Floodwaters force closure of Whitewater State Park

First, I have been on vacations for a while and will be doing some updates shortly.

A weekend deluge in Southeastern Minnesota caused massive flooding, damage, and even loss of life. The flooding also destroyed 2 stretches of Highway 74 through Whitewater State Park forcing its closure.

Potential New State Park on Lake Vermillion!

Here is some interesting news as reported in the Star Tribune.

http://www.startribune.com

Gov. Tim Pawlenty announced plans to create a new state park Tuesday — at Lake Vermilion, a popular fishing destination near the Soudan Underground Mine State Park in northeastern Minnesota.

The proposal would establish Minnesota's 67th park, setting aside 2,500 acres on land currently owned by U.S. Steel. It needs legislative backing and could cost the state tens of millions of dollars.

The lake abuts the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness and the Superior National Forest.

Lac Qui Parle State Park

This park was confusing to get to at first, but there was some really cool "stuff" at the park and I think it would make a great weekend trip for families. There are different sections of the park and an adjacent wildlife management area. There are also 2 campgrounds, one that is established and another where it appears there is an attempt to restore the oak savanna landscape.

The park is around a lake formed by a dam on the Minnesota River. Within the park the Lac Qui Parle River intersect the Minnesota River.

There is not a whole lot of hiking at this park, and most of it is concentrated in the Lower Unit. Because there is substantial amounts of restoration going on in the park, a system is being created where by our grand children will be able to hike at Lac Qui Parle State Park through Oak Savannah. For now there are some trails through the forest.

We also noticed a number of people fishing from a bridge over the Minnesota River in the park. I there for must assume, given the numbers, that there is some good fishing there.

As we were walking through the forest we saw a number of deer, rabbits, and other things to excite a dog.

Upper Sioux Agency State Park

And so begins my posts related to the parks visited over the 4th of July long weekend, 2007. The trip we planned basically took us to a number of parks in West Central Minnesota, and then on to Itasca State Park. As is often the case when I visit a number of parks, there is never enough time at each park, some park presently surprise, while some don't offer the type of outdoor activities or amenities that interest me. Since I figured that we would be driving well over 1000 miles I decided to rent an economy car. That worked out great, and I saved a ton of money, but as it turns out the car had no cruise control, which can get a little draining.

The first park visited was Upper Sioux Agency. This was a park I found to be very nice, but perhaps in need of some additional funding. There is a wealth of history surrounding this park, and the rangers can guide you towards some outstanding resources.

The hiking club trail in the park forms a loop through a variety of terrain in the park. The trail begins near the picnic area and follows a ridge line to the Yellow Medicine River. Interestingly, no one knows what exactly the Yellow Medicine plant is. From there the trail goes along the river and through the prairie. The trail then passes through a forest on it's way to the Minnesota River. Finally the trail climbs up hill and returns to the picnic area.

In total there are 19 miles of hiking train in the park, and while we only did the hiking club trail, the ranger suggested some other nice walks. Towards the West end of the park there are a number of steep trails that offer some nice views of the park. In addition, there is also a trail that follows along the Yellow Medicine and Minnesota Rivers.

As I mentioned the park is both a State Park and a Historical Park, there is some historical information available at the park office. In addition, the park ranger also recommends the following books: Through Dakota Eyes, Narrative Account of the Minnesota Indian War of 1862 by Gary Clayton Anderson and Alan R. Woolworth as well as The Dakota War of 1862, Minnesota's other Civil War by Kenneth Carley.

One last comment is that even on the 4th of July this was a pretty quite park. So If you are looking for a quiet park with a fair number of amenities, this might be the park for you.

Feedback Appreciated

I think that I will start advertising this blog in a couple of weeks. As such feedback is greatly appreciated. If you have suggestions or find factually incorrect data, please email me or just attach a comment.

Thanks,

Michael

Happy 4th!

Every year for awhile now, I have visited state parks over the 4th of July. You might be surprised, but some parks aren't even that crowded, especially when the 4th falls mid-week. This particular 4th I will be dividing time between parks in West Central Minnesota and Itasca State Park. Look for a number of updated on these parks in July.

Great River Bluffs State Park

Great River Bluffs is one of my absolutely favorite parks in Minnesota. In my opinion it is vastly under rated and under visited. After college I had gone a few years with out spending much time at parks. One weekend, I just up and went to GRB, after that I was hooked, and determined that I needed to do some exploring. The picture on the Left is Queens Bluff as seen from Kings Bluff with the mighty Mississippi in the background.

One of may favorite things about GRB is that it usually is not buggy, which is ironic, because on this particular visit, it was really bad. I don't think that is common though.

