Page Creek Marsh

Today I decided to take my bike out for

the first time this summer, and luckily there is a nearby nature preserve which I figured would be a nice short warm up ride. As it turns out, I was wrong. When I looked up Page Creek on Google, it looked like it was just a little ways down Dad's street, and I was sure I had passed the little bridge before. The round trip was just over 7 miles, and I had been thinking it would be more like 3. At any rate, I biked the 3.64 miles to a little entrance (something you drive by and don't notice). You can see my reflection, bicycle helmet and all, in the glass.

Due to it's hidden location, I got the feeling that this place isn't visited too often. It turns out that it is used as a hunting ground, but there are supposed to be all kinds of birds in the marsh during summer. I had prepared much better for this trip, by actually wearing walking shoes and long pants, but I couldn't find the bug spray. The actual path was less than inviting: clearly overgrown and no sign of recent visitors. I went along anyway, hoping to spot a deer or a neat looking bird. There were spider webs galore, but luckily you could still clearly see where the path was supposed to be, so I didn't get lost. About 5 minutes into my hike, I was brushing the thousandth spider web from my arm when A DEER! suddenly sprinted off into the woods. I had been too preoccupied with the spiders to notice, and missed seeing anything but the back of him.

As I walked deeper into the woods (where was this marsh, anyway?) the bugs started encroaching more steadily, and I had had it when a full blown spider web was blocking the path (not just a wispy strand, like most of them, but a whole thing with a spider having a snack in the center.) Upon noticing him, I also noticed 300 mosquitoes that were trying to attack my jeans, so I turned around and headed back without seeing the actual marsh. Another day, when I have bug spray on, I will attempt it again!

The creek itself, however, is visible from the road and I biked down to the tiny bridge to take some photos and look for interesting wildlife. There were several birds making a ruckus, but I didn't see any. The creek was pretty neat, and I saw a fish grab a bug on top of the water.

On my way back home, I stopped at a huge open field (which I think is actually a part of the nature preserve) that was FULL of these awesome, aromatic purple flowers. I was sweaty and tired, so I didn't stay for long, but I did manage to get a few shots. As I was biking away, I saw several monarchs fly towards the field. I will have to stop again and walk through to see more butterflies.