Paul B. Johnson State Park: Nature’s Masterpiece in Mississippi’s Autumn

Have you ever been surprised by nature? There have been many times when I have gone to a place that seemed unsuspecting at first but ended up surprising me along the way. This was one of those times!

When we pulled into Paul B. Johnson State Park, it looked like any other Mississippi State Park with kids playing, families camping, and people picnicking. 

We parked near where we thought the trail that we were looking for was but were sadly mistaken. Instead of driving to the spot to start the hike, we took this as an opportunity to extend our adventure a bit. We laced up our boots and started the trek to the trailhead on the other side of the lake. 

I started to watch the groups of geese swimming around the large pond and became mesmerized by what they were doing. I think this is when I started enjoying bird watching. I stopped about a half mile in to take photos of the geese swimming around and also some of the other bits of nature presenting themselves to us. 

Jay and I took our time and talked while taking in our surroundings. We hung out there for maybe ten minutes before we began walking again. We walked for a few hundred feet before we spotted some geese moving close to a clearing we were passing. 

The walk was halted again as we stopped once more to take photos of those majestic birds. At that moment, I was thankful for the longer camera lens I bought a few months earlier because I could get up-close shots of each of the birds. My friend and I just enjoyed each other's presence as the geese played around and snacked on shore. As we caught up with each other, surrounded by nature, we decided we didn’t really need to do the hike (we still had at least a quarter mile before even reaching the trailhead). 

Retreating back to the car, we were thankful for the experience we had. This park is a calming place to visit and a great place for families looking to immerse themselves in nature. I’d love to go back another time to actually do the hike, but this was a great experience overall.