Borderland State Park Trip

Finally, the day has arrived! We went to Borderland State Park today for the first time. You'd expect us to have gone earlier since it's so close to our house, but you know, better late than never. The plan was to go yesterday, but the weather forecast said that it would thunderstorm. So we didn't go yesterday, and that came back to bite us. It didn't thunderstorm; it didn't even rain (at least during the times we were supposed to be at Borderland). Oh well, nobody's perfect, even the weatherman.

The reason I bring up yesterday is because we actually should gone yesterday, as the rain that was said to come yesterday came pouring down on us today. At least the rain ended in the morning. Well, we decided to go anyways, regardless of the rain, and the day wasn't that bad. We still finished all that we planned to: fishing for the first three hours, then each lunch, and then hike on the trails for the rest of the day. It was just there were some setbacks that came our way.

Obviously, the first problem was the rain. Wet dirt trails don't do any good to your clothes or your mood. But the fishing made up for the gloomy weather real quick. You see, I've always dreamed of fishing for the longest time, and today was finally the chance. All that research into fishing rods, reels, baits, and techniques would finally be utilized today! More about that later. But the sprinkle turned into a shower and then into a downpour, stopping our fishing for some time. Gladly there was this small building near the pond we were at, which kind of became our home base for the rest of the fishing trip. After hiding in there was some time, Caden and I decided to just ignore the rain and keep on fishing. The rain can't ruin my first fishing trip, can it?

The other problem was the pond itself (or my lack of fishing experience; I'm not sure). We just fished at the first pond that we saw, as the rain prevented us from traveled to other ponds in the park. And this pond had to be the worst pond to fish at. We couldn't find any spot not filled with lily pads, and the few "clear" spots were filled with long grass (or whatever those pond plants inside the water are called). So all morning, our jigs would keep on getting stuck in the lily pads or pick up grass. It was rough, especially for first-time anglers like us. Also, I think using jigs was a bad idea on my part (I bought all the equipment as I did the most research on fishing beforehand). Moving baits increased the likelihood of snags on random things in the pond, and there were no active fish in the pond willing enough to chase the bait (that's what I assume at least). By the time noon hit, we as a family got 0 fish and 0 bites. Oh well, all that matters is that we have fun, right? I know I'm only talking about the negatives, but it was still fun fulfilling my dream for the first time.

After the fishing, we ate lunch and started hiking. This hike went way better than the fishing. Our plan was to reach the two other major ponds at Borderland Park to see if they were good for fishing. And boy, they were far better! The second pond was crystal clear, and guess what? There were fish right at the shore, just staring at us! The water was so clear, with no little plants in the water and no lily pads for a long way out. We were so sad to miss this golden opportunity to catch fish (we had put the rods back home, and we definitely not going back to grab them) yet happy to know that Borderland still had good fishing spots.

We then hiked to the other pond, and to no surprise, this pond also had great waters. Only the pond we fished at was horrible. Wow. At this third pond, it openly said "No swimming", but this dog from another group just jumped right into the pond. It was funny to watch this dog just ignore the rules and jump right in. Another funny moment on the hike was when I almost stepped on a crawfish. Like when does a crawfish go onto land? I never knew they did, but i guess they do. This crawfish was literally in the middle of the trail, completely still with its little claws spread out. He looked like Moses parting the Red Sea or something! We eventually used sticks to get it off the trail, but that was funny to see that little guy just standing there like that.

Overall, it was still a fun trip. I think this trip clearly showed that I am the only outdoorsy guy in the family, but that's ok. I just enjoy the outdoors a lot, even though I rarely spend time in it. Opportunities like these won't go to waste, as it allows me to connect to nature on a level that I rarely get to on a normal basis. Being in nature invigorates me, and I loved it out there. Even with the early struggles, I still found ways to enjoy nature to the fullest. Nature is great, isn't it?