To anyone who enjoys learning about a wide variety of plant and animal life, a visit to Nixon State Park is a must do! Nixon State Park is one of eight parks that are funded by the York County Department of Parks and Recreation (Richard). Nixon State Park is located on Mundicerace Road in the southwestern part of York County (Creating). It was established in 1968 when Bob Hoffman, the founder of York Barbell, donated 143 acres of land in honor of the then newly elected President, Richard M. Nixon (Richard). The park is open to the public Tuesday through Saturday, from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., and on Sundays from noon to 5 p.m. (York).As I turned left off the main highway, and drove down the muddy, winding road to the Park’s environmental center, I was in amazement at all the trees and wooded area that surrounded the park. As far as I could see, the hillside were engulfed with trees, mainly pine and spruce. After I had parked my car, and began walking towards the rustic looking, wood covered, 14,000 square foot building, I couldn’t help but notice all the children and adults that were there. From the looks of it, I’d say about 40 children, accompanied by 10 or 12 adults (Richard). Around half of the kids were wading through the stream with nets in hand, while the other half of the group were feverishly collecting insects, leaves, twigs and any other interesting artifacts they could get their hands on. Walking through the front doors exposed a beautiful designed and decorated environmental facility. The ceiling was around 18 feet high and the floor was constructed of a beautifully finished hard maple floor. I had already made and appointment for 3:00, so I went to the front desk to meet my tour guide. She was a slender white female, standing about 5’6” tall, and approximately 35 years old. Her name tag read “Amy Slagel: Naturalist.” After we exchanged pleasantries we began touring the cen...
