I was restless today. I felt the need for outdoor time. At
first we considered attending the German Festival but it was indoors.
We decided to head for the woods instead.
After a brief discussion of some of our more familiar treks,
I mentioned the Middle Patuxent Environmental Area.
Mama Wordbones had never been to the Middle Patuxent Environmental Area so it
was settled. I really wasn’t all that surprised Mama Wordbones, a lifelong HoCo
resident and former Girl Scout volunteer had never been to the MPEA. I think it may qualify as one of HoCo’s best
little secrets. Today, while on the 2.4 mile Wildlife Loop Trail for a little over an hour,
we encountered a total of six people and two dogs. There are places where the
trail shrinks to a rather narrow single track and you realize how infrequently
this place is visited.
It was a perfect day to be out there.
Since I first visited MPEA about eight years ago, the
trail network has expanded with the South Wind Trail, adding another three
miles for the younger, more adventurous types. The 1,021 acre park stretches
from Route 108 all the way down to the new Robinson Nature Center on Cedar Lane
Getting There: Take
Route 108 (Clarksville Pike) to Trotter Road . Travel about mile and look
for the small white gravel parking area on your left. It’s easy to miss. At the
trailhead grab a guide in the unmarked black box by the information board. It
contains a map and lots of interesting information about the habitat you’ll
pass through. The park closes at dusk. I’d like to say it’s free but the truth
is that your taxes pay this so that's all the more reason you should get out and enjoy
it.
And One Last Thing: I’ve always thought those moments of nature you
get at the end of CBS Sunday Morning provide a nice wrap up,so with apologies to CBS, I offer these thirty
one seconds in the life of one of our HoCo loco rivers.
