Walkers admire wildflowers at Rock Bridge park

Randal Clark has been leading spring wildflower walks for 28 years.

By Angela Case

Published May 4, 2010

A cluster of people, from grandparents to 20-somethings, met at the Devil's Ice Box trailhead for an event that's been going on for nearly three decades of spring.

They greeted each other and chatted for a few minutes before a man in a tan plaid shirt and baseball cap welcomed everyone to the Weekly Wildflower Walk.

The man was Randal Clark, a volunteer who has been leading wildflower walks each spring for the past 28 years.

This spring, Clark will lead a walk every Wednesday until May 19. The first walk of the season was March 24.

The walks begin in the trailhead's parking lot at Rock Bridge State Park. Participants carpool to a different destination each week for the main walk after a 15-minute introduction to flowers in bloom near the trailhead.

Clark began last Wednesday's walk by pointing out a Black Haw, a tree with small, shiny leaves and snowball-like flowers growing near the trailhead. Moving down the trail, he identified a group of blue phloxes, more commonly known as Wild Sweet Williams. As the group examined them, Clark pushed some tall grass aside to reveal an even tinier blue and white flower.

"This is Wild Sweet William's girlfriend, Blue-Eyed Mary," he said. "You always find Wild Sweet William and Blue-Eyed Mary right next to each other."

After introducing the group to a few other flowers, Clark announced the destination for the main walk: the Shooting Star trailhead, a few miles away on Highway 163. Minutes later, the group met up again at the new location. Walking stick in hand, Clark led the group down a muddy, uneven trail.

At a spot along the top of a cliff, Clark encouraged participants to look around and find the Shooting Star flower. He said this area was the only place in the park where it could be consistently found.

The group paused to admire the view.

"It's kind of hard to believe we're close to Columbia right now," Clark said.

Stopping frequently along the trail, he pointed out wildflowers and shared facts about their names, histories and characteristics. Participants asked questions and singled out flowers Clark passed.

One of the participants, Sedalia resident Connie Kiburz, was on her first visit to the park. She and her husband Doug Kiburz came to the wildflower walk on a suggestion from their daughter, who lives in Columbia and had attended in the past.

Connie Kiburz said the walk helped her recognize plants that she sees while walking around her property. More importantly, she said, the event introduced her to Rock Bridge.

"I will definitely come back to the park," she said. "I think it was a wonderful hike."

Doug Kiburz said the walk made him notice plants he would not have otherwise.

"Until you really focus, you don't notice the amazing number and variety of flowering things that are here until you have somebody very knowledgeable point them out," he said.

Hallsville resident Jean Feltz was attending her second wildflower walk of the season.

"It's kind of neat seeing all the different wildflowers from early spring to late spring," she said. "I know a lot of the more familiar wildflowers, but there's always something I don't know that I learn."

Clark said early spring is the best time to observe wildflowers because ticks and poison ivy become more common later in the spring. He said his wildflower walks allow participants to observe how flowers change throughout the season.

"It's a chance for people to see spring happen," he said.