William O'Brien State Park, Minnesota

If you draw a circle around the Twin Cities in a 60 mile radius, you will capture at least nine Minnesota State Parks. And once you have captured them, what are you going to do with them? We decided to hit William O'Brien State Park for an evening program and short explore.

This is one of numerous state parks and recreation areas along the St. Croix River, north and east of the Twin Cities. South of the more well-known Interstate State Park, you can get to William O'Brien in around an hour if you are not trying to fight rush hour traffic north on 35E, which we were. Though I think this particular slow-down was not due as much to rush hour as it was to human error: people slowing down unnecessarily to ogle a truck by the side of the road that seemed to have lost an entire wheel and part of its axle. Nothing to see here, folks. Move along.

We still made it in time for the intended event, even including a pizza stop in Scandia to stave off the hangries*. What, you ask, is the event? A beaver talk! (Let's keep it clean, people. This is a family show.) We gathered at the visitor center with Ranger Emily and a few other campers for a short amble out to an active beaver lodge in the park. Before we even hit the trail, though, Emily showed us her snakes! She has a fox snake and a hog-nosed snake (both native to Minnesota) that she keeps in terrariums in her office and also uses for educational programs. She told the kids a little bit about these snakes (named Karl and Walter) and also showed us her painted turtle, Charles (also native). She rescued him from a prairie where he was not supposed to be. Oh! And she also let the kids hold a tarantula exoskeleton (not native). Cool beans.

Have I mentioned that there are programs like this happening all over your Minnesota State Parks, and they are included in your day or annual pass? No foolin'.

A brief bio on our friend, the beaver: they are North America's largest rodents, weighing from 50 to 60 pounds, and they can live up to 25 years. After being driven extinct in Europe by fashion because people are idiots, trappers started to deplete the North American population of these yellow-toothed marsh creators. This particular lodge has been active for 20 years, with probably a single set of parents and their successive litters of kits, who move on after two years with their parents. The beaver is the only species outside of humans to specifically manipulate their environment to suit their needs, and they do it much more sustainably, creating wetlands that filter our water supply and host numerous other species.

This event was well worth the trip. Ranger Emily was an engaged and knowledgeable guide who enjoyed sharing and teaching and interacted well with both grown-ups and kids.

After the talk, we explored the park a bit, checking out the two campgrounds and the four camper cabins, as we plan to return for a weekend this summer and also in the winter. We chose a number of sites we like, and of course they are all taken because you need to book your weekend state park plans well in advance. They do, however, keep a number of sites for first-come, first-serve campers, so Finn and I will try to get a site we want in that manner. It means I have to make phone calls and maneuver a new situation, which I don't care for, not being much of a dare devil (yes, phone calls and new situations are daring for me), but I'll do it.

For the family.

What you should know: Deerflies. They are mostly just annoying, but bug spray might be in order, especially for the kids. Oh, and ticks. Make sure you check yourself and your family thoroughly. Pete once caught Lyme Disease from a deer tick he most likely picked up in St. Croix State Park a few years ago, and it's sincerely not fun.

This park offers biking and hiking trails as well as canoeing and a small swimming beach. There are two campgrounds, and both are really nice, but the River one might be more crowded as it's closer to the action.

*The "hangries" are a pernicious condition that occurs in two members of my family, sometimes on a daily basis, resulting from lack of food. The whining and/or tense anger that manifest are both annoying and preventable, but the original hangry monster has not learned this in his over 40 years.

William O'Brien State Park

William O'Brien State Park, a set on Flickr.

An evening trip from St. Paul to William O'Brien State Park on the St. Croix River to learn about beavers.

Lewis Park, Saint Paul

Dear St. Paul Parks and Recreation:

You are truly excellent. Your pools are glorious and your parks are numerous and inviting. I'd be your Leslie Knope any day.

But there is an execrable amount of trash in some of the parks I have visited recently, notably, Lewis Park. I spent some time cleaning it up, so before we left there was only a partially dismantled kids' bike and a damp, decapitated stuffed animal of some kind within range of the play area. Oh, I didn't pick up the empty condom wrapper, either because, well, you know...

After this communion with candy wrappers, bottles, and beer cans, I noticed a lack of accessible and clearly-marked bins. The only receptacle I saw in Lewis Park is what I would call a "burn bin:" a rusty old steel oil drum like the kind in which we used to burn our paper trash.

The website for Lewis Park shows a department that is obviously proud of the new play area and splash pad, and it should be:

"The play area features a new line of play equipment like nothing you have seen before. It has something for kids of all ages to play on.  Rave reviews have been made of the synthetic turf surfacing which allows people of all abilities to access the play equipment.  It even allows parents to get into the play equipment to assist their children or even play on it themselves. Another highlight of the improvements is the debut of the City of Saint Paul’s first splash pad. Water sprays from 5 in-ground jets, 2 water wiggles, and a water tent which are all activated by a touch bollard at the edge of the splash pad."

