The Jersey Journey 2011

March 27, 2011. Day One.

This was the first day of my Journey to visit all of New Jersey's State Parks, State Forests, Wildlife Refuges, and well-known Gardens in 2011. As a rough estimate, this totals 50 places to visit. I may not make it to all of them, but I'll be making an honest effort to spend every weekend enjoying what Mother Nature has to offer. I seek to showcase New Jersey's unsung beauty, for both myself and anyone else who may be interested. My entertainment and pleasure will not come from watching television, surfing the internet, or listening to music; it will come from the priceless enjoyment of exploring and appreciating nature.

So here I am. I dislike the idea of disclosing everything there is to know about me, but for the sake of any readers out there, I'll explain where I'm coming from. I finished my bachelor's degree in Chemistry with a minor in Geology after the conclusion of Rutgers Fall 2010 semester. I've been working full-time at an Environmental Laboratory for two months. (What's my dream job? To be a wildlife photographer or zoologist. But alas, my path in life pushed me toward chemical science, and I'm okay with that.) Since I no longer have homework to occupy my weekends (and my friends do), my Saturdays and Sundays have become quite monotonous. After I found myself spending an entire Saturday watching movies online and surfing the web about health and world news, I realized that I needed a new project. I thought about learning a foreign language, fostering a cat, or memorizing things like the Element Song or the U.S. Presidents in order of Presidency. But then I remembered it was Spring, and I'd finally be able to unleash my Outdoorsy child within. After researching gardens in New Jersey, I came across a list of the State Parks and Forests in NJ. I found my hook. My original plan was to write in a personal journal each day I went to a new destination, and compose a Shutterfly album of all the places I visited. However, a lovely woman at the Visitor's Center in Great Swamp Wildlife Refuge suggested that I start a blog. The more I thought about it, the more I found myself interested. At the very least, I hope this blog helps New Jerseyans appreciate what's not that far from their backyards. There's still some wilderness left. Let's keep it that way.


Since my journey today was quite a spontaneous decision (considering the idea was born yesterday), I decided to start with the two closest destinations.

1) Washington Rock State Park
This is definitely not an all-day affair. The view was quite nice, and I loved the stone staircase and set-up. I could see the New York City skyline faded out in the distance. I imagine the view would be more impressive when the trees were full with leaves and if some wildlife returned. However, I did see what I assume to be a hawk soaring in the sky. One thing's for sure: if I ever come back here, I'm having a picnic.

2) Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge
Not even a half hour away from Washington Rock State Park (depending on if you take two wrong turns like I did, because I had neither a GPS nor map, only directions) is this Gem of NJ. I never knew NJ had swamps! This is definitely a place I recommend everyone to visit.

I began with the Wildlife Observation Center. Walking on boardwalks across the swamp was an incredible experience. I felt transported to another world as I walked peacefully across the wooden boards. In the beginning, the only noise I heard was the dripping of melting snow into the swamp. The closer I neared the Blind (an outlook for birds), the louder I heard chirping of anxious birds calling to each other. Even the frogs were being chatty on this cold Spring day! (Which I must admit, was amusing to listen to). The birds I saw in the Blinds were a wood duck, blue heron, goose, mallard duck, and sparrow. I was hypnotized by the slow movement of the blue heron. He walked alone, taking each step through the water in such a slow manner, as if each step were calculated. I can only imagine he was on the hunt for some lunch.

My next drive was to the Visitor's Center. A portion of the drive was across a gravel roadway, so don't bring your nice car on this trip. Aside from the white mess some birds left on my hood a few days ago, my old Nissan is looking pretty dirty. In the Visitor's Center, there are glass windows that look into the backyard of the house. There are bird feeders outside, with a multitude of happy birds enjoying their stay. Only glass separates you from birds that are not even three feet away. In addition, the Gift Shop had some wonderful pictures- for those of you who love photography, but can't seem to get close enough to particular animals.

I then drove to the Raptor Trust, an outdoor bird rehabilitation center, which houses a collection of birds in large, fenced in houses. I've never seen such birds this close before, and it stirred an odd emotion in me- a combination of both fear and sympathy. It marks the location where I both became in awe of such large predatory birds, and fell absolutely in love with owls. (To my dismay, I doubt I can ever care for one). Surprisingly, I saw the most wild birds in the trees above this area. They were very tall trees, easy for being on the outlook, I suppose, but I don't know why they were in such close proximity. I wonder if they are fed near the Raptor Trust.

I will most definitely be paying another visit to the Great Swamp. However, I must admit that I am a bit skeptical of encountering a large number of bugs and snakes when the weather is warmer...



Two check-marks, New Jersey. Thanks for the wonderful day. Now it's time for me to rest before a week of contributing my services to society...and financing my next trip. Until next weekend!