Monday, November 15, 2021 Lindbergh and Crow Wing State Parks: A 2 in 1 Deal.

I’ve found that it’s really better if I write these accounts of our hikes right away, since the notes that I take are rather cryptic and occasionally illegible. It’s only been a couple weeks since we hiked Charles A. Lindbergh State Park, but as I look over my scanty notes, I’m already at sea over things like “oral history sharing” and “last airbender.” Let’s hope that something returns to me as I look at the photos.

It was late October and our two and a half hour drive to CALSP was pleasantly full of fall glory still. The park was basically across the street from the Mississippi River near Little Falls, MN. Our hike was going to be a moderate 2.8 miles and the temperature of 43 degrees felt brisk, but not punishing since we were dressed for it.

A little history first: Most of you may remember Charles Lindbergh as the man who flew the first trans-Atlantic solo flight in 1927 at the age of 25. The park, however, is not named after him. It was created in 1931 when the family of Charles A. Lindbergh Sr.donated the property in his memory. That was the aviator’s father. The Lindberghs farmed the property when they had it. When the aviator was reflecting back on his years growing up on the farm, he wrote, “I spent hours lying on my back in high timothy and redtop…how wonderful it would be, I’d thought, if I had an airplane…I would ride on the wind and be part of the sky.”

Before hitting the trail, we meandered over and took photos of the WPA tower there. Mighty impressive – built in the late 1930’s.

We started the hike around 10:20 and it wasn’t long before we were over by Pike Creek where there was a nice foot bridge. The plaque by the bridge mentioned that Lindbergh himself had built one of these bridges over the creek as a young lad. I don’t remember if it was this one, but let’s assume it might have been.

We walked along appreciating the fall weather, the carpet of leaves and pine needles and the fresh brisk air. The benches in this park are unique, as you can see.

We noticed that there were branches on the undergrowth of the pine trees on which were draped many of the pine needles. It looked like natural tinsel.

As we walked along, it was inevitable that we would come to talk about the Lindberghs and the price they paid for his fame as an aviator. On March 1, 1932 the 20-month-old son of Charles and his wife, Anne Morrow Lindbergh, was kidnapped from their home in New Jersey and held for ransom. The body of the little toddler was found a couple months later, not far from the Lindbergh home. Whatever else Lindbergh did, his name would always be associated with this tragic story.

These are sobering thoughts to fill your mind on such a beautiful fall day, so we moved on to other topics. Apparently we discussed oral history sharing and the last airbender – wish I could remember those discussions. They sound interesting, don’t they?

We came to the landing site of the Jenny, Lindbergh’s first airplane. He sold his motorcycle to buy the Jenny (the report is that his parents were unenthusiastic about this). He took his first solo flight on the Jenny to the old family property and landed it there. The site is set apart with a plaque, but everything else relies on your imagination. You have to be able to look in your mind’s eye at the field and see the Jenny there with young Lindbergh standing next to it, grinning proudly, no doubt. I could see it. Can you?

More walking ensued. I got engrossed in taking photos of fall leaves, as anyone would.

We came to the end of the trail around 11:45, about 1 1/2 hours after starting out.

Knee Score: 3 out of 10. A fairly easy hike with not a lot of ups and downs.

We decided to stop in Little Falls for lunch and then headed up to Crow Wing State Park where we’d be meeting old friends who now live in the area.

Crow Wing’s Hiking Club Hike was going to be 2.3 miles, boosting our mileage for the day to 5.1 miles. It was still really nice out. We got there early and went to the rest area nearby to check it out. As you can see, I got shockingly flirty with Paul Bunyan.

We also spent a bunch of time in the parking lot in the park where the trail was to start, walking around, reading plaques, throwing sticks around, etc. The usual things you do when waiting.

I usually take notes on a hike so I can remember things later to write about for the blog post, but all I have written for Crow Wing is “Mostly chatting!”

It’s true – we hadn’t seen our friends Tom and Marcy in five years and had much to catch up on. So I’ll show you the photos and provide commentary if there’s anything of interest to say about them.

We came across the site of an old Episcopalian Mission. Like the site of the landing of Lindbergh’s Jenny, imagination was required. I wasn’t quite up to it.

Marcy thought it would be a nice idea to get a photo of the two of us on the trail. We don’t usually get this opportunity, so we did not turn it down.

We also came to an old church building with a tiny cemetery on the grounds.

We finished up at 3:30. I didn’t even note a knee score for Crow Wing, but looking back, I’d say it was probably about the same as for Charles A. Lindbergh: a 3 out of 10. Our total miles: 118.3 out of 197. Getting there slowly, but surely!

I’ll probably delete this, but not in the morning. Maybe next week.

Next hike: Lake Maria State Park