From the Desert to the Swamp!

08 Jul From the Desert to the Swamp!

This internship has been full of so many amazing experiences. However, if I had to choose one it would be my first day in the field. When I hiked along Cedar Creek for the first time. From the moment I left my car, it felt like I was transported to a whole new world. I hiked down to the creek alone surrounded by enormous trees and amongst the trees, I would catch glimpses of these large marvelous spider webs. The webs were covered in morning dew that glistened in the early morning sun. I felt like I was in my own personal wildlife documentary. Once I arrived at the creek, I felt like a had entered a scene from a sci-fi movie. There was a thick layer of fog slowly moving along the surface of the creek, giving the entire area this eerie ominous feeling that sent a chill down my spine. I proceeded to explore the back downstream fishing along the way. While exploring I spooked several deer, saw several snakes swimming in the creek, and best of all was catching fish I had never seen before. Being born and raised in Arizona, most of my outdoor experience has been exploring open a hot desert environment that has very few trees and is dominated by small shrubs and cacti. The area is also easy to navigate because you can see for miles in all directions with very little elevation. So, being surrounded by trees and having almost no sense of direction was very new to me. Of course, growing up in this environment also limited my fishing experience to the large reservoir that is found throughout the state. These lakes can often be hundreds of feet deep with clear water with no real current or moving water. So, getting to explore and fish this small creek deep in the woods surrounded by the outdoors is something I will never forget and is something that was only made possible by participating in this internship.