My trip to Great River Bluffs State Park was a special one
because I was able to camp there for two nights and overall take on this
adventure with a college friend.
I had previously been at this particular park 2 years ago to
camp with some other friends, so it was nice to be a little more familiar with
the area and campground layout. And, I was especially looking forward to
re-visiting all the scenic overlooks, knowing full well how more gorgeous they
would be as the sensing trees produced a variety of harvest colors to gaze
upon.
However, this wasn’t really the case on our first day and
night, as it was snowing upon our arrival. Despite this crazy setback, we still
set up our tent and went hiking around the park for a while. Our surroundings
reminded us of Christmas as the heavy, wet snow fell from the sky, quickly breaking
weak branches from their pile-up. Narnia jokes were also mentioned as we
wandered through the snowing hiking trails, observing many glorious sights that
made us feel as if we were in a movie – hallmark included.
But when morning of the next day arrived, the frozen,
glistening, white branches were truly a sight to see – even if it was in the
middle of October. Soon afterward, the harvest sun melted everything, revealing
a different beauty of the park – probably its best-known feature: the colorful
valley. We weren’t fully embraced with this concept though until we hiked up on
King’s Bluff Trail. The trail was favored by both deer, various birds (an
eagle even!), and other individual hikers besides us.
The long hike was worth it too, as one side of the overlook
showed the mighty Mississippi River, which was especially aesthetically pleasing
as the fall colors contrasted the river’s blueness. The other side consisted of
a forest valley, fully displaying God’s beauty that is unique to the season of
autumn. Yellows and oranges were amplified as the sun’s rays increased their glorious
rays – a sight hard to describe with words or even a picture, but one that
definitely needs to be felt or see in person.
After this refreshing hike, we made potatoes and carrots
over our campfire while watching the sunset – taking away our warmth and light
for the day. After supper, we quickly made way for our tent, which was quickly
named “the nest” as it provided us with its own kind of warmth and comfort as
soon as all our additional layers were on along with blankets wrapped tightly
around us. Muffled conversations were frequent within our home, but we were
both thankful for the crisp, cool, night air. However, bathroom runs were an
issue, and after drinking lots of warm hot chocolate, a necessity on both
nights. Leaving the heat of our sleeping bags only to race to a cold toilet seat
wasn’t the greatest amount of fun, but created laughable memories.
Actually, I think the time I felt God the most while on this
trip was at midnight of our last night, during the midst of another bathroom
run. I happened to look up a to bright sky, covered with stars and a shining,
almost full moon. It took my breath away.
And reminded me how long it had been since I wandered at the stars with
curious, awe-struck eyes. The sky made me want to star gaze, to stay outside
longer, to even howl at the moon like a wolf. For the first time that night, I felt
warm, especially on the inside. God’s presence was calling me, reminding me of
His love, and my tears were proof the moment happened. I starred up for so long
that my neck began to ache, but peaceful sleep was also calling me name – and I
ended up sleeping really well that night.
The next morning was bittersweet as we both knew we had to
leave the gorgeous area. After one last breakfast and another deep, loving
conversation, we parted ways for a few moments only to meet again at one last
overlook for one more picture. It happened to be the first overlook we visited
but couldn’t see much of because of the falling snow. And man, was it worth it
to wait and see what that view consisted of. An overlook absolutely
breathtaking…
