Minnesota – Page 18 – Valerie's Voice

Three Rivers and a Waterfalls

Over the past few days our activities, unintentionally, took us to three major rivers.

Our first hike was at Ft. Snelling State Park. Gary and I have a long, but brief, history with this park. When we first met in 1976, Gary was in the habit of hiking in this park. At that time, he had taken an awesome photo of the Mendota Bridge from a unique perspective and had it printed and framed in a 8X10 format. He gave me a copy when we first met. And, then he took me to this unique park in the heart of the city.

Current view of the Mendota Bridge from Ft. Snelling State Park.

I don’t remember the trail but I remember the hike because we walked to the confluence of the mighty Mississippi River and the Minnesota River. This was years ago. There were a few times we stopped at the park since then, after we had children, to visit the beach area. And we’ve been to the historic Ft. Snelling itself, which is interesting, but we didn’t hike on Pike Island again until this day, 45 years later. (It’s kind of hard to wrap my head around that).

The confluence of the Mississippi (on left) and Minnesota rivers.

On Pike Island, one side of the trail leads you along the Mississippi River. You approach a point, with a sandy beach, which is the confluence of two major rivers: Mississippi and Minnesota. Then you turn and walk back on the other side of the island, along the Minnesota River. It’s a 3.7-mile loop.

The wildflower: Trillium, found at Ft. Snelling State Park.

It was interesting to be at Ft. Snelling state park a few days after my jaunt in Nerstrand Big Woods where I saw multitude of wildflowers. There were very few wildflowers on Pike island, although I did see a trillium, which I hadn’t seen at Nerstrand.

There were, however, many huge trees on the island, and many of them had hollow spots. It was an interesting trail.

Just a couple days later we were at Interstate State Park, near Taylors Falls. Again, drastically different from both Fort Snelling and Nerstrand Big Woods state parks. This park offered many glacier formations and a scenic view of the St. Croix River. We hiked along the St. Croix River for a couple of miles. The sandstone cliffs tend to make this area of the river very scenic.

Another view of the beautiful St. Croix River from Interstate State Park.

As we entered Interstate state park there was an information sign that read, “Looking for Taylors Falls? There is none.” Although Taylor Falls is the name of the town, there are no falls there. However, the sign told of the nearest falls 10 miles away in Osceola Wisconsin, so we ventured there to explore. We had been to Interstate many times over the years and knew there were no falls in Taylors Falls, but we did not know about the Cascade Falls in Osceola.

They were very pretty…full, wide and cascading. We walked down flights of stairs provided by the city of Osceola, to the falls and then proceeded to hike a quarter mile away to the St. Croix river to see the river from another perspective other than Interstate park. The falls and surrounding area was a fun discovery.

A Wildflower Walk

Hidden Falls in Nerstrand Big Woods State Park

Years ago my friend and I went on several wildflower walks with a naturalist and learned the names of wildflowers. I still recognize many of the flowers, and remember some of names, but have forgotten many too. None-the-less, I love walking through the woods, looking at the spring wildflowers.

I qualify these walks as walks, not hikes, because it’s a slow, meandering pace. On this day, I took a lot of photos of the flowers in hopes of identifying the ones I didn’t remember, from my books at home. I think I identified most of these correctly. It was definitely a fun exercise.

One of the flowers I’m always thrilled to see is the dwarf trout lily. I know a spot where one, yes – one, blooms and I look for it every year. Sometimes I miss seeing it in bloom, but I didn’t miss out this year. Dwarf trout lilies only bloom in three counties of Minnesota, and no where else on earth. That’s fascinating to me.

The dwarf trout lily…kind of hidden in this photo…bottom third, left of center…tiny bloom.

Putting my finger near the dwarf trout lily bloom, for perspective.

However, the white trout lily is prolific…and carpets the ground many places throughout the park.

The white trout lilies one of two wildflowers that was a ground cover in this park

My all time favorite wildflower is Spring Beauty. I love the delicate pink flowers.

Some wildflower names seem sensible, others are odd and not very “flowery’…There is one called bloodroot, but I didn’t see it…I believe it’s done blooming.

According to lists from the park office there are many wildflowers in the park that, of course, bloom in different seasons. I have always focused on spring flowers.

