Deth

From a young age I have always just loved being out on the trail in the woods. Most nice days when I was a kid we went to the state park when my dad got home from work. We spent so much time at Neshaminy State Park that I think I had memorized the trail. Sometimes we just went fishing but most of the time it was walking along the trail. I can still remember the smell of the tidal water along the Delaware river, and it’s confluence with the Neshaminy Creek. We spent so much time there, and I remember how the tides would be different each time.

We probably went there a lot because it was free for one thing and my dad liked all things outdoors. He hunted, he fished and just enjoyed the woods. It was also a short drive from home, less than 5 minutes. One of the memories that sticks with me most is being on the shore of the Delaware river watching a thunderstorm across the river. We were seeing lots of lightning and could see the rain line creeping across the river.

Once in a while we’d head up to Tyler State Park in Bucks County. It took longer to get there so we didn’t go that often but the trails were more fun up there. It reminded me of the mountains. We used to see deer and other animals there. Once Christmas day or at least within a day or two of Christmas we there and saw deer humping. I was able to see that because by that time I had a pair of binoculars I usually brought all the time.

I also remember being very young going in the woods at the mountains with my dad and mom or dad and pop while he scouted for signs of deer. Every time I see an area where they’d recently bedded down I think of that. I remember the unique sweet type of smell from the woods up there. I think the smell was the ferns. There were lots of ferns in the woods there and the birch trees near the mines. The smell and color or the mountain laurel Still sticks with me to this day and I think of it every spring. This fall I was reminded of the chipmunks chirping when the one that lives near our house was sitting on the patio doing it.

Really I think my love for geocaching is just a natural extension of my love of outdoorsy type of things. Geocaching has shown me many awesome places that I may not have discovered otherwise. It really is great to get you to explore areas near and far from home.