It felt like a fall day. Instead of going to our town’s annual celebration downtown we chose to hike on quiet prairie lands with the only sounds being our voices and the wind rustling through the trees and grass. Clear, blue skies full of sunshine added to the glory of the place. The setting has two picturesque, historic churches facing each other in a well-kept, hill-top cemetery with interesting headstones and scenic views. At the edge of the cemetery is a huge, old burr oak tree. It’s so majestic!
The trail is a wide swath mowed through tall prairie grasses that have a touch of gold to them. Scattered throughout are native, autumn wildflowers in bloom, and off in the distance are trees with hints of fall colors on their leaves. We took a long, leisurely walk and imagined ourselves back in time when many settlers came to live on the prairie in Southeastern Minnesota.
We talked with a volunteer out collecting seeds for planting on this otherwise unoccupied trail. He is on the Preservation Board that concentrates on preserving this prairie land and the two churches. He told us there is a Cemetery Board to care for the cemetery upkeep. Both boards rely on volunteers. We visited with him for a while and thanked him for his work.
The path progressed along to the back of the property, bordering Minnesota Scientific Natural Lands and a state park. A couple years ago we discovered puffball mushrooms along these property lines; white mushrooms the size of soccer balls. We looked for them again this year but only found one misshaped one…hopefully it just the beginning of their growing season and we’ll spot more on our next walk through the prairie…we will go back.
Autumn is in the air.
I love the scenic natural setting of the Valley Grove churches. Such a beautiful place, especially in autumn. Were you able to get inside the churches?
Have you ever attended the annual fall fest (whatever it’s called) here?
We did not go in the churches although we go to the Christmas eve service there when it works with our schedule. And, of course, we have been to weddings there.
We have attended the fall festival and enjoyed it.
I’ve always wanted to attend the Christmas Eve service. But it usually never works for us given we have family home. Or other times the weather has been too bad to travel there. I know I would enjoy the beauty and setting of a Christmas service there.