Crow Wing State Park is a 3,119-acre historical area filled
with glorious scenic river trails, with the park surrounding the merge of the
Crow Wing and Mississippi Rivers.
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| If you look close enough, you can see the line dividing the Muddy Mississippi from the Crow Wing River |
The two
rivers played a part in creating the historic aspects of the park with one of
the main attractions being a village (called Crow Wing, go figure). The rivers
provided transportation and life not only to the first residents of the area
(Native Americans and European settlers) but also to the wild animals who also
called the place home. The cool thing about the village is that some of the
original buildings and landmarks are still standing. I witnessed both a house
and church among other signs explaining where buildings used to stand. It was
peaceful wandering the trails and learning about what each structure meant to
its inhabitants.
The other trails
were in the middle of the deciduous and coniferous forest sheltering the park,
with my favorite being the Red River Oxcart Trail which was along the riverbank
of the Mississippi River, consisting of the merged area of the Crow Wing River
too. The mixture of the extra height of
the bank, the river’s breeze (a necessary protection from the vicious
mosquitoes), and the towering pines and oaks hugging the area created a peaceful
feeling – inviting me to stay, to be still and to just observe. An invitation I
accepted many times to watch the water float onward, listening to the wind
gust through needles and leaves alike as well as Blue Jays and American Robins
singing in the distance.
One fun
critter I got to see for the first time in my life was a baby grouse. At first,
I thought it was a duckling or gosling, but upon closer look, the markings were
different. Unfortunately, though, no mother was found, which was sad to see,
but the moment itself was memorable nevertheless.
I think the
moment where I felt God the most was discussing how the environment looked
before logging – or more importantly European settlement with my boyfriend.
During this time the pines would’ve had a larger trunk diameter, as well as
towered over 100 feet! Now, as the second growth forest continues to grow and
mature, it’ll take a while for these guys to reach that height – if they even
will. It made me wonder how insignificant I’d feel under the height of those
giant pines, or how to even picture the landscape’s appearance before settlement
happened in the 1800s. Only God knows…
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