A walk in the woods

On Monday morning I took advantage of the comfortably cool weather and took to my car with a bag of Lucky Charms, a water bottle filled to the top, my camera and exciting intentions to climb a very big hill with the goal of viewing some natural beauty. About 10 minutes north of Winona I found my exit for John A. Latsch State Park. A small state park with only few trails and camping sites. It's directly off of HWY 61 and when you turn into the park you're greeted immediately with a few parking spots and signs. Quaint, quiet, and mostly known only to the locals. A perfect place for some solitude and peace.

I found the steps I heard about right away. And the incline was dramatic right away. I had to stop about 4 or 5 times. To take pictures of course. Okay, and to catch my breath, grab a drink of water and rest a second so I wouldn't have a heart attack. Finally after only about 25 minutes I reached the top. It wasn't a dramatic moment, kind of slow actually. I would get peaks of the Mississippi and treetops as I would get closer to the top of the bluff I was climbing so I gradually knew how close I was to my destination. As I reached the top, the steps turned into man made trails and finally I reached a point where it was simply the top of the bluff and a gorgeous view.

One of the fun finds was that the man made trails didn't just stop at the edge of the bluff. They actual went away from the edge, towards more trees and small fields of wildflowers. And the best part was having the bluff all to myself. Realizing this kind of natural beauty exists creates a natural joy that has filled my heart with pleasure all week. I can't help but quote John Muir:

"Fresh beauty opens one's eyes wherever it is really seen, but the very abundance and completeness of the common beauty that besets our steps prevents its being absorbed and appreciated. It is a good thing, therefore, to make short excursions now and then to the bottom of the sea among dulse and coral, or up among the clouds on mountain-tops, or in balloons, or even to creep like worms into dark holes and caverns underground, not only to learn something of what is going on in those out-of-the-way places, but to see better what the sun sees on our return to common every-day beauty"