“There is poetry among the wildflowers.” (Rachel Irene Stevenson) I enjoyed the poetry of the wildflowers this day.

The may apple bud..underneath the foliage…this is ready to bloom into a white flower. You have to look underneath the leaves to find the bloom.

A carpet of rue anemone covered several areas of the ground in the park.

Another quote: “Wildflowers aren’t meant to be cut & tamed. They’re meant to be loved & admired.” (Anthony T. Hincks) I do love and admire the wildflowers.

Nerstrand Big Woods State Park is a wonderful place to look for wildflowers. I believe it’s one of the best parks, near Northfield, to see so many spring wildflowers in bloom. It sure showed off it’s finery the day I went for a wildflower walk there.

Hope

Hope, there’s that word again.

Derek Chauvin, the police officer that held his knee on George Floyd’s neck for over nine minutes almost a year ago, has been convicted of murder. Guilty…the verdict turned in from a jury of twelve, after a three week trial. This verdict stands for accountability of police officers, accountability of people in authority.

One black man, interviewed outside the courthouse after the verdict was read on Tuesday, April 20^th said, “I had this much hope left” with a show of thumb and finger indicating a very small amount. Now he says he has a little more hope. I’m thinking that rang true for so many this historic day.

May we all move forward and continue to work for peace and justice… with a little more hope than we had a week ago.

Spring = Hope

What season is it anyway? Our yard, raked clean last fall, is once again full of leaves. The snow has finally melted but it has exposed more leaves and the winds of March have blown them into our yard…as is the case in the fall. For some reason our corner lot is a collection site for the neighborhood leaves.

Daffodils are cheery and bright! These are along the path I walk in our neighborhood. (2017)

Spring in Minnesota is always welcome because our winters are long. No traces of snow or ice, longer days with sunshine and warmer temperatures are delicious, but it is not a pretty time of year in Minnesota. I wouldn’t want to show off Minnesota in the spring.

Bright red tulips on St. Olaf College campus. (2017)

True, there are the spring flowers which I love. Multi-colored tulips, white, yellow or purple crocuses, perky yellow or white daffodils and purple hyacinths, all popping up out of the ground. They add fuel for us to get past the mud and sand and brown grass and leafless trees, to summer.

Wildflower in Nerstrand Big Woods State Park. (2017)

But the wind…the wind is not a friend. It’s hard to walk. It’s hard to bike. It’s brings in cold air. It changes the temperatures back to wind chills. It blows dirt and grime and garbage and leaves all over. It is not a pretty site.

An array of tulips in the front yard of a house on St. Olaf Avenue in Northfield. (2019)

So I need to focus on the positives of springtime. My birthday is in the spring. I always like saying my birthday is the first day of spring (because it is.) Easter, one of my favorite holidays, is always in the spring. Spring does not have the bugs of summer and in the spring, we can start to discard our jackets. It doesn’t “hurt” to go outside (as a friend likes to say) and you don’t have to put on all kinds of outdoor gear. The air is fresh and we can open the windows of our houses and let the stale air and winter sneezes out. Tress start budding. Spring is a hopeful time, and a time to dream of summer days and nights. I guess that is the best part of spring: Hope.

March to March

The end of March is looming. Spring is here. People are getting vaccinated and venturing out. We’ve been cooped up, and staying close to home this past year, as Covid-19 hovered and infiltrated our life styles and wreaked havoc. But hope is definitely in the air as we move forward.

I’m grateful that my husband and I, and our son’s and their families, did not get sick with Covid, but the year was a tough one with masking up and social distancing.

Now that we are at the end of March and the pandemic has been around for a year, I was wondering what to write as a recap of my “designated year of March to March” for my annual blog-to-print book. Then, over the weekend we went on a hike in a new-to-us state park and I thought that would be fitting… to talk about hiking/walking this past year.

Walking was a consistent activity that I engaged in this past year, almost daily. I could probably count on my fingers the few days I missed. It was my goal, my outlet, my exercise, to get outside and walk every day (some days had to be an indoor walk). Gary often joined me, but he also rode his bike a lot more (2600 miles total last year). But I kept on walking… We also walked with another couple, two to three times a week, and that regular contact made a big difference for all of us. It kept our sanity; we like to say.