Lewis Park is definitely a nice place, with large trees and grassy areas as well as the above-mentioned play set and splash pad. But there is only street parking and a single port-o-potty. The trash made me begin to despair for humanity. Recently, my son asked me why people litter, and I couldn't give reasons other than laziness and not caring. Wecould get into a lot of sociological discussions about the disenfranchisement of urban youth and how this can translate into a lack of neighborhood pride and connection, but that doesn't clean up my median on a daily basis.

In any case, this park had a feeling of desolation. Granted, it wasn't the most glorious of days, and it was before lunch on a weekday, but I was surprised that there were not more people around. And the playground, while cool, is a bit too big for my boy (3' 5.75"). There are no slides or traditional swings, though there are two toddler swings. He had difficulty navigating the climby bits because he could not reach or otherwise breach the distance between two points. There is also a small climbing wall, and it has a message for you.

My guess is that you are aware of the issues with trash and assignations that involve the use of prophylactics, and that it's something that is difficult to combat. I know that Americans have been brainwashed to believe that taxes are the devil, and they don't understand the function of taxation and all the good that government does on a daily basis to provide them with a stable society. I know that cuts have occurred at all service levels and revenues are down, but is there anything that can be done?

Love,

-kitty

"Splash Pad" on Shepherd Road, Saint Paul

Upper Landing Park, Saint Paul MN

This is either a splash pad meant to force people to play with their kids or some sort of unguarded sculpture fountain meant to entrap you in bad behavior. Either way, if you are not careful here, you will wind up on the news. And not in a good way.

We stopped by this place on a recommendation from Facebook and because the beach at Fort Snelling State Park (insert hearts, flowers, and unicorn song here) was closed for the day due to elevated levels of coliform bacteria (sad face). Finn was suited up to get wet, and there was nothing for it but to get wet.

My first impression of this facility  was that it must have been built by East German architects and is meant to act as some sort of social Darwinism experiment, as the water steps lead to a drop-off and the patio by the river has no fence. As a bonus, it's almost inaccessible by car, and it will most likely take you far out of your way when you need to turn left to go home.

Especially if you need to go home RIGHT NOW because SOMEONE has to poop and there don't seem to be any bathrooms ANYWHERE ON EARTH.

P.S. The website calls this a fountain. I don't think we were supposed to be in there. Neither were the other kids (not pictured). I'm confused. Also, there could be bathrooms somewhere in this park, but we were on the far end, and I didn't see anything nearby.

Fort Snelling State Park: Beach

Fort Snelling State Park: Beach, a set on Flickr.

A great beach in the middle of the city.

Fort Snelling State Park: Overview

What you need to know: bug spray.
Bathe in it before you go.
Consider marinating your clothing the night before.

If you like airplanes, then this is the park for you!

Nestled on the Mississippi and Minnesota Rivers, not far from the Mall of America, Fort Snelling State Park is the easiest metro getaway in the state park system. There is highway and airport noise, but there are also great blue herons and ruby-throated hummingbirds. We found a beach on Pike Island where Finn could throw rocks and branches into the water, and I could write and wish that I had brought a plastic bag to pick up all the trash that dumb people have strewn about. Folks, I like drinking in nature as much as the next gal, but if you packed it in full, you can certainly pack it out empty. IT'S LIGHTER.

This is a running theme in my nature experiences: adults behaving badly (and probably being bad examples to their children. I recently saw two kids throw plastic candy wrappers practically INTO the lion enclosure at the Como Zoo, and I went into a JD-Scrubs-type day dream in which the lion had his revenge).

Anyway... we initially came to the park for Story Time (Mondays at 9:30), and we were the only ones there with a great ranger named Ellen. She read us "Owl Moon" by Jean Yolen and taught us about owls, including playing a few owl calls. I wish that there had been other kids there, but perhaps people don't know about it. So here's your notice: the Minnesota State Park system offers loads of events for kids (grown-ups too, but you can take care of yourselves, right? Except when you are leaving all your crap on a beach).


Take a minute to check out the events calendar at a park near you! (Does that sound commercial-y enough?) Seriously, this is our tax dollars doing excellent, important work, and you can benefit from it. A year-long vehicle pass is $25 for unlimited visits, and most of the activities do not charge beyond that or the day-pass you paid for (usually $5).

Minnesota State Parks fees and the need for a car can be prohibitive, but Fort Snelling is definitely accessible by bicycle and also has a Nice Ride station at the visitor center and bike trails around the park.

We scratched the surface of this park today; there's so much more to see. Though Mr. Monkey Man spent a good deal of time whining during the walkie-bits of the outing, once he has something to do (like throw All The Things into the water), he's golden.

Next up in the park: the swimming beach and then "I Can Fish" on Friday, where they teach you about fishing and provide all the gear.

More pictures from today here.