We decided to take a short trip to Seney National Wildlife Refuge. Its only a 30 minute drive from Newberry. There's not a whole lot of infrastructure here - just a nice visitor center and observation platforms to see nearby wildlife. But where this 95,000 acre park shines is the extensive dirt road system around all the ponds and marshes that have been created for the wildlife.
We asked the ranger about bike riding and he suggested we drive part way thru the one way scenic drive that meanders seven miles or so through the park, find a gated road along the way and then ride the bikes back into areas where cars aren't allowed. Sounded like a plan.
We did just that, but found it took a long time to drive very far because every few tenths of a mile, the view was compelling enough to get out of the car and take some pictures. We eventually got to the point we thought would be a good ride and swapped the car for our bikes.
We ended up doing about 8 miles on the bikes but did find that the flies and other bugs were hungry at 7 PM when we were there. So even though the views were great, not as many pictures were taken along the ride. At one point as I was following Chris, I noticed a swarm of flies just behind her keeping pace. If you stop, you were a goner. I was grateful we did not have a flat or other mechanical problems.
We got back to the car, loaded the bikes and finished the auto tour route. On our way back, we stopped at a secondary entrance to the park and found an odd double tee-pee structure. As we approached the water, a few swans gracefully glided over and actually got quite close. Apparently they find enough people to feed them even though the signs clearly state not to.
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| The Double Tee-pee |
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| Some Swans Looking for Food |
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