Many times we hiked in parks and through the woods. Gary and I discovered John Latsch State Park as we were driving along the Mississippi River on a bright, sunny day in late-March. I noticed the typical brown state park sign. As we passed by it on our way to Winona, I did a quick Google search on the park. The only thing the park offered was one hike, but that hike was a unique one, climbing up a beautiful bluff along the river. It told of the fantastic view from the top, and… that the hike was all stairs!

From the top: looking south at Lock & Dam #5 as a train rumbles by.

That sounded interesting. We know enough to know that would not be an easy hike (up or down) but we decided to go for it. We hadn’t walked our daily walk so we turned off into the parking lot to John Latsch State Park. We donned our hiking shoes, hat, and poles so we were ready. As I climbed 600 steps (unofficial count by a co-hiker) I thought this would be an appropriate marker for the end of the one year of pandemic…to be discovering a new state park and hiking in it.

At the top: looking north…Gary near the edge.

At the top of the limestone bluff called Charity along the Mississippi River.

We climbed up and up…the wooden stairs were wide, and sometimes slanted at an angle, and one or two were wobbly. There was a railing for parts of the trail but I’m glad we had our hiking poles with us. We took our time and made it to the top of “Charity” the name of this particular bluff…named by steamboat captains. There are three large, limestone bluffs aside each other, along the river, and steamboat captains nicknamed them Charity, Hope and Faith and used them for navigational purposes. Great names indeed.

After taking photos at the top there was a short loop trail that we hiked before descending down the steps. It was good “step exercise” and we were happy to have succeeded to make it to the top and back down again.

A railing was in place for parts of the “trail”.

My hope is that we’ve made it to the top of the Covid-19 pandemic peak, and we’re on our way down…to the end of it.

An Afghan and A Job

When going through my cedar chest recently I found an afghan I crocheted while riding the bus to a job I had in downtown Minneapolis. The afghan is wool, made of granny squares with beautiful colors. I freshened it up and started using it again.

I still like the colors of this afghan. The granny squares date it, however.

And, as often happens, I started reminiscing about the afghan and the job.

In the early 70’s I attended a community college and took a class in interior design. And because of that, I landed a job at an interior design showroom, Gene Smiley Inc., a wholesale shop for fabrics…upholstery, drapery, etc.

This was my second official job. My first job was as a maid at a hotel downtown Minneapolis, during summers, in high school. My high school girlfriend worked there too, and we made $1.85 an hour. We were able to clean rooms together. We used to walk to work from her house in lower NE Minneapolis.

At Gene Smiley’s my main job was to cut fabric samples for designers. Only interior designers were allowed in the showroom to look at the fabrics, but mostly we would cut and mail samples out to designers per their request. I enjoyed the job.

The company encompassed the second floor with two large showrooms and one room for an administrative office. I worked with two women on our side of the showroom. The younger woman, named RuthAnn, made a lasting impression on me. At the time I thought she was sophisticated. She lived on her own, in a rented house, and always “dressed to a T”. She got married while I worked there. I looked up to RuthAnn. I still have, and make, her lasagna recipe!

The other woman, Phyllis, was a much older woman…probably in her 50’s (o my!) but very congenial.

Since Gene Smiley Inc. was located downtown Minneapolis, and I was living in NE Minneapolis at the time, I took the bus downtown. Riding a bus was not something new to me. A girlfriend and I often took the bus to where we wanted to go as teenagers, so taking a bus to work was not problem. In fact, I liked it. It was much better than driving! And I could read or crochet, which is when the afghan I pulled from the cedar chest was crocheted.

There are two other events that came to mind when I started thinking about this job.

One, I remember the bookkeeper made some kind of mistake on my tax statement and ended up writing me a personal check to amend her mistake. I do not remember the extent of the mistake, but I remember her kindness. I had forgotten this tidbit until I started thinking about this job.

The other event I remember that stands out is quite comical when I think about it now. I cannot recall what I was going to do next but I was ending my time at this job and I distinctly remember asking my boss for a raise, after he knew I was leaving. He sat me down and said this was highly unusual – and I said, “but it will look good on my resume.” And if memory serves me correctly, he gave me the raise! When I think back on that now I just laugh!

