Afton State Park

          It’s almost everyone’s favorite time of the year – fall. Or, in my case, it is currently one of my favorite times of the year because goldenrod is blooming! And Afton State Park contains acres of this plant with gorgeous, golden glows. Unfortunately, not all the plants were in full bloom, but it made me excited to see the beginning process. I still have yet to see an acreage of goldenrods blossom – I’d expect it to look like a mammoth sunflower field, except small plants with a fiery yellow present instead.

            It was when I witnessed this common wildflower that I began to think: Does God have a favorite color? And if He does, is it yellow? Because there are numerous amounts of plants and animals (mainly birds) that are yellow. Plus, the season of fall itself contains an abundant mixture of falling fiery leaves, in addition to the brilliant sun, and don’t the stars give off a golden glow too? Granted, there are also multiple other colored plants and animals that are plentiful, but to me, yellow stands out the most. Flaxen wildflowers are usually the most common as well as the first to bud during each season. Basically, I wouldn’t be surprised if God has a thing for this color.

            Besides the blooming goldenrods, this park allowed me to gaze on God’s beauty of creation through the various scenic outlooks my family and I hiked to. Afton Park is located along the St. Croix River – the border between Minnesota and Wisconsin. Thus, we had the opportunity to see Wisconsin at each outlook besides the river and the tops of both coniferous and deciduous trees. 

Additionally, it was neat to see tall coniferous trees up close again. Their height requesting me to crane my neck up to see their waving needles and branches from above. My family like the coniferous trees for other reasons though – the shelter they provided from the muggy heat of the day, which made the trails about ten degrees cooler than the prairie trails we walked on.

            We also witnessed some wildlife that I don’t think I’ve seen yet since I first began my hiking adventures. At the start, we chased away four huge turkey vultures that had just completed eating a dead fish. Soon afterwards, what I thought was a bald eagle, flew right over our heads! Then later into the hike, we saw a snake. My brother actually walked right beside it, not aware of its presence. I only saw it because I happened to look down. What was so interesting about it was its eyes, or rather the top portion of its head was gone! Eaten or bitten off most likely. I, at first, believed it to be dead because its tongue wasn’t being used to smell. But, after poking it with a stick (the obvious action to take) we realized it was alive, although it remained still as a statue, as we carefully walked around it. I think it was a bull snake, but I’ll upload a picture of it and let you all decide for yourselves.

            Finally, I’ll end on our first experience of this adventure, one of the park’s biggest attractions no doubt. A beach. And it contained the same aesthetic appeal as a beach near an ocean, plus something a little bit better – seclusion. Not many were using this inviting, peaceful shoreline. The sand was cream colored dotted with various sized rocks and soft, the river welcoming us to its water’s warmth, its waves slowly clapping the beach, only roaring when a boat moved past.

The beach honestly reflected the thoughts and feelings I couldn’t express in words – and the emotions remained all throughout the hike. Even now, after reflecting on the day almost a week later, it’s still difficult to describe. My thoughts were: God is here – He is present here. But with words, I can only explain that God’s presence brings a tingling sensation of peace and contempt within my heart.

And I highly encourage you all to find that place – that feeling of Jesus being right beside you. Maybe you’ll feel it at this park, or in the middle of a random street. But, I can tell you this: you won’t EVER regret striving towards God’s presence.