If you have no been to the bluff country before, I can only say that it is breathtaking. GRB gives you a great place to see and explore the bluffs. The park map shows 10 view points, and I recommend that if you go, you take the time to see all ten. If you do so you will have hiked about 8 miles. If you just do 1 trail, do the Kings Bluff Trail. There is also a campground that is fairly private and not crowded, some cool wildflowers and migratory birds. This is a great place to see eagles.

The park offers both goat prairie and hardwood forest. The park makes for some good Timber Rattler habitat, and they are in the park. Don't worry, they are timid and will usually flee, long before you know they are there. If you are real lucky, you might see one sunning itself on a hot summer day.

On the right is another view of the Mississippi River, taken from one of the observation points. As you might expect from the bluffs and hardwoods, this is a great park for fall colors. In the winter this is also a good cross country skiing park. Given the parks proximity to Rochester, Winona, and La Crosse, I am a little surprised that the park is not more visited. But for now it is a well kept secret that you can take advantage of.

Banning State Park

Banning State Park is too often thought of as a way-side rest area between Duluth and Minneapolis. This is too bad, because the park is a destination in and of itself. Ironically, we happened to stop at the park on or way from Duluth to Minneapolis.

So that note aside lets discuss the park. Banning is located near Sandstone, Minnesota. As far as I know the only other thing in Sandstone is a Federal Prison. The entrance to the park is right off Interstate 35, ans as such is sometimes used as a place to rest.

The park features the Kettle River, Hiking, Canoing, Kayaking, an old quarry, a bat cave, Wolf Creek Falls (pictured above) and some great camping. Both times I have been at this park, I also discovered it has mosquitoes...

In all there are about 14 miles of hiking trails in the park. My favorite hike is to take the the Wolf Creek, High Bluff, Quarry Loop, and Skunk Cabbage Trails to form a loop. Also be aware that this is also Black Bear territory so don't fall asleep in a pile of leftover food. Clean up, because if you don't a bear kills you because you were a slob, that would be a tragedy (not you but when they had to kill the bear)...

The basic campsites are OK, but they tend to be buggy and don't offer much privacy. But this park has some spectacular sites as well, but there is a catch. You will need a boat to get there. There are 3 Canoe campsites that can be accessed from the Kettle River. The river also offers some excitement via some swift rapids.

I wasn't aware that Banning offered great wildflowers, but as the picture to left shows, the park was putting on a pretty nice display the weekend I was there. These flowers just went on forever. Though I didn't see anything, I would suspect that the parks proximity to the Kettle River would also be conducive to predatory birds such as Bald Eagles. I also have yet to make the bat cave, but I guess that is something for the next trip.

Jay Cooke State Park - Additional Information (4 of 4)

Here is some other miscellaneous information on Jay Cooke State Park.

The park current has 2 wolf packs. Depending on your take on things this is either very coo or not so much. If you have never heard wolves howl at night, it is really amazing.

The park is also far enough north that there are black bears. This means don't be dumb in camp. If a bear gets food from you, you are indirectly signing its death warrant. If you are in a back country campsite, secure your food. And no matter how cute, don't hold the cubs...

I am pretty open with the belief that at least until recently, Minnesota has done conservation better than most states. We have a great history of giving selflessly, for the betterment of our neighbors. Jay Cooke State Park is a perfect example of this. The park was formed on land donated by a power company ad later expanded via other gifts. I'm sure money could have been made by divvying up vacation home lots, but because the gifts were made, Minnesota has a great state park.
land gifts

Guest Writers Welcome

Hi there, fellow wannabe writers... The reason I started writing this blog was to put together a body of information on state parks. As such the more contributers I have the better. I you have information about a state park, work at a state park, or just have questions, please contact me. If you would like to contribute materials, you can write it your self and I will link to it, or if you aren't sure how to do that, just send it to me and I will publish it for you.

Since I am in Southeast Minnesota (and am quite busy), there are many parts of the state that just aren't that accessible to me. So it would be nice if others that frequent parks would share some of there knowledge.

Thanks,

Michael

Jay Cooke State Park - Other Activities (3 of 4)

In addition to Hiking at Jay Cooke State Park there are a number of other activities that may be of interest. This post will offer some recommendations for other activities at Jay Cooke.

Of course, since this is a state park there are plenty of campsites available. What is somewhat unique about Jay Cooke is that the park offers the traditional campsites as well as backcountry camping sites. I was able to check out the campgrounds so I could offer some recommendations.

In the main campsite there are 5 loops, the one to avoid is the first one, containing sites 4 to 23. the reason that I would avoid this loop is because these site tend to be exposed. This campground also has group camp sites, a camper cabin, and some walk in sites. I am partial to the walk in sites as they tend to be quieter and more secluded. Plus you really don't walk to far to get to them. In particular, I would recommend sites 82 and 83, which can be reserved.

