Palisades State Park/Devil's Gulch

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Three months now. The days in this "pandemic pause" just keep sliding by with routine sameness. A bike ride around the lake in the morning, projects in the afternoon, relaxing on the deck in the evenings.

In contrast to the long, cold, nasty winter, our little piece of Minnesota is blessed with fairly nice weather throughout the summer. But on the nice weather scale, some days are even more nice than others. When one of those days happened recently, Bob suggested we take advantage of the sunshine and cool weather to go on an outing.

Our destination was Palisades State Park just over the state line into South Dakota. As we turned north off of Interstate 90 the landscape quickly changed from the ultra-flat prairie to rolling hills.

As we entered the park, we stopped and bought a day pass ($8) and then drove to a scenic overlook with a lone picnic table. It was nearly noon so before we began to explore, we took time to enjoy the simple picnic lunch that we had brought along. With a brisk wind blowing, it was on the chilly side while we ate.

From our vantage point on the bluff, we could look across and see the King and Queen Rock formations on the opposite side of Split Rock Creek.

A trail near the picnic table led down the hill towards the river. 

Me playing with my GoPro. (See link above for my YouTube video!)

The path took us by several rock formations, including "Balancing Rock" and eventually down to the water's edge.

A rock climber at heart. He just can't resist.

Stairs leading up to the trail that takes us back to our picnic spot.

Back in the car, we drove to the other side of Split Rock Creek.

Crossing the 1908 bridge over Split Rock Creek.

On our last visit (many years ago) people were jumping from the bridge into the water below.
It is a VERY LONG way down to the water!

There hadn't been anyone else on the lower level trail, but the parking lot at the King and Queen Rocks trail head was nearly full. A couple of times we had to squeeze by other people on the trail, but for the most part we were able to do our social distancing.

Two climbers were on King Rock and we watched as one guy was lowered down the side so he could climb back up. Seeing them brought back memories of one of Bob's first climbing attempts on that exact same rock. As his partner lowered him down, Bob yelled stop when he neared the bottom. But...the partner didn't hear and just kept letting out the rope until Bob was waist deep in the river! Funny now, but not so much at the time.

Deja vu for Bob!

 As we walked around King Rock, I looked up and there was a group of people sitting on top of Queen Rock. I literally got a queasy feeling in my stomach seeing them there! Unlike Bob, I have no rock climbing genes in my body.  I was actually nervous taking this photo. What if someone fell just as I snapped the pic? 😮

A photo minus the crew on top. There is a key hole opening in the spire.

Looking across the river, we could see our picnic spot at the top of the bluff.

Determination and perseverance. A tree growing high upon the side of King Rock.

While Bob explored the river bank, I sat on a picnic table listening to the rushing water, enjoying the beautiful day and trying to not think of all of the negative news that has been flooding the TV lately.

So peaceful.

Not ready for the day to end, we drove 8 miles to the nearby town of Garretson, SD to visit Devil's Gulch. As the story goes, in the fall of 1876 Jesse James and his gang were trying to evade the law following a bank robbery in Northfield, Minnesota when they encountered the Split Rock River. The only way to get away from the posse was to jump the chasm now known as Devil's Gulch. Legend says that Jesse and gang jumped their (stolen) horses across the 18-foot gulch, leaving the posse behind as they escaped to Missouri.

A bridge now spans the gulch where Jesse James jumped over on his horse.

We hiked down to the bottom of the gulch and looked back up.
Could Jesse James have really jumped his horse across here?

The trail wasn't marked well, but by going back up to the visitor's center and walking down the road, we found where we could access it to see Devil's Falls. At times, it was a little rougher than what I prefer, but we got down to the river and walked along the shoreline.

Devil's Falls

Bob standing on rocks above the falls. (I wasn't that brave.)

Here is a link if you would like to see the hiking trails map and read more about the legends surrounding Devil's Gulch: Devil's Gulch Info

The heaviness of the world (riots, looting, and that darn Covid) seemed a million miles away while we were enjoying the beauty of nature. With normal life still looming somewhere in the far future, you can be sure we will doing more of these "mental health" days. Now the question is...where will we go next!

Touch the Sky Prairie

Neither Bob or I are native Minnesotans. When we first moved up north many years ago I remember commenting that “the sky looks bigger here” than in Illinois. I know Montana has claim to the title of Big Sky Country, but here on the flat prairie there really is more sky. With few trees or hills, the view goes 180º from one horizon to the other.

Bob, with his love of Native American history, has a much greater appreciation for the prairie and what it offers. I, on the other hand, miss the forests and hills of my youth. So when a friend recommended visiting a place called “Touch the Sky Prairie” I was a little hesitant. But in these times of social distancing, traveling to somewhere other than the back yard seemed appealing.

When we woke to absolutely gorgeous weather a few days ago, it seemed a perfect time for a road trip. Temperatures were in the upper 50’s with bright blue skies and a slight breeze. A picnic cooler was packed with some sandwiches and snacks and we were on our way.

Turning off the highway we followed the signs that lead us on gravel roads through the prairie to a small parking lot. All that was there was a sign with some information and a map showing three different trails. We chose to do the Prairie Waterfall Trail.

The trail consisted of a mowed path through the prairie grass. The native prairie grass was a thick carpet rippling in the wind, but where the trail had been cut, dandelions and other weeds had taken over. On a hot day, this type of hike would have been miserable, but with the cool temps and slight breeze, it was delightful.

Our destination...the grove of trees ahead.

