A Walk Through Nature

Today I want to show you what a typical everyday adventure is like for me. Usually I show you some closeup pictures of one of the forest animals that I meet along the way. There are a lot of days though when I don't see any animals up close like that. On typical days I just walk through the forest and enjoy being there.

Usually I'll drive to one of my nature preserves, and the first thing I do is look for other cars in the parking lot. I like to see very few others at a time. I always hope to see nobody else there, but one or two other cars is fine. It is just a better time when I can feel alone in the forest. Meeting other people there is better when there are very few.

Usually after parking I'll head straight for the hiking trail. I don't like to waste my time out at the parking area for very long unless there are a few animals out there. If the park is new to me I'll look to see if there is a map of the trails. It's important to have a good idea of where you are when you're in there. Most of my trails are only a few miles long, but it's still easy to get lost sometimes.

I usually go to these places alone, partly because I sometimes enjoy the feeling of being in the forest by myself, and partly because I simply don't know anybody else that enjoys nature like I do. That's why I'm glad this isn't some kind of team sport. Doing this alone is always a refreshing experience.

When I get fully onto the trail I begin to move very slowly. I'm not usually out here for exercise, and nobody is going to get thin for just hiking. I move slowly so I won't scare any animals away. This also helps me to stay quiet. I can sneak up on an animal better than most people because of this.

Most of these trails have many different areas along the way. Most of the way in a place like this is in the middle of the woods. Sometimes there will be a meadow at some point along the trail, and there is almost always a body of water in these places. There are rivers, lakes, and ponds all through a nature park.

Through each one of these areas I like to stop in the middle and just take the time to look around. I will literally turn around and look in all directions. If you ever decide to do this, do it very slowly so you can actually see everything, and so you don't fall down dizzy. Take a deep breath while you're doing it too, just to get some fresh air.

Sometimes I'll see a wild animal along the way, but it's not always important. This is something that can't be controlled and that's part of why this is fun. Some days I'll see animals around every corner. Other times I don't see much of anything. You never know when or what you'll find out there.

I usually follow the trail all the way to the back of these parks, but it's not necessary to do so. You can do it however you want. On my way back to the front of the park I try to take a different route if I can. Most of the park trails split into a loop so there are at least two ways in and out. It doesn't really matter, you still see different things both ways.

I usually feel pretty good by the time I've walked through a nature preserve. I had a nice quiet walk through nature and a nice peaceful calmness has come over me. This always helps me to deal with the rest of my day much better, and calms my mind from the earlier part of the day.

This was just one aspect of walking through the places I go every day. There are many others. One of these times I'll take you on a tour of exactly what I see on one of my hikes. There are so many good things to do and see. This was only a very small part.