Five dollars. Five US dollars is all I paid for a great experience. That’s a deal I just don’t see enough of these days. I got home from work last Friday and pulled up Google Maps. I typed in “hiking” and found my destination for the weekend: Purtis Creek State Park. I loaded up my new (to me) Nikon D5500 DSLR and headed out the following morning.
Even the 1-hour drive to this park was beautiful. I ended up taking the scenic route and was guided down a series of FMs (Farm to Market roads) lined with cow pastures. There were many times I wanted to pull over and snap some pics, but there was nowhere to stop—without getting stuck in a ditch—and that’s fine. Some things just need to be appreciated in the moment.
After paying the aforementioned five dollar entrance fee (that no doubt went to keeping this park awesome), I parked down the road and began my Saturday adventure. Purtis Creek State Park is small and there’s nothing wrong with that. It still comes with over 4 miles of tree-lined hiking trails and dozens of places to camp—both primitive and modern spots are available.
Funny thing happened when I was halfway through one of the trails; I heard a howl. Just someone’s dog from the campground, right? Then I heard another… and another. About four howls simultaneously. It was probably just some coyotes, but I turned around anyway. I really have to remember to buy some kind of mace or something. Or maybe I should stop hiking in semi-remote places by myself?
I know… I’m no fun.
mjorigin.com 
Sometimes a great experience doesn’t cost a lot of money!
Absolutely! Especially true with nature.
For sure!