My Trip to Minnesota

Last week I traveled to Minnesota to meet with the Minnesota Waldorf School’s Eighth Grade, whose students are coming to Hawk Circle this spring. I met with the students and parents, and stayed for a few days at the home of one of my best friends from my childhood, Richard Elmquist and his family. They have started a community in eastern Wisconsin, with organic gardens, wonderful crafts, an orchard, bakery and dairy farm. It was a great visit and I really enjoyed seeing them all for my short stay.

In addition, I also got a chance to see the Mississippi River as it winds through Minneapolis/St. Paul, and much of the landscape around the city and surrounding countryside. I paid attention very closely, searching for familiar trees, wild resources, animal tracks and the lay of the land.

The ground was covered with a layer of crusty snow, dusted with light frosting of powder and great for tracking. I saw cottontail tracks, weasel, mice, squirrels, a variety of birds, deer, red fox, coyote, skunk and raccoon. There were elms, box elder, (lots!) cottonwoods, burr oaks, red juniper, white cedar, poplar, paper birch, locust, and many viburnums and elderberries too, in various places along the prairie and in the riverbottoms. The plant stalks that I could see above the snow looked to be mullein, velvetleaf, milkweed and dock. There was a nice abundance of dried grasses in places, too, as well as cattails in the wetland areas.

Why was I studying the land so closely?

The short answer is that I always do it, as I was trained by Tom Brown, Jr. in the early part of my intensive studies with him at his school. I was taught to pay attention no matter where I went, just in case.

The other short answer is that I was curious, because I haven’t spent much time there before, and I wanted to be familiar with the terrain in case someone from the mid-west were to want to do the Correspondence Course!

Just in case you are wondering, I think anyone from this area would have an excellent and easy time making shelters, finding food, water, great survival resources for skills and fire-making as well. The land is beautiful, gentle and open, with a big sky and trees that are communities in themselves.

It was a great trip and I learned a lot. On the way out to the airport, I passed a grey owl on the side of the highway, about twenty feet from my car at eye level. He looked like he was hunting, waiting for something to move, and his deep dished face was gorgeous and stunning. I felt it was an incredible gift.

I would be remiss if I didn’t also note the profuse number of red tailed hawks that perched in the treetops, fence posts, lamp posts and power lines. I understand that there are many eagles and osprey in some areas as well, fishing in the lakes and rivers that make up this amazing landscape.

My only regret is that I didn’t get to go ice-fishing. Well, maybe next time!

By the way, a friend of mine has just started a new wilderness skills school in the Minneapolis area, so check it out if you are out there for more local tips, regional expertise, cool places to go and more...