Mary Jo Wegner Arboretum/Perry Nature Area

 Yesterday, in between the seemingly constant rain, I went out to the Mary Jo Wegner Arboretum/Perry Nature Area on the east edge of Sioux Falls.  This is a site my wife and I visit twice a week for much of the year.  A lot of development in the arboretum has taken place over the past few weeks, and I wanted to capture the changes for those interested in hiking in this very accessible area.

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.

Spirit Mound Historic Prairie

For many years I was a professor at the University of South Dakota and made a nearly daily commute between Vermillion and Sioux Falls.  Sometimes to fight sleep and to bring some novelty into the drive, I would take the secondary roads and avoid the Interstate.  State Highway 19 out of Vermillion across the Vermillion River and heading north towards Centerville is one of secondary paved roads that I occasionally used, but I never recognized Spirit Mound just six miles north of the USD campus.  It took the celebration surrounding the 200^th anniversary of the Lewis and Clark expedition alert me to the existence of Spirit Mound.

Yesterday morning I drove down to Yankton to observe and photograph the departure of 129 kayaks and canoes as the South Dakota Kayak Challenge got underway.  On the way back to Sioux Falls, I decided to turn north at Vermillion and return on Highway 19 to visit Spirit Mound.

Going north, Spirit Mound Historic Prairie is located just six miles north of Vermillion on the west side of the highway.  Passing over the Vermillion River, the landscape is flat farmland.  Spirit Mound is a glacially formed geological anomaly that drew Lewis and Clark up from their journey on the Missouri River in 1804 for the panoramic view of prairie and wildlife.  They had heard Native American tales of tiny spirit people who inhabited the hill. The site continues to have a spiritual significance to many Indian people.

Spirit Mound restoration was a project of a local conservation group and the state and federal governments that came to fruition in 2001.  The park covers 320 acres and includes a developed trail that leads from the parking lot across the prairie, around the mound and up to the summit. Interpretive signage along the trail offers historical and geological information to visitors. The trail is designated as a National Recreation Trail by the federal government. 

There is a small park on the south end of a parking lot with a picnic table and vault toilet.  The trail leads north from the park for .8 miles, approaching Spirit Mound from the south and climbing around the hill to a final assent to the summit on the north side. The total hike is about 1.6 miles over a landscape with no shade and no water.  The trail is well designed so that inclines are gradual and the surface easy for most hikers.  I saw families with small children, even a mother pushing a baby buggy up the trail.

The prairie along the way is composed of native grasses and has a population of perching birds often found on grasslands.  It is a pleasant walk with a gradually broadened view of the landscape.  There are benches located at intervals for those needing a rest or desiring a moment of contemplation. 

The summit of the hill has a panoramic view over the landscape.  The DakotaDome at the University of South Dakota, about seven hills off, is visible to the south.  Farmland instead of bison herds now surround the site and provides a great view of current land usage.

Spirit Mound is about 60 miles south of our eastside Sioux Falls home.  It is an easy spot to visit when returning from Yankton or Vermillion.  If I were visiting the site from Sioux Falls, I think it would be good to leave early in the morning to avoid the heat and strain of climbing under the summer sun.  It would be good to leave Sioux Falls about 6:30 a.m. or so, drive an hour to reach the site, spend an hour on the hike, and then stop for breakfast in Centerville or another small town.  There are also a couple of great museums in Vermillion that might be visited on the same trip: The National Music Museum on the campus of USD and the W.H. Over Museum located on the north side of Vermillion.  I’m so glad that I have finally visited Spirit Mound and heartily recommend the trip.

There are several excellent websites about Spirit Mound, and I suggest that a prospective visitor review them prior to making the trip: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spirit_Mound_Historic_Prairie

Wegner Arboretum/Perry Nature Area

The spring this year is certainly not advancing at the pace of last year, and we have just gone through a string of cold days with snow showers.  At last, though, we have a few days ahead with more normal temperatures.  Today, we decided to go out to the Wenger Arboretum/Perry Nature Area for a hike through the recently snow-free landscape.

This set of hiking trails is at the edge of Sioux Falls, just across from Arrowhead Park on the east side of the city.  Over the past few months, the Jasper Education Center has been completed and awaits only some final landscaping and a formal opening. 

As usual, we parked in front of the Jasper Center and set off down the old railbed toward the Big Sioux River as it flows past the park. 

Cutting down onto the open field just to the north of the FOP building, we walked along the service trail between the field and the trees that line the riverbank.  This is a trail popular with people taking their dogs out for a walk in the country.

We then moved up onto the gravel road that circles through the park and leads past a picnic shelter and over a small creek that flows into the Big Sioux River.  This creek has interesting features, including a small quartzite cliff near the road.

There is some ice and snow still in the deep shadows of a trail that leads past old East Sioux Falls foundations, so we moved up onto the old roadbed again and walked along this pathway back to the entrance road into the park.  Along the way, we spotted several robins on the ground.

Our hike this afternoon took about 45 minutes, and Finnegan, our 15-year miniature poodle was able to keep up just fine.  He seems to regain some of his youth when out sniffing around on one of our hikes.

So, the arboretum is okay for hiking now.  We are going to check out more of our favorite hiking areas within the area in the days ahead.  It is good to be out strolling through nature areas again.