With the next heat dome rolling toward us, we found ourselves wedged between doing a hike or doing more house repairs. We compromised by doing a short hike in the cool of the morning followed by yet another visit in the afternoon to the (air conditioned) home store (OK, take all our money – just give us a box of nails!) So, for the next few days we’ll do repairs in the morning and grill dinner on the furnace-like sidewalk in the afternoon. 😉 Meanwhile, back in Oregon, it apparently hasn’t stopped raining (and sometimes snowing) since we left. Ah, the irony of a changing climate. 🙄
Turning pages in our now much used 60 Hikes guide pointed us toward the Elm Creek Park Preserve near Maple Grove. The guide offered an 11 mile (18 km) loop (Hike #44) around the northern portion of the Preserve. But that trail – besides being too long for a morning’s walk – is all paved and used by zooming bicyclists. So we went with the Eastman Nature Trail (Hike #45), a natural surface path that starts from the Nature Center. At under 4 miles (7.4 km) is was the ideal choice for us today. The map supplied by the Preserve suggested that we might be able to piece together a long loop on mostly natural surfaces – but doing so will have to wait for another day.
We started on the Sumac Trail, quickly found the Heron Trail, followed that past Rush Creek to the Monarch Trail (long loop) and Elm Creek. The air – although alive with mosquitos – was cool in the shade of the forest; much less so out in the sun where the trail crossed open prairie.
We returned to the Nature Center then went out once again on the Sumac Trail, then looped the Meadowlark Trail back to the Sumac Trail and the Center.
Once back at the Nature Center, we stopped in to wash the DEET off our hands, read the displays, and visit Jack, the resident Great Horned Owl (he was hit by a car years ago and can no longer live in the wild 😥). Our double loop came to just 3.3 miles (5.3 km), with minimal elevation gain. Our walk was a good introduction to this Preserve – we’ll have to come back post-heat dome and see if we can do a longer loop. Then, with the day’s heat rising, it was off to a quick lunch and the home store – which we managed to leave with much less money but a wonderful box of nails! 🙄😁
BOOTS on the TRAIL 
You took all the sunshine with you! But today is the solstice and it looks like the weather has finally realized it’s officially summer. I do hope all this rain at least means a lack of wildfires.
How fun for the kids! I would definitely be just as excited as the kids to see him. Owls are such neat birds.
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Thanks! Wild roses are among our favorites too. 🌹 We’re seriously looking forward to being done with the nailing and getting back to hiking. Soon, soon… 😁
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Oh, how I love wild roses. Thank you for sharing that image, and all the others. Happy trails, happy nails (nailing).
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Of course it rains and the lakes fill AFTER we leave. 🙄 But I’m afraid our move was a one way trip. But that doesn’t mean that I won’t always miss Oregon and all the great hikes around Medford.
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The irony of it raining in Oregon AFTER we left is not lost on us. Sigh. 🙄 Now if you can just get through the summer without wildfires, it’ll be all good. Jack has been at the Nature Center since (I think) 2005 and is wildly popular with the kids that visit.
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The lakes are filling up! Come back! 😁
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It looks like we’ll finally be getting some of this so called heat in the next week for Oregon. Everything there looks so lush now that the trees have leafed out! Also, sad that Jack was hit by a car but that’s cool that they provide space for him to live.
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I took a closer look at the MN Wildflower website and, yes, it looks like a Bladder Campion. Pretty flower – too bad it’s a weedy introduction. Thanks for the 👍 on my photos! It is a softer landscape here than most places we’ve lived in the West. At least until winter arrives. 🥶
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Is your mystery flower not a bladder campion? Pretty distinctive because of the ‘bladder’ and very common (but I can’t see all the identifying details on your photo). An invasive in your neck of the woods, I believe. Truly gorgeous pictures in all your Minnesota walks. I’m enjoying the softer landscapes.
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