My Life : “A walk in nature walks the soul back home.”

I got to do one of my favorite things this past weekend. Amy had mentioned to me that she was going to go hiking on Saturday. I immediately invited myself along and she let me come 😊 Rick was not able to join us because he had Covid.

It started with we would go to Upper Sioux State Park because it would be closing soon and ended with us going to three state parks!

Amy, Carey, Liam, Eli, and I started our adventure at Big Stone Lake State Park. We got there around noon so we ate a quick lunch and then found the hiking club trail.

It is hard to believe we could go hiking in sweatshirts and no gloves or mittens in January in MN. We had a little snow but not enough to make it hard to hike.

Next, we moved to Lac qui Parle State Park. This was our shortest hike of the day at only 2 miles.

Amy, Carey, and I have joined the Hiking and Passport Clubs that the DNR has. You hike on a certain trail in the park and you have to find the password. After so many miles you get a free night of camping. For the passport club, you get a stamp when you visit the park. Again after so many you get a free night of camping. It is a great way to get outside and see parts of the state. We are so lucky to have so many great state parks in Minnesota. Since 2021 when I joined the clubs I have been to 33 parks.

Next, we went to Upper Sioux Agency State Park which was the reason for our day's adventures. Upper Sioux Agency is transferring the land back to the Upper Sioux Community and closing the park to the public.

Below is a little information on why it is being returned to its rightful owners.

2023 legislation directs the Department of Natural Resources to transfer Upper Sioux Agency State Park (USASP) lands to the Upper Sioux Community. The Upper Sioux Community has had a longstanding request to the State of Minnesota to return the land at Upper Sioux Agency State Park, given the extraordinary significance of the land to the Community. This land is the site of starvation and death of Dakota people during the summer of 1862, when the U.S. Government failed to provide food promised to the Dakota by treaty.

DNR is moving forward with the process of transferring the land at Upper Sioux Agency State Park to the Upper Sioux Community, which requires closing the park. The park will be open to the public through Feb. 15, 2024 and close on Feb. 16, 2024. Beginning on Feb. 16, there will be no public access to the park. Closure of the park at this time is necessary to allow the DNR to remove park infrastructure prior to the land transfer, which is expected to occur in mid-March.

We pulled into the park right at sunset and hiked most of the trail in the dark. We were greeted by coyotes howling all around us as soon as we started to hike. I am not a big fan of coyotes they always scare me a little. But I had to admit it was pretty cool hearing them as we moved through their territory. We were the only people in the park as we moved along on the trail.