The Stunning St. Croix

           It has certainly been a while since I have made any sort of post. It has been a pretty hectic time starting school in another state and getting situated to a new setting. Yesterday, some friends and I decided to take the day to go visit the St. Croix River along the Minnesota and Wisconsin border. There are some beautiful state parks along this bluff country. We started by taking a hike on some state land on the Wisconsin side of the river. There was a path that looked more like a game trail than a hiking trail. We immediately came upon some land that was extremely different than the land that I am accustomed to in Central Iowa. Where we hiked was where both lava flows and glaciers moved through millions and thousands of years ago respectively. The rock formations were very unique and provided plenty of areas to explore. There were creeks running through the steep valley walls and areas of thick brush and others where tall trees dominated the landscape. I noticed that this area exemplified where the deciduous and coniferous forests attempted to outcompete one another. One small change that also stood out was the constant presence of pine sap. Everywhere you walked you saw or felt the sticky substance on plants, branches, and the ground. It stood out to me because I rarely experience this in the environment I usually find myself in. I also saw a change in the water clarity when we walked on streams. In Iowa where I spend my time mostly around agriculture areas, the water is full of much more soil and other nutrient deposits. Here where very little farming occurs in the localized area, the water was much "cleaner". We saw relatively few animals for the time we spent in the woods. We had encounters with a deer, a garter snake, a couple toads, we saw a fish, and plenty of insects as well. After being stuck in a dorm for the most part of a month and a half it was very refreshing to get outdoors and enjoy His creation.

The second part of our adventure found us just on the Minnesota side of the St. Croix. The state park is situated directly on top of the bluffs where you can climb over rocks and trees, down to the river and up dozens of feet. We saw areas that were formed by glaciers thousands of years ago that left some of the deepest potholes in the world. It was a great time to spend with friends in some stunning country.

This tree here had been "drilled" out by a woodpecker. Inside we were able to find spiders which found this to be a perfect home protected from the elements.