I did, however, save my letter of recommendation from this job.

My letter of recommendation from Gene Smiley Inc.

At some point in time Gene Smiley Inc. moved from its Nicollet Avenue location to the International Market Square along with many other wholesale interior design showrooms. I have lost touch with the people there, but it was fun to think about them again.

Lake Superior in March

Our mini getaway to Minnesota’s north shore happened to fall over unusual and spectacular days in March… temperatures were in the high 50’s with bright sunshine and clear blue skies on one of the days.

We did what we normally do up on the north shore…walk the rocks, hike, relax at the cabin, and enjoy the outdoors.

I read a story about someone claiming a large, old beautiful tree in his backyard sent him a silent sermon, or a blessing, each time he looked at the tree. I feel Lake Superior sends me a silent sermon each time I look at it. Lake Superior blesses me each time I stand in awe looking at it. I am drawn to it, and it blesses me.

From our cabin deck…the line in the corner of the photo is plexiglass…used for the deck railing. It is a wonderful feature of the cabin that sits so near the water’s edge.

Happy to be up at the cabin on the shore of Lake Superior.

This 58 degrees day in March also blessed me. It was unusual to have such wonderful weather this time of year. It was a gift. Our time was short, but sweet. Here are a few more photos.

An inland trail we hiked. It was a very pleasant walk through the snowy woods.

Beautiful lighting as we looked out from the deck towards evening.

There was some snow on the edge of the lake in places…not many places though.

This bear greeted us as we entered the cabin. Such a whimsical touch. I loved it.

Sky Art

An unusual jet vapor trail, or a cloud? Either way…it was fun to watch.

My husband says it a jet vapor trail, I say it’s a cloud, but whatever it is, it made for beautiful sky art this morning over Lake Superior.

A sliver of the moon is visible too, but not captured on camera. Actually at 5 am I woke up and the yellow/orange sliver was shining brightly and reflecting on the waters of
Lake Superior.

The sunrise from our deck, on this Monday morning in March, at our cozy cabin on Lake Superior. A high of 48 degrees today.

Walking at Carleton

Literally, within minutes, we got dressed in our winter gear, drove to the upper arb in Northfield, just a few blocks away from our house, buckled on our snowshoes and started walking in the woods in the early morning after a lovely snow fall the day before.

This photo of the colorful sunrise was sent by a friend (used with permission). We had seen a portion of this sunrise from our window which enticed us to get outside and snowshoe.

We went “off trail” and followed deer tracks and had a delightful time while getting exercise and fresh air. The sun was rising and it was very calm and peaceful. A great way to start the day.

We had fun following fresh tracks in the newly fallen snow.

And we were back home an hour later. It’s wonderful to have the Carleton Arboretum so close and available.

The campus of Carleton College is also a great place to walk in the winter – without snowshoes. Carleton keeps their sidewalks clear and safe and there are lots of places to roam and get in a good walk, while weaving in-between the beautiful buildings and green spaces – well- white spaces in winter! We tend to go there often.

Clear ice forms this Carleton College logo ice sculpture.

The other day we were treated with ice sculptures. We don’t know who made them, we assume some Carleton students. We found three.

It was a delightful addition to our winter walk that day on Carleton’s campus.

Imaginary Door

A few weeks ago we were hiking in a wooded area in Faribault and came across an intriguing sight. It made us stop in our tracks to investigate…

From the trail we noticed this secret door…

It looked like two roots from a large, tall tree that had grown down a cliff and into the soil at the bottom leaving an opening exposing the rock cliff. It formed a beautifully-shaped, arched doorway, and it was the size of one too.

We saw this from the trail at the bottom of a rock wall but we didn’t see an easy way to get to the top of the wall, and we were not equipped to go rock climbing that day. We left the trail and walked closer to the tree to inspect how the split trunk/roots were attached to the rock and found they were growing into the rock. It looked like the rock was sandstone so it seemed possible.

Perspective as to how large the fissure is.

We wondered how it grew to be this way. It was a fun and curious discovery. Gary went and stood in the opening to show perspective to its size.

It lends to one’s imagination of opening an adult-size fairy door and entering through the tree to mystical and charming wonderlands inside…

Someday I’d love to go back and strategically attach a door knob to the rock door…