There are also some back country sites perfect for a short backpacking trip. In particular, I am told that the Lost Lake camp site is outstanding. This site can not be reserved.

Jay Cooke also offers 2 picnic areas with outstanding buildings and amenities. Reservations can be made. The buildings feature some great fireplaces. I am also told that the St. Louis River offers good trout fishing. You can also find a pioneer cemetery in the park. The park offers outstanding wildlife viewing and a trillium wildflower display in the spring. Because of the rough waters the St. Louis River gorge is also a popular kayaking destination. The UMD Kayak Center is located near the Thomson Dam.

Jay Cooke State Park - Hiking (2 of 4)

Jay Cooke has over 50 miles of hiking! I can't think of a better way to see the park than getting out for a walk. I will offer a number of suggestions for hike to take, but I have yet to find on that I didn't enjoy.

The Carlton trail along with the Thomson trail generally pass along either side of the river gorge from the rangers station to the dam. Both of these trails are interesting and offer frequent access to the river. A loop can be made with these trails and will be about 5 miles long.

The Silver Creek trail is part of the hiking club trail and is a must see. It's been awhile since I did this trail, so I can only say that it was fun.

The Ogantz trail offers access to some fun falls and has some outstanding views. As a bonus nearby areas are handicap accessible. On my second day in the park I strung together about a 5 mile loop using the Grand Portage and Oak trails. These trails pass through a variety of forests and by some interesting geologic formations. The Grand Portage trail was used by fur traders some 300 years ago. The trail also passes along the St. Louis River and has some great views of the bluffs across the river. I also noticed evidence of Bear and Wolves in the area. I was told by a Ranger that there are 2 packs of wolves that claim territory in Jay Cooke State Park.

I also spoke with a couple that lived in the vicinity of the park and highly recommended the Spruce and High trails. Given the location and length of these trails, these trails would be perfect for use in conjunction with a couple of the backcountry camping sites.

If all this is not enough, the souther terminus of the Superior Hiking Trails also starts out in the park. Access is from the Grand Portage trail. I did not do this section, but am a huge fan of the trail. One thing of note is that the Superior Hiking Trail is very well blazed, which is good because it is not currently on the park map.

Jay Cooke State Park - Overview (1 of 4)

Jay Cooke is hands down one of the finest state parks in Minnesota. In this, the first of 4 parts commenting on my spring visit to the park, I will provide an overview of the park. One of the park's facilities is shown to the left.

Jay Cooke is located near Duluth Minnesota and as such is a heavily visited park. But as is the often the case, the park is large and can absorb many people. There are some easily accessible areas that may tend to get crowded in the summers, but there are plenty of trails to find some peace and quiet on.

Jay Cooke offers just about every activity that you could ever wand to do in a park including, hiking, fishing, camping, wildlife viewing, wildflowers, diverse forests, rock climbing, and even kayaking. When I visited the park on of the rangers, Andy Angell, was kind enough to pass along some tips on things to see and places to go. I will pass some of these tips along.

Jay Cooke park is a collections of lands that have been donated to the state over time. The initial donation was from the St. Louis River Power Company in 1915. Subsequent donations have made the park it's current size. We should all greatly appreciate the foresight of previous generations of conservationists who have preserved this treasure for us. It is my hope that we would someday resume these selfless acts.

If all of Jay Cooke's diverse offerings and spectacular landscapes aren't enough for you it is also interesting to know that it is the current southern terminus for the Superior Hiking Trail. Here the trail begins it's nearly 300 mile trek Northward. I have never been to Jay Cooke for Fall Colors, but I suspect that it would be amazing given it's variety of forests. There is so much to discuss about Jay Cooke that I will leave more to three subsequent posts.

My Absense

With deepest apologies for my absence, I will let you know that I should be back soon. I recently sat for a professional exam and have been devoting much time to that recently. I finished that last Saturday and will host a celebration with friends this Friday. After that I look forward to taking an in depth look at Jay Cooke and Banning State Parks.

In addition, I plan on make a trip to West Central Minnesota around the 4th to see some parks that I have yet to visit.

Finally, if you have some parks related information that you would like published or linked to, please let me know. As the number of sources of content I have grows, I will be able to provide more information on the parks you love.

For now I will leave you with a teaser picture taken at Jay Cooke state park.

