Archive for August, 2009

By Aryn Henning Nichols

 In the middle of a gallery, with walls covered in bright memories of places and events he’s experienced over the past four decades, Decorah artist Doug Eckheart begins a sentence just as he’s probably begun many before: “Like I tell my students…” he pauses briefly, “surround yourself with what you love.”

Surrounding Doug at this moment is the bright aqua of the Venice canal, an exceptionally pink spring in Paris, the wide span of a Norwegian horizon, the geometry of Belgian houses. But more than the locations, it’s the feelings he had there that inspired Doug to paint the 20 pieces in his current show, “My Journey: Images of the Artist’s World Travels.” The vibrant watercolors aren’t entirely factual – colors are altered, scenery adjusted, lighting tweaked – but each is a personal experience of that specific locale, a record of a moment in time for Doug. These records, locked in memories, photos, and sketchbooks for quite some time, finally began to manifest on canvas late last year.

“The idea of this show has been in my head a long time. About 35 years,” he says. “These things need to percolate.”

While the travel took decades, the painting process took less than half a year. And each piece comes with a story.

“I intended for the paintings to inform and educate people about the place, event, cultural and historical significance,” he says. “I wanted it to be like a tour for people.”

Like this show, Doug’s career as a Luther College art professor spanned 40 years.

He retired this past May with more than 60 one-person and 40 group shows under his belt in cities such as New York City, Chicago, Des Moines, Malta and Norway. He has held the title of artist-in-residence, keynote speaker, juror, department head, gallery director, and curator. He has been featured in print and on television, and has served internationally as a visiting artist. Not bad for a guy who never thought this was going to be his thing.

“I didn’t start out to do art,” he says. “I was always outside building forts and bow and arrows. But my friends and I would get together to draw. We were always listening to the radio and drawing.”

In Moorhead, Minnesota, a young Doug Eckheart also began to watch a TV show, “Come, Draw With Me,” with his friends. It featured artist Jon Gnagy, who was, essentially, Doug’s very first art teacher. From this time on, Doug always had a sketchbook handy. Art become his first love. His second was basketball. The third and most life changing: Georgiann, his high school sweetheart and now wife. The two went on to get married, begin a family, and start a life together. He earned his bachelor’s on a full scholarship for basketball at Concordia College in Moorhead, his master’s at Bowling Green University in Ohio, and then had a brief, albeit incredibly busy, stint teaching at Waldorf College before finding himself in Decorah, Iowa. Famed Decorah artist Orville Running, one of the “Brothers Running” who had helped Doug at various points in his life, asked Doug if he’d like to come teach at Luther College.

“I knew when I drove down the hill on Highway 9 that this was the place for me,” he says. “The interview consisted of a three-hour tour of Decorah – everything he showed me had to do with landscapes, all places he knew I’d want to paint.”

Decorah had him at Dunning’s Spring. And it was this lush landscape that Doug first set out to paint in his brand new home.

“Really, I found the perfect place – no. It found me,” Doug says of Decorah. “Life led me right where I was supposed to be.”

Faith, he says, has directed him in virtually every aspect of life. Now, looking back on more than four decades of teaching, a 48-year marriage to his childhood sweetheart, four grown children, 13 grandchildren and one great-grandchild, life has definitely taken him on a sweet ride. Turning his sights on retirement, Doug sees painting, teaching workshops, and finding patience for golf just as he’s found patience for watercolors. Looking over his art, too, Doug can definitely see the years passed.

“My early work has a different energy,” he says. “I like it. It has a spontaneity you lose with age. Of course I’ve improved in some ways too. I like my age. I like where I’m at and what I’m doing.”

And this, Doug says, is paramount.

“Like I tell my students: find out what it is you like. Then do it.”

Aryn Henning Nichols likes to read, which led to writing, which led to journalism, which led to travel, which led to this magazine, which led to design. She likes all of these things. Which is nice.

 
You can view Doug’s show, “My Journey…” through September 4 at the McGregor-Marquette Center for Arts, 330 Main Street, McGregor, Iowa. Hours: Sat. 11-4 pm and Sun. 12-3 pm.

