Another county Park

Hello, Yesterday afternoon Leroy and I went to another county park. We have been to Wickiup Hill several times in the past. Some of the times we picked black raspberries. They were wonderful. We saw no briars this time. We did find some black berries. We picked about a half pint to bring home. Leroy was not very comfortable with that as a sign tells the visitors to leave in the park what they find. When we picked the black raspberries, we asked permission and were given that. The visitor center has been updated and I found it quite interesting. The displays start way back in the past with early humans in the area. They also showed the former depth of the top soil and the length of the grass roots. I could almost reach the entire length of the root which much have been over six feet long. As we know, the land changed when the European settlers came and invented the plow. Our top soil is now quite small and contaminated with herbicides. At least we have some park areas that are reclaiming the prairies and wetlands. Some farmers are also trying to care for the land as they know how important it is. There was also a small bit about the Meskwaki who are some of the early inhabitants of this part of the world. After they had been moved to Kansas, the Iowa legislature allowed them to buy back some of the land that was taken from them. People in the Amana Colonies in Iowa helped them a bit with this. The picture of the baby swing is an effort on their part to maintain their culture.

Paula