An open house was held a couple of weeks ago for the Mabel
and Judy Jasper Educational Center, which is at the heart of the current stage
of development for the arboretum.
This building has a replica of a country school classroom, several
program rooms, and will serve as the centerpiece for the arboretum. We attended the open house and were
able to savor the upbeat spirit of those key people who spearheaded the
creation of the arboretum.
At the moment, there is some concrete work and landscaping
taking place in the front entrance area of the center and on the slope behind
the building leading down toward the Big Sioux River. Yesterday, a crew was placing trees along the lower slope
and out toward the flatland leading down across the field and tree line toward
the river shoreline.
As usual, Finnegan and I headed east along the old rail bed
heading toward the river as it bends south under Highway 42. In years past, this trail was not
maintained during the summer, and the grass grew too high for easy
passage. That has all changed
since developmental of the arboretum.
The grass is mowed, forming an easy hiking trail that continues down to
the entry road leading to the Fraternal Order of Police building.
It seems obvious that the FOP building is no longer an
isolated structure east of town; now, it is right in the middle of a developing
nature area and seems misplaced.
It is an island of property that seems incongruous today.
We continued along the old field road that runs east/west
and connects back on the main circuit of gravel road that winds through the
Perry Nature Center portion of the arboretum.
A major reason for our hike yesterday was to enjoy the
remarkable profusion of purple phlox that is scattered throughout the area.
The phlox is seen in clumps within the grasses and out into
the trees. My wife and I have
enjoyed this growth for many years, and the arboretum has many swaths both
within the Perry Nature Center portion and in the developing arboretum. We first became aware of the attractive
phlox on walks through the Perry Nature Center in years past.
Continuing along the gravel road leading through the Perry
portion, we passed the lower picnic shelter, crossed over the small creek
flowing through, and moved into the woods as we followed the trail past
foundations of the old homes that made up East Sioux Falls.
Looking at the remains of homes that once formed the community of East Sioux Falls evokes a past when this was a vibrant town filled with energy and hope. A brief history of East Sioux Falls is offered in the historical displays within the arboretum.
The trail heads west until climbing up from the lowlands and
entering on to the old rail bed again heading east.
We continued west down the rail bed trail, passing more
stands of purple phlox.
The trail then intersects with the entrance road into the
arboretum, and we headed back to the Jasper Educational Center, where the car
was parked.
After stopping to again observe the landscaping work in
progress, we departed after an hour of hiking through the area.
My full set of photographs of the hike yesterday can be
found on my Flickr page at the following URL: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jayheath/sets/72157634009830033/
A set of past narratives and photographs from earlier
postings about the arboretum can be found on the menu located on the right side
of the blog.