The trail followed along the banks of a small creek and lead to a tree grove where we found the waterfall. With the warm sunshine and sounds of rushing water, we spent 30 minutes or more taking in God's handiwork.

I imagined the Ingalls family coming across this prairie in a covered wagon
many years ago when I saw this old wagon wheel propped up next to tree.

Up to that point, we had been alone but another couple came walking down the path as we were getting ready to leave. I was happy that we had enjoyed the area in solitude, and now it was time to give the newcomers their turn.

As we walked back towards our car, we watched small butterflies flitting around and even spotted a frog hiding in the tall grass.

Wind farms and crop farming...both common on the prairie.

A back-of-the-car picnic. 

The day was just too beautiful to not enjoy outdoors so we continued on to do some hiking at Pipestone National Monument. Due to the pandemic, the visitor center was not open, but the mile-long path through the cliffs and quarries was accessible. Since I have written about our previous visit to Pipestone National Monument, I will just include a few photos of our walk.

I keep recalling a phrase that we heard in an online church service recently referring to this unprecedented time in our history..."Pain without gain is a shame." (Andy Stanley). As much as I would love for life to go back to "normal", we have enjoyed seeking out places close to home that we probably wouldn't have taken time to visit in the past. A definite plus during this time of slowing down. So what have you have "gained" during the pain of this pandemic?

Istanbul is No More

Tuesday, May 5th, 2020

My Google calendar shows we should have arrived in Istanbul a few hours ago and by now we should be settled into our hotel in the old part of the city. Instead, I’m sitting in my family room looking out the patio door at a chilly, rainy day in Minnesota.

Our trip to Turkey was booked in late July of 2019 and for the next six months I researched, watched YouTube travel videos, read blogs and began a list of all of the exciting foods I hoped to try. We would arrive in Istanbul on May 5^th and spend a few days exploring the city on our own before joining a group tour. 

13 Day Turkish Treasures Tour. Gate1Travel.com

Our 2 weeks of travels would take us through all of western Turkey including Ephesus, a night on the Mediterranean Sea, and even a balloon ride over the ancient city of Cappadocia.  But then came February and news of this mysterious virus started popping up.

Cappadocia, Turkey. Gate1Travel.com

At first the virus didn’t seem all that serious. Word was that it wasn’t any worse than the seasonal flu…just a slight cough and maybe a fever. When our final payment was due towards the end of February, there were no cases in Turkey and less than 50 confirmations in the U.S….certainly not enough of a concern to cancel the trip.

However, as soon as we had made the payment, I had an uneasy feeling. The Diamond Princess cruise ship was quarantined off the coast of Japan and the coronavirus cases started to grow. News of travelers being quarantined in other countries started to make the news as well. I dug into the fine print of our travel insurance only to find out that claims due to a pandemic wouldn’t be covered…or would they? It just wasn’t clear.

The clock was ticking because we were only a few days before the point of no return with our final payment. Once that final payment date passed, we would lose a good chunk of our money if we cancelled. The more I debated, the more anxious I became. Knowing my mental health was at stake, one week after making the payment, we decided to cancel. Just getting through on the phone to the tour company proved to be difficult but eventually we were promised a full refund, minus the $400 deposit which we would not get back. Once the decision was made, I felt a load had been lifted from my shoulders. At that point the $400 seemed like a fair price to pay for peace of mind. With hindsight being 2020 (how ironic, huh?) we could have waited until the tour company cancelled the trip and gotten a full refund. But…in late February the trip being cancelled didn't seem likely.

Up until now, almost all of the posts on my blog have been travel related. But now with our adventures severely curtailed, our “souvenir memories” will continue…but be made closer to home. As spring is just beginning to reach us here in Minnesota, we are savoring the days when we can be outdoors. On days that are warm and not too windy (which are pretty rare) we bike around the lake on our recumbent bikes. The trail is just yards from our front door and a full loop is exactly 6.75 miles. On the windier days, I choose to walk instead. My paths take me along the shores of the lake and through a couple of different parks. As I walk, I thank God that we are still able to enjoy His handiwork in nature in the midst of the pandemic.

A few times we have ventured a little further from home to enjoy a nearby lake or to hike in one of Minnesota’s state parks. On the latter, we ventured off the groomed paths and hiked through the prairie grass and stone bluffs. Spotting deer, pheasants, wild turkeys and other animals made it seem a little more adventuresome. However, seeing an intertwined mass of slithering snakes was just creepy…the stuff nightmares are made of!

Two months into this new normal and I have no idea what tomorrow will hold, but I do know WHO holds tomorrow and am thankful. It makes me sad that we are watching as family milestones, birthdays, and holidays have started to pass by only acknowledged by video chats. Currently our small town is one of the "hot spots" in the nation. A couple of days ago we had the distinction of having the 5th highest number of confirmed cases of Covid-19 per capita out of all of the counties in the U.S. And the number just keeps growing and growing due to an outbreak at a local meat processing plant. Yet, I feel we are very fortunate in that our family has not been impacted in ways so many others have experienced. 

Bob and I have reached the point in our lives that I envisioned would be filled with lots of travel. I had a list of trips planned for several years into the future and now those dreams have been put onto the shelf. Cruising has been one of our favorite types of travel and I’m not sure we will ever be on a ship again.

I could throw myself a pity party, but instead I will choose to find joy in the small day-to-day adventures and be thankful for the experiences we have enjoyed in the past. Yes…this is the perfect time to pull out my souvenir memories and remember the good times as I look forward to what God will bring in the future!