From October 3 to 31 at the Bluff Country Artists Gallery, 111 Main Street, Spring Grove, Minnesota. Hours: Tues-Sat 11-5 pm and Sun 12 – 4 pm

 Learn more about Doug’s workshops – drawing, watercolor, ink – at www.eckheart.com

By Jason Stonerook

CLASSIC REVIEW: Thriller by Michael Jackson (1982)
Thriller is not an artistic masterpiece (the McCartney duet is literally bad), but is essential for any collector. To understand its importance, start in 1970, and not with the Jackson 5 but with the collapse of the Beatles, around whom the rock and roll universe revolved. 12 years later, Michael Jackson and producer Quincy Jones filled that vacuum (for better or worse) with their brand of silvery, synthesized soul. Suddenly, it made pop sense for funk (“Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’”), hard rock (“Beat It”), adult contemporary ballads (“Human Nature”), and disco (the infectious yet unsettling “Billie Jean”) to co-exist. Kids bought Thriller after its groundbreaking videos hit MTV, and their baby boomer parents followed suit. The result was the highest-selling album ever, a glossy yet edgy blockbuster that could stand alongside Star Wars, Indiana Jones, and E.T. Listeners soon began using Jackson’s work to decode a warped personality, but the joy of hearing Thriller in 1983 was that we were not yet burdened by biography. It was simply the coolest thing on the planet. Following Jackson’s death, it is a relief to find people appreciating and delighting in his music again.

 The Ecstatic by Mos Def
Pan-African? Muslim? The labels still fit, but they’re too constricting now for Mos Def. Let’s try “global” instead. There are samples here of Brazilian, Indian, Turkish, and Nigerian origin, and even a rap in Spanish honoring low-wage workers in the developing world. The theme is how you owe Allah your survival, and how this world’s survivors become super-heroes. “Auditorium” switches from an elementary-aged rapper keeping on in Bed-Stuy to an Iraqi kid who becomes the “Elvis of Baghdad” after mouthing off to a soldier. America had better get used to this new spin on soul music.

 Wilco (the album) by Wilco
Wilco’s recent sonic experiments take a backseat as they explore the fine lines separating companionship, support, and dependence on this sober, straightforward alt-country album. Early on we encounter a man adrift on a trireme searching for his Penelope; later, we meet another guy sitting in a Chevy Nova with blood-stained hair and a girl in the trunk. Loneliness is awful but the wrong form of companionship can be crippling. And addictive. Still, if you need “a sonic shoulder…to cry on,” know that “Wilco will love you baby.” Best lyric: “I was cold as gasoline.” Best George Harrison homage: “You Never Know.”

 Horehound by the Dead Weather
Based on this side project, Jack White of the White Stripes must have mugged the devil when he traveled to the crossroads rather than offer up a fair trade. Now Satan’s out for his soul, but White has Alison Mosshart of the Kills in his corner. Not that I’d trust her, either. She’s a proper Robert Plant who spits vile, threatens violence, and anticipates pain; for her, the blues is a form of masochism. Judge Holden and Anton Chigurh have nothing on this witch. “I’ve done some bad things,” she sings, “And they get easier to do.”

Big Whiskey and the GrooGrux King by the Dave Matthews Band
DMB’s first album since LeRoi Moore’s passing opens with a soulful sax solo from Moore himself before kicking into a muscular, newly-electrified collection of songs about death, eternal love, Katrina, and sex. (This guy’s hornier than a beaded trumpet at Mardi Gras.) Matthews has his growl back, so if you like DMB, you’ll love this return to form. And if you’re like me – a 2000 graduate of a certain northeastern Iowa liberal arts college – you’ll think the album sounds like a Friday night in Brandt Hall, like a visit to KWLC, like a homecoming picnic on the library lawn.

 BLACKsummer’snight by Maxwell
With a voice reminiscent of Marvin Gaye, neo-soul singer Maxwell begs his lover during the opening track to “make [him] crazy” by “[proving] it to [him] in the nude.” By the time a second relationship crumbles near the album’s end, however, he admits, “I go insane, crazy sometimes/ Trying to keep you from losing your mind.” Maxwell knows the first lustful moments of a romance have nothing to do with logic, but he learns over the course of this funky yet elegant album that even a mature understanding of love cannot purge a relationship of its irrationality.

