We’d been looking forward to hiking at Flandrau State Park in New Ulm because we lived in New Ulm for seven golden years. We loved it there, and Flandrau was a favorite place to go, particularly in the summer for swimming, but we also occasionally went hiking and cross-country skiing at the park. We’ve done quite a few of these hiking club trails now and breezed past the park office at first, but decided to go back and get a trail map, just in case. The cheery park lady told us that the bridge on the hike had been washed out and just recently replaced, so we were good to go. She warned us that there were a couple areas where the signage was poor because the trail had been rerouted due to weather-related issues. Good thing we stopped in.

It was 37 degrees when we arrived to do the 2.8 mile hike – mostly overcast and just a wee bit dreary around the edges. The pool where our kids spent many happy hours was drained. We contemplated how much stuff they must find at the bottom when they drain the pool, including a nice watch that one of our sons lost there just days after he’d received it for his birthday.

Ah, familiar, beloved place
Of hot days, cool waters,
Splashings and laughter,
Of poolside vigilance and the smell of sunscreen.

I walk across the empty sand,
And though the water is gone,
I feel the surge of memories
Rising and slowing my progress,
The resistance of the years
And the glad weight of blessings now grown.

I hear distant voices
As I cross the far side and emerge,
The years dripping off with each step.
“Mom, look!”
I turn and smile…
Verklempt.

Kris went on ahead of me as we started out – I was getting my camera out to take photos, of course. I saw a downed bit of orange plastic netting and thought, “Better be careful – that looks easy to trip over.”

I then proceeded to trip on it and fell flat. I’m blaming it on aging, which is where I cast the blame for most things these days. Kris said it was a very graceful and slow-motion fall, so at least I did it well. No pictures of that – you can probably imagine it.

The trail went close to the Cottonwood River for a while and then peeled off into the woods. At the muddiest parts of the trail, park staff had thoughtful laid down planks to walk upon. Thank you, park people.

Most of the plants were dead or dying – photos were taken anyway. It’s all part of the cycle of life and taking pictures gives me something to do and something for you to look at if you get bored with all these words.

At one point we came across these surprisingly vibrant looking plants, which actually had labels on them so you didn’t have to consult a plant identification book:

Well, at least whoever put those there had a creative streak and didn’t litter the ground with them.

We stopped for a break (and back to our regularly scheduled Clif bars) and looked out over the prairie.

Kris took a moment to read Psalm 19 aloud. Here are the first few verses for your general edification:

The heavens declare the glory of God;
And the firmament shows His handiwork.
Day unto day utters speech,
And night unto night reveals knowledge.
There is no speech nor language
Where their voice is not heard.
Their line has gone out through all the earth,
And their words to the end of the world.

It is good, indeed, to look out upon all that God has made and listen to what is being said. Try it.

Continuing along, we worked out that if we get up to 80 miles by next July 4, we’ll still be on track to finish in five years. This got us wondering if those who finish all the hikes belong to some sort of elite group, meeting for banquets and the like. We’ll let you know.

The trail went uphill for a time, but this is when I discovered what a difference it makes when it’s not hot out. No heart pounding and heavy breathing this time, by golly! Maybe we should do more of these wintry hikes.

It took us about an hour and twenty minutes to finish off the trail and our total number of miles is now up to 49.5. That might be a wrap for 2019 unless we get motivated to get out to a park with our kids while they are back for Christmas vacation.

I’ll probably delete this in the morning, but NOT before giving kudos to my brother-in-law Rich again for putting us together in the park sign photo and the park bench photo. Thanks, Rich!!!

Next Hike: Fort Ridgely State Park