Walking on the Hooch

Over the weekend, my boyfriend and I went out to take some more pictures and to go Geocaching. I thought I was running out of parks in my immediate area, so I logged onto the Geocaching website and found that there were eight Geocaches in a park not too far from my house. I looked it up and discovered that it was the Chattahoochee Nature Center. My boyfriend and I headed over there, paid the eight-dollar entrance fee, and started our adventure.

I was actually a little surprised that I didn’t know this was around the corner from us. They have multiple exhibits through the center as well as some trails leading to the different areas. In the Discovery Center, we found this large room with all different kinds of insects preserved in cases. There are about 30 drawers filled with varying species, all marked with a number of points. We asked the lady at the desk and she explained that they have a point system to trade things. The program they have set up allows children to go out into nature, anywhere they want, find a bug, research it, and bring it in to the Nature Center for points. The points are then logged into an account for the child so they can save their points for future trading purposes. I think this is an awesome idea to get kids interested in nature.

After leaving the building, we made our way down a path in the aviaries. There were all sorts of amazing birds. There were several species of owl, some vultures, hawks, and a pair of Bald Eagles. Unfortunately, they were all in cages, so picture taking was difficult. Instead, we found these strange looking man-made birds’ nests. They were just hanging there, all spiral-like, and we thought they looked interesting.



When we were done with the aviaries, we headed over to see the beavers. Of course, they were sleeping in a corner where we couldn’t see them, but honestly, I don’t blame them. I would hide in that corner too. On the trail, though I spotted this twisted tree. I just thought it looked kind of neat, the way it was bent over and twisting around itself. We spent some time on this trail, winding in and out of the butterfly gardens. For a butterfly garden, there really weren’t too many butterflies though. I guess because of the heat and time of year. Maybe next time.



Before we headed back to the car, we decided to spend a little extra time and cross the street to the River Boardwalk Trail. It was a short half a mile walk around the entire boardwalk. I really wanted to get a good picture of the river, but of course, no luck there. The lighting just was not working out well that day. I did manage to get this picture though. I know, not the best, but I do like the way it is focused.



I really enjoyed this trip to the Chattahoochee Nature Center. I definitely suggest this to anyone looking for an easy trail with some wildlife worked in, especially if you have kids. Well worth the price. There are also several Geocaches in the park, one of which is probably the best and most startling I have seen. I don’t want to give it away, so go check it out when you have some time.