a nice place to stroll

I have recently discovered a wonderful place to walk or bike around. The Mineola nature preserve. In a town, where the store fronts turn dark and lock their doors at 5pm, and restaurants remain open only a few hours longer. (not to mention the lack of funds in my pocket book) I find myself searching for things to do, quite frequently. One of my searches lead me to the preserve. The Sabine River flows through this little sanctuary, or rather flows over. Its flooded banks wind through the trees and make the forest floor look like it's made of glass. As far as you can look, the woods grow up through a watery forest floor. My Pop (grandfather) told me a story once. When he was a boy in the 1930's, the woods around their cabin in Pennsylvania flooded and then an unusually late and shockingly cold spring freeze turned the woods into arctic playland. He and his sisters tied blades to their feet and ice-skated through the trees and ice clothed leaves. I watch his face when he tells me this story and I can see in his eyes: gliding through the frozen forest is one of his happiest memories. It must have been stunning. so out of the ordinary. like a tall tale. Could this really be happening? I plan to borrow some rubber boots (the ones that reach up above your knees) and splash my way through the woods sometime soon. The water is no more than 6-8 inches deep. I was going to invent a new recreational activity...hydro-biking. And try to bike through the water covered bike path. A friend pointed out that wouldn't be a wise option for bike chains. The rubber boot option sounds like a good romp, though.