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Karla and I camped at Crow Wing State Park over the weekend while attending a reunion for the Natural Resource class that I was in. We graduated in 1970. Some of the guys hadn’t seen each other since graduation 44 years ago. Almost everyone had served in the military before starting their careers with the DNR. Now we are all retired. It was a lot of fun seeing everyone again.

The Mississippi and Crow Wing rivers were pretty peaceful early Tuesday morning just before we headed back home.

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Even thought the skies were grey the river looked beautiful.

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Karla and I toured the old town site of Crow Wing. Back in 1848 it was a pretty busy settlement with over 700 people living there. The only home still there today is the Beaulieu house which was considered a mansion in those days.

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The river must have been pretty active starting with the fur trade and transitioning to logging. This photo looks right down the historic Main Street and ox cart trail.

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Ground Squirrel

Just outside the house this little ground squirrel was searching for plants to eat.

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Water Lily

The water lilies were in full bloom. These are one of my favorite flowers to photograph in late summer.

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