Pinhook Bog, Indiana National Lakeshore

We ventured out again yesterday, was going to visit Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore and when we went to the visitor's center to learn about it, the ranger said - quick - get over to Pinhook Bog, it's only open on Saturdays from noon to 3.  So, zip, off we went and got to the bog at 1:45pm.  The Bog is secured by locked gates and no one can get in if the gates are closed.  As we walked up to the gate, the ranger was just locking up.  Huh?  She was just going to lock up for a short minute while she headed back to the parking lot. Probably to go potty, but she opened up the gate again and let us in.

Pretty walk path to get to the bog

Ranger had just unlocked the gate for us to go in

We had a personalized tour of the bog.  She pointed out different fauna (orange-fringed orchid - not found anywhere else in the world; pitcher plants that basically eat bugs and other fauna; poison sumac; blueberry bushes; and the sphagnum ((spaig-num)) moss which is the basis of most of the life in the bog) and told us that the bog was at least 40 feet deep.  As we were walking on the boardwalk, we were floating on the blog - squish, squish.  Frogs kept poking their heads out at us, birds calling to us, very humid environment - of course since we were standing on top of 40 feet of water.

Poison sumac

Orange-fringed orchid 

Strands of sphagnum moss

Looks shallow - but 40 feet deep 

Peek-a-boo - frog peaking out at us through the sphagnum moss

Pitcher plant - kinda like a venus-fly-trap

Puffy cotton balls

We had visited a bog in central Ohio years ago but was not treated to getting it's knowledge and workings of it.  At that time we stood at the edge and looked, okay, impressive, but not like this Pinhook Bog.

Walking along boardwalk - squish, squish, water shooting up 

Can't tell but this Pitcher Plant had a bug inside it

Big areas of open 'water' 

Rivet

Rivet

Midst of all, this pretty wild flower was beautiful!

Formed 15,000 years ago when the retreating glaciers had a chunk of ice broke off and it melted but did not evaporate, the bottom of the bog is clay lined - think of a swimming pool's bottom - and the water is like a huge bathtub.   Very interesting place.