Six Mile Cypress

I unfortunately missed the field trip to the corkscrew swamps but to make up for the missed day I went to Six Mile Cypress Preserve. I was a little skeptical to go because I heard so many great things about the swamps from my classmates that I felt that I was not going to enjoy the Preserve. However I had to be open minded and I grabbed a friend who was into the outdoors and we headed out there.  Because I did have to pay for the parking I really did appreciate that it was only one dollar. I felt like they were saying that you came here to connect to nature not from them to steal our money. Nature is free and everyone is entitled to experience without having to pay large sums of money. Walking on the long zig zag board walk right smack dab in the middle of the preserve made me a little nervous. I remembered watching the video where the cougar was on the board walk and I was so uncomfortable the first few minutes. 

As we continued to walk, I became more and more relaxed seeing the small animals in the trees, the woodpeckers, small snakes slithering through the low parts of the swamps, the birds flying, and the turtles bunched together. My friend swore that she saw a black hog run past us but I didn’t see it. I enjoyed the walk it didn’t feel like I was walking forever and it did not feel like it was too short, it was the right distance. It was a really great place to unwind and feel like that I was cut off from the stress of college. I feel like it was a little gem tucked away from the world, it was very peaceful. We were only there an hour but it was well worth the trip. The only flaw to the trip, is that it was really hot and I did not being sunscreen and I feel that it would have been better if we did a guided tour because I feel that we missed out on so many educational portions. There were a lot of plants and birds  that I did not know what they were or how they affect the preserve or the world. It was a defiantly a relaxing trip just no really educational. I still think it was a great experience and I can’t believe that it is right in a our backyard and I have never been or heard of it. I now know this is something that I will start going to more often when I need to wind down.