Possible Bear Attack at Itasca State Park

Story in the Star Tribune

http://www.startribune.com/462/story/1204502.html

Weekend Hiking at Banning and Jay Cooke

This weekend I got so spend some time hiking at Jay Cooke and Banning State parks. In the coming days, expect to see an overview of Banning State Park, and a four part series exploring Jay Cooke State Park in detail. Because Jay Cooke is one of the top parks in Minnesota, I spend some time talking with visitors and rangers to help formulate a detailed report on what the park has to offer. I will write about a park overview, hiking in the park, recreational activities in the park, and finally about the geologic and more recent history of the park. Jay Cooke is what I consider a destination park, in that the park has so much to offer, one could spend an extended period there.

Check back for updates

Proposed 50 Mile Whitewater Bike Loop

Here is a link to information on a proposed 50 mile bike loop connecting Rochester to some of the surrounding parks and communities. Of course, everything is dependent on funding.

Minnesota DNR

I am a fan of bike trails because they do a few things that I think are very important.

• They get people into the outdoors.
• They offer healthy recreation opportunities for all ages.
• They bring people to areas of interest.
• They offer seasonal commuting alternatives.
• They provide a significant boost to local economies.

If you want to see just how powerful the economic effect is, look no further than the communities along the Root River trail in Southeast Minnesota.

Minnesota's Best State Parks from About.com

About.com has Itasca, Blue Mounds, and Forestville as the top three state parks in Minnesota. I give them credit for their choices of Itasca, which was Minnesota's first park and Blue Mounds, which I found to be very unexpected. I however was surprised to see Forestville in that mix. Forestville (which I have previously written about) is not a bad park, but there are some others even in that region that got overlooked.

Itasca was Minnesota's first park as mentioned above and within the park is the headwaters of the Mississippi River (Lake Itasca). Ironically the park is NOT in Itasca County. The park in near Bemidji and is one of the largest parks in Minnesota. I have been to the park, but that was many years ago. I do plan on spending a weekend there this summer. I will write in depth on it after I visit that park.

Blue Mounds is also a great park. I would describe it as very unexpected. The park is in the middle of the prairie of Southwestern Minnesota near Luverne. Among other things the park has rock climbing on a Quartzite quarry wall, a herd of buffalo, and some great trails. Also because it is prairie, it is also a park that is best seen in the late summer, which is rather unique.

Where I think the article comes short is in its pick of Forestville. Just in that part of the state, I prefer Whitewater, Beaver Creek Valley, and Great River Bluffs. In addition the article ignores the great North Shore parks such as Tettegouche, Judge Magney, Gooseberry, and George Crosby Manitou. Other parks that I rate highly include Glendalough, St. Croix, and Myre Big Island. Obviously there are many great parks and this is very subjective.

About.com

More Information on the Murderer of Carrie Nelson

Here is a link to the Star Tribune (selected excerpts are shown below):

Minneapolis Star Tribune

Reviewing What Happened today:

Randy Leeroyal Swaney, 36, was charged with four counts of second-degree murder in the May 20, 2001 beating death of Carrie Nelson, 20, at Blue Mounds State Park.

It sounds like the authorities did an excellent job. Unless this is O.J.'s jury, this should be an open and shut case. I am grateful to whoever provided the information that led to Randy's capture.

Investigators found two pieces of evidence at the scene: a man's watch with a broken band and a pack of Doral cigarettes, the complaint says.

Investigators said they were able to match DNA taken from the watchband to Swaney.

They also obtained an Easter 2001 photo from the Swaney family that showed Swaney feeding ducks with his left arm extended.

"That photo shows a wristband to a watch, which is identical to that recovered at the scene," the complaint says.

When the photo was enlarged, investigators were able to determine that the watchband had been fastened in the fourth hole from tag end.

That watchband found at the scene had been fastened in the fourth hole.

The Doral cigarettes were purchased in South Dakota, according to a revenue stamp on the package. Swaney lived in Sioux Falls at the time. Another family photo taken around April 2001 shows Swaney sitting at a table with a pack of Dorals near his hands, the complaint says.

Investigators said they also learned that Swaney's wife, Dawn Marie, was at work in Sioux Falls during the time of the killing.

That meant that Randy Swaney had access to a cream-colored or off-white 4-door Delta 88, described as a "boat," by a relative, the complaint says.

On the day of the killing, a visitor to the park told investigators that she was heading back to the park building when she heard a loud noise, "looked to the west and saw an older white 'boat' -type of vehicle speeding northbound on a gravel boundary road going away from the park entrance," according to the complaint.

Randy in our legal system you are innocent until proven guilty, however on this blog you have just been convicted. I'm wishing you a life sentence, an awful experience in prison, and a quick end you your miserable life.

Arrest made in 2001 Murder of a State Park Employee

This was posted in today's Star Tribune. This is the only such event in the history of Minnesota State Parks so closing this chapter would be good news. More information to come. Here is a link.

http://www.startribune.com/462/story/1170057.html