Entering it’s wooden gate, I can feel the crunch of leaves on my shoes, I can feel the branches rub against my arm, and I can feel the sun shining down on me. I take a deep breath in and I am home.

The Nashotah Forest running trails are my escape. I am able to run, run far from my problems and venture off deep into its paths. I come across the paths of the animals that inhabit the forest, I pause to watch them; quickly they dash away into the forest, slowly losing sight each step they make. I continue my run. I can feel the wind hit my face, I can smell the pine and oak trees, I can hear the birds sing, and I can see my trail slowly ending.

Each step I take, each mile I run, I can feel the problems from my reality fading. I focus on each time my foot pounds the hard ground. I pause to stop. I overlook the lake, and I feel tranquility take over my body. I look at the beams of sunlight hitting the lake, and then I look at ducks which float along. I hear a splash, and then in that split of a second, the once at peace duck, disperse in all directions. Then my mind takes me back to my reality, so I run.
As I pass the old, fading, red barn I know I soon have to go back to reality. The Nashotah forest is my protector from the outside world. It is my personal treasure. My escape. My home.