe she smelled good...or bad...

After the critters, we snuck up on the birds and learned about cardinals (what the guide referred to as our state bird, but she meant Kentucky's state bird--good thing both states have the same state bird--talk about copycapts!), nut hatches, blue jays, chipmunks, finches, and a lot more...

Last, we went hiking.  Honestly, I was glad it was the shortened version of the trail.  We ventured through the mud and muck, but I didn't mind too much--I wore my old tennies.  Anyone visiting can hike in the 41-acre Bear Creek State Nature Preserve.  They only have 2+ miles of hiking trails, but it is pretty hiking.  They also offer other education programs, party/event room rental, and summer camps with camp scholarships. 

Considering the drive (I live a bit far to visit too often), I probably won't be back anytime soon, but if you are in the area, it's a nice place to check out!