Conversation Brings Back Nature Trail Memories

by Lon Drake

This summer, while biking the Clear Creek Trail, I encountered long-time Bur Oak Land Trust supporter Alan Nagel. We spent a few minutes catching up and ended up reminiscing about the trail we were on, which prompts me to share those memories with you:

Clear Creek Trail and I have some history. Some three decades ago, a sweetheart University of Iowa student named Lisa and I spent some field days together laying out a potential trail from behind the student housing apartments on Mormon Trek to Camp Cardinal Road. Twenty years later, Judy Joyce, executive director of Take a Kid Outdoors, and I walked nearly the same route, where we adjusted flags that marked pending construction of the trail. Since the day it was opened, I’ve been walking and biking this trail and today it is nearly a decade old. No longer a vision in progress, the trail has now matured so that the raw dirt scars have healed and the stone retaining walls are growing moss and blending into the landscape.

But back at the beginning of this adventure. One day, after purchasing topo maps for trail layout at the Geological Survey, Lisa and I were leaving Trowbridge Hall together, and while on the front steps I gave her a hug, and a kiss on the cheek. Some busybody evidently noticed this and two days later I found myself seated in the Dean’s office, as the Dean in a gentlemanly manner carefully explained that faculty were definitely forbidden to kiss students. I strained his presentation by slightly smirking, because in the words of Mark Twain, I had, “the calm confidence of a Christian with four acres.” At the first opportunity, I did mention that Lisa was my daughter, and that definitely did change the direction of the little inquisition. To this day, to me, it is still Lisa’s Trail, with all of the fond memories that go with it.

So if you have a kid or a grandkid here locally, get outdoors and do some kind of nature project: a butterfly garden, tree planting, bat house, trail cleanup – and make some memories.

No kid local? Borrow one!! Or get together at Bur Oak Land Trust’s Family Day (email Tammy at info@buroaklandtrust.org), participate in Judy Joyce’s Take a Kid Outdoors program (email Judy at judy@takeakidoutdoors.org), or volunteer with the DNR’s Project Aware river cleanup (email Lynette at Lynette.Seigley@dnr.iowa.gov)

And be sure to kiss the kid!