Urban Trail Near Minneapolis
When staying over in Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota, I prefer to stay at the Hilton Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport location. The restaurant there is good enough to be a destination in itself while in town. Less than ten minutes from the Departures ramp, the hotel is also directly across the street from the Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge. I did my last training hike there before flying out.
One hundred meters into the park and the city disappeared. Except for the white noise of nearby highway and a well-marked dirt path, there was no way to know I wasn’t deep in the wilderness. Wide expanses of marshlands bordered a long swath of flood plain oak forest. I passed numerous trees with trunks six to seven feet in diameter at the base.
As I rounded a bend in the path, two Sand Hill cranes rose out of the marsh and flew directly overhead. The morning brought eagles, wood ducks, scores of red-winged blackbirds, and of course, the ubiquitous Canada geese. Deer tracks were plentiful, as were piles of fur-laden scat that I suppose were left by coyotes.
Have you been here? Do you have a favorite place?
The entire Foundation office is talking about your trip. Even Sarah B and she’s in Florida with her family! We are all impressed. Personally, your trip tells me that our entire life, from beginning to the very end, must be dedicated to reaching beyond ourselves and into the next phase God and Life present us. It’s almost as if Life lays opportunity at our feet. Too often we step over it, not even bothering to look. Yet, like your footprints photo, little gems covered in dust are lying down there, just waiting for the curious and the engaged to pick them up.