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A walk of nature experience

Taking walks gives us a whole lot of experiences! It is interesting to take walks, taking pictures of interesting and beautiful sceneries. Nature is worth exploring after a long day at work as one gets to take a break from the noisy and congested part of town, and for a moment forgetting everything else and focusing on the what nature has to offer. Typically, most people fail to understand the beauty that nature holds, as they do not take time for exploration but rather spend long days at work only to get home in the evening. My experiences after taking a walk were exciting, and my interest in taking walks for often heightened. This paper focuses on the walk I made, and my experiences, spelling out my attitude before, during and after the walk. Also, the paper presents a comparison between my walk and the walks of Thoreau.

I take my walk in a park around San Antonio. The walk was in Government Canyon Natural Area whose address is 12861 Galm Rd. The walk gave me a fascinating experience. The park is open from Friday to Monday and is closed from Tuesday to Thursday. The Government Canyon Natural Area is the best park to go for hikes in San Antonio. I took a walk after dusk, and the view was worth watching. The paths were narrow, and one could barely see a long distance, but it was possible to see a considerable distance. There were a number of bushes which covered a more substantial part of the park giving it beautiful scenery which was attractive to be in and take pictures. The bushes also covered the paths reducing the effect of the sun on the explorers which can help attract more individuals to walk during the day. From this point, I could see the magical view of San Antonio, presented by the lights. It was beautiful to be in the place at this time when darkness was lurking.

The rocks also completed the beauty of the park as it gave the bushes a breaking atmosphere. The rocks were also an excellent place to rest on after waking for a long time. Grass also added to the beauty of nature at the park, and also presented an excellent place to sit and rest after taking long walks. Additionally, there was a cool breeze and fresh air which I believe is brought about by the trees. Unlike in San Antonio, the place was not congested and was therefore quiet too, presenting an adequate place to relax after work.

My attitude changed significantly from the moment I began the walk, the period of the walk and after taking a walk. Before I started taking the walk, I had a negative attitude towards the walk, as I figured it would take much time, yet I had no interest in taking walks in parks. I had plans to take a maximum of one hour in the park. Walking to me did not have much to present but bushes and darkness now that the walk was to take place at dusk. During the walk, I began to realize that it is more entertaining than I expected.

My attitude had begun to change towards taking walks since I could now see what other people like myself miss out. The park, especially at this time is more than a bushy area with rocks and trees. It now appeared to be more of beautiful scenery, with a cool breeze, quiet and an excellent place to come to when one wants to take a break from the San Antonio noisy streets. After the walk, I knew that this would not be the last time I come here for a walk, and I knew that I would explore more parks and experience the beauty of nature. Walking through the park was worth the time and spending more time on parks would still be worth it. My attitude towards nature had taken a complete turn, and I now understood why Thoreau felt that taking walks was essential. People cannot discover the beauty of nature unless they take their time and walk to places, spotting what interests them.

My walk and the walk taken by Thoreau have notable similarities and differences. In both cases, the walks are taken outside the home environment and in the outcasts where there are trees and bushes. My walk took place in a park with bushes, trees and rocks where there were a few people and the atmosphere was just overwhelming. Thoreau is much attracted to nature as he states, ‘While a majority of men feel attracted to society, a few are attracted to nature.” (Thoreau 11). His experiences in the forest are evident in his statement, ‘..reminds me of the cries emitted by world beasts in their native forests.’ (Thoreau 9).

Additionally, there are instances of darkness in both walks. My walk is in the evening, when the sun is no longer visible, which helps me to have a clear view of San Antonio which is enabled by electric light. Similarly, it is evident that Thoreau also tool walks at night. He states that ‘Genius is the light which makes the darkness visible, like the lightning flash…’ (Thoreau 15)His statement is an experience that he has had in the darkness during one of his walks. There are also differences between my walk and the walks taken by Thoreau. For instance, he takes his walks, not only in the wild but also in places such as homesteads with domestic animals. This is evident when he makes a comparison between the wild and domesticated animals, ‘I assert even domestic animals when they reassert their native rights.’ He also talks about his neighbour’s cow that breaks out of her pasture trying to bring out a similarity in all animals. On the contrary, my walk is precisely in a park, and there are no animals visible, except for the hummingbirds in their nests.

In selecting the photographs, I choose the pictures which had much to view and had a clear view of the scenery. Walking helps us to explore and understand how beautiful nature around us is. It is on a few occasions that people understand the environment surrounding them as they do not take time to explore and learn. Nonetheless, the few people who make the decision to take walks to understand the true meaning of nature, like Thoreau states. A majority of people are pre-occupied in their day-to-day activities and chores, preventing them from creating time for nature. People, however, should learn the importance of understanding the natural environment surrounding them. Nature is beauty!

Work Cited

Thoreau, Henry David. Walking. Lulu. com, 1862. Pg. 3-24