A QUIET PLACE TO BE.
That message banners signs in Mission Township in the heart of central Minnesota’s lake country. The nearly 35-square-mile rural community is, indeed, quiet, if you tuck yourself in among the woods, off the main routes Up North to the cabin.
From mid-May fishing opener well into autumn, until the first hard freeze, vacationers and seasonal cabin owners travel into and through Crow Wing County to reach their personal and resort destinations. And now Randy and I, too, are living the Minnesota Up North experience thanks to family who are sharing their lake property. Thrice this year we’ve spent time at the cabin, each visit heading to nearby Mission Park.
The close-to-the-cabin proximity of the park and its 3/4-mile paved hiking trail draw us to this quiet spot in the woods. During our most recent stay in mid-September, we twice hiked in the park. Here leaves are already turning color and I paused often to photograph the autumn hues.
Once, while detouring along a mowed grass path to a pollinator garden, I also stopped to examine a pile of dung. It glistened in the sun, indicating freshness to my untrained non-expert eyes. The sheer volume of excrement led me to wonder…bear? Later, when I shared this with my brother-in-law who is especially knowledgeable about the outdoors, I determined this likely was not bear scat given the lack of acorns and other such matter in the pile. That said, bears (yes, plural) have been sighted in the area, according to the brother-in-law and a park worker who advised to “Make yourself as big as possible and don’t run” if you encounter a black bear. Alright then. Thank you.
As long as he was parceling out advice, I asked about the many wild mushrooms growing in the park. That, he said, was not within his realm of knowledge. Nor is it in mine. So I admired the fungi, in varieties and hues I’ve never seen. Ever. Anywhere. Bold yellow and orange. Stunning. Still life art.
If quick research is correct, the more colorful the mushroom, the more likely it’s poisonous. Deadly. Nope, you’re not going to catch me picking mushrooms in the woods. I’ll settle for photographing them, as much as I like the taste of (store-bought) portabella mushrooms.
The park employee noted, however, that a guy knowledgeable about mushrooms forages for them here.
If you’re not into mushroom hunting or photography or hiking, Mission Park offers plenty of other options—tennis and pickleball courts, a disc golf course, ball fields, horseshoe pits, playground, picnic shelter and much more.
Every single time we’ve hiked through this park, the motto, A QUIET PLACE TO BE, holds true. Here you can hear the quiet, even as you listen for bears.
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PLEASE CHECK BACK for more photos from Mission Park and a post on the area’s connection to my Faribault church.
If you are familiar with mushrooms, feel free to educate me on those I photographed.
© Copyright 2021 Audrey Kletscher Helbling
Minnesota Prairie Roots 
Very cool fungi. Glad you didn’t have to make yourself big to scare off a bear. Love the pollinator garden, Audrey.
You and me both on the bear. It was so interesting to discover those vivid mushrooms. I was pretty excited, from a photographer’s perspective.
There is just something magical in standing underneath a tree with the natural light coming through it 🙂 Loving the last photo. The variety of mushrooms and the colors. I feel like I went on a nature walk reading your post today – thanks! Happy Day – Happy Exploring – Enjoy
Thank you. I take that as a high compliment, that you feel like you walked right beside me. And, yes, light is everything in photography.
Old mushroom hunters say;”they’re all edible but some are edible only once”
I’d stay away from the 1st one. The white ones a puffball past its prime.
Love looking at shrooms. Nice images.
That quote is as good a warning as any. Best be an “expert” when it comes to wild mushrooms. Thanks for appreciating my photos and for the past its prime puffball warning.
The sight of picnic tables dwarfed under big tree canopies has always put life in perspective for me. With my German father and farmer mother, we ate at many. I took the daughters camping in Nerstrand, despite being a Girl Scout, 3 little women under the big canopy acting like we were secure, but then, I don’t think bears were allowed there. Just how does one “make yourself big as possible”? Northern MN is a special place. Mushrooms and all….in pictures.
Thank you for sharing your outdoors story. When telling me to make myself BIG to scare a black bear, the gentleman at Mission Park stretched his hands above his head.
We encountered a golden mushroom on our hike up north.
Mushrooms are interesting to spot in the woods.
But I’m not going to eat them!
I’m with you. Not gonna eat them. I’m glad you also got to see an unusual mushroom Up North.
Mushrooms are so interesting, love your photo’s. Last year on a hike near Dorsett MN I came across a purple mushroom, with some investigation I found out that it is called a milk mushroom.
Now that would be visually interesting. And good for you to research the purple mushroom.