After attending the fish fry at Sumpter Health Clinic, I decided to burn off the calories by taking a hike through Cypress Gardens. I’ve only been to Cypress Gardens once that I can recall. It was for my senior prom. I really didn’t spend any time hiking the trails or enjoying the butterfly gardens on that trip. This time I wasn’t in a tuxedo, and I had my camera gear with me. I started in the gift shop/visitors center and quickly moved to the butterfly gardens. After pausing for a second to wonder why there was a ‘don’t touch the duck’ sign on the door, I went in and started to take pictures of the many butterflies. Eventually I found the duck and the other small birds in the butterfly gardens. After touring the gardens and the other buildings in the gardens, I started to hike out on the main hiking path. I passed a nice outdoor chapel, tons of cypress trees, and more than one swamp/marsh. It was a nice hike and the weather was great. I got several nice pictures and nearly jumped out of my skin more than once from the random animals scurrying in the bushes.
On a related note, the third Saturday of each month is free admission day for Berkeley County residents. You need to get their before noon though. I encourage you all to go out and enjoy the gardens.
I’ve attached the first few pictures from my gallery. The link for the entire smugmug gallery is at the bottom of the post. There should be over 70 pictures for you to enjoy.
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