Keonna and I were excited to start our hike.
Hiking with friends is a great past time. It allows you to create a stronger bond with one another and it also gives you a sense of security.
On one of my hikes, I decided to take my friend Keonna Cook, a junior business student at the University of Florida, to a nature park.
I took Cook to Cofrin Nature Park, which is located on NW Eighth Avenue, in Gainesville, Fla.
The park offered a great deal of conversation starters including: the house farm located right by the trail, the creek and also the suicide awareness garden. We found the garden interesting because it was an initiative by University of Florida students.
Before Cofrin Nature Park actually became a park, it belonged to Mrs. Gladys Cofrin, an active environmentalist who had a horse farm and family homestead on the site, according to http://www.floridahikes.com/cofrin-nature-park .
While at the park, I decided to interview Cook and get her input on the park.
This was Cook’s first time hiking. When asked about her favorite part, she replied that she really enjoyed the creek.
“Hiking is a new experience for me, so I really enjoyed the creek,” Cook said. “Being from south Florida, I’ve never really had the chance to go on a hike, so seeing the creek was surreal.”
Luckily for us, the fall weather really let us enjoy the surroundings. The temperature was about 70 degrees, which allowed for a comfortable walking experience.
Although the park is only a half-mile long, there was vegetation everywhere. There was never an empty spot of land.
The nature trail provided benches and signs for visitors, this way new hikers won’t feel so intimated by the nature.
Cook and I also had the chance to see a small bird among the branches of a tree.
“I really like how the park felt so still, but once we saw the bird, it brought the forest to life.”
College Hiker 
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