As members of a civil society, we get a great perk: PARKS!
Our municipal, state and federal governments provide beautiful parks for us to visit. If you’re planning a trip to a park, you will find tons of information online, in books, and travel guides. But if you really want to squeeze every last iota of enjoyment out of your park visit, be sure to talk with the park’s ranger(s) when you arrive.
Find out what they think is the best kept secret about their park. Find out if there’s another park nearby that you should visit. What’s the best time of year to visit this park? What’s in bloom right now? Is there anything special going on with the wildlife? Where’s the best picnic spot? Is there a feature of this park that most people overlook?
Let’s face it, the park rangers are there because they are the experts. They are involved in maintaining the resources of the park, planning programs for visitors, interpreting the history and features of the park. . .chances are good that they love “their” park and want to share the very best of it with you.
Steve and I recently visited Big Lagoon State Park with a plan to paddle over to Perdido Key State Park. We were able to get that done, but because the weather was threatening we cut our trip short. On the way out of the park, we stopped at the ranger station to look for brochures, and Steve struck up a conversation with the ranger. She shared that in nearby Tarkiln Bayou State Park, several wild orchids were blooming and that there were also pitcher plants there. You’ll read more about the pitcher plants in another post very soon, but I just want to stress that we would have never visited Tarkiln without her recommendation. We were able to see two types of wild orchids, two types of sundew plants, and the magnificent pitcher plants. Kayaking to Perdido Key was lovely, but it’s the Tar Kiln plant life that I will remember always. The ranger provided not only the basic information of what we would see, but where to look and what to look for.
Seek out the rangers and get the best quality visit you can! Rangers can contribute so much to your enjoyment of your precious leisure time.