 Bible Belt by Diane Birch
Consider the song “Fools”: That simmering piano line brightened by a mellow horn section, the way the singer inflects the words “bed” and “head” with a tender touch of soul. That isn’t Carole King, but I wouldn’t fault you for making the mistake. Bible Belt is a pitch perfect homage to Tapestry. The only thing the album lacks is context: The sound of a liberated adult female voice formalizing the rock and roll songbook meant much more thirty-eight years ago than it does today. They just don’t make records like this anymore; in fact, no one has since 1971.

 Manners by Passion Pit
Somewhere, John Cusack is in talks with Michael Cera and Zooey Deschanel about starring in a movie based on the life of Michael Angelakos, the 21-year-old founder of Passion Pit who recorded a homemade Valentine’s Day EP for his girlfriend that eventually landed him a record deal with Columbia. Manners is as compulsively likeable as a Roy Lichtenstein painting, but its Indie-style celebration of 80s synth-pop sounds regressive. The children’s choir certainly doesn’t help his case, and that unrelenting falsetto only seems to say that Prince sounds a lot like Barry Gibb, which I find a little too hip.

 Electric Dirt by Levon Helm
For the past decade, 69-year-old Levon Helm – former drummer/vocalist for the Band – has hosted rootsy jam sessions open to the public in his barn near Woodstock. If that intrigues you, you’ll probably appreciate this effort. From a critical perspective, however, I wonder if Helm’s voice has completely recovered from his late-90s bout with throat cancer as he now strains to reproduce the ache that defined songs like “The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down” and “The Weight.” The inclusion of youthful, pristine, female gospel vocals also feels out of place; rather than lend authenticity, they come off as an indulgence.

 The Eternal by Sonic Youth
I’ve always struggled intellectually to penetrate the music of Sonic Youth. It just seems that such carefully composed dissonance could contain more clarity and dimension. If you share that predicament, The Eternal can help break those barriers. The album’s crisp, hard rock riffs evolve into noisier arrangements that reveal the band’s post-punk/no wave roots. In the process, we see Sonic Youth’s debt to pioneers like Lou Reed and Patti Smith, as well as the influence this important band has exerted on acts like Nirvana and PJ Harvey. Daydream Nation makes a little more sense now.

Jason Stonerook is the author of Rock ‘N’ Politics: A State of the Union Address. According to his birth certificate, he was born in Cedar Rapids, Iowa … or was he?

Painting of Borlaug's boyhood home by Decorah artist Doug Eckheart

By Aryn Henning Nichols

Growing up a member of the Clean Plate Club, “There are starving children in Africa,” seemed merely a parental guilt tactic to get us to eat the one thing on our plates dubbed “loser” – generally the most nutritious of the sides, like lima beans or spinach. While begrudgingly eating another painful bite, we thought to ourselves, “Yeah, yeah, yeah. Starving children. Who are they and what do they mean to me?”

At the same time, there was a man who also thought about starving children – plus men and women – in Africa. And India. And Mexico. Pakistan. Everywhere. He dug in the fields with them, worked in the research center for them, and developed a strain of wheat that would eventually help feed one billion people. This man’s name – like Kellogg or General Mills – should be associated with daily trips to the pantry, but even in his boyhood region of Northeast Iowa, the name Norman Borlaug is often met with a puzzled “who?”

A rural Cresco native, Norman Borlaug is debatably one of the most influential people of the 20th century. The father of the “Green Revolution,” he developed a disease-resistant, high-yield variety of dwarf wheat in an effort to fight world hunger. He is one of only five people in history to have won a specific trio of honors: the Nobel Peace Prize (1970), the Presidential Medal of Freedom (1977), and the Congressional Gold Medal (2007). The other four? Martin Luther King, Jr., Mother Teresa, Elie Wiesel, and Nelson Mandela. But despite the numerous accolades, Borlaug somehow manages to maintain his simple Iowa demeanor.

“I have always been impressed with how common and down-to-earth he is, even though he is an international hero and has met with and negotiated with presidents and dictators,” says Larry Stevenson, Norman Borlaug Heritage Foundation board president. “He is very likely better known in some countries than he is in his own home state.”

Born in 1914, Borlaug grew up like many other boys at that time: he worked the field with his father and planned to attend his one-room schoolhouse until eighth grade, then get back to the family farm indefinitely. But it was a time filled with innovation and determination, and enough people saw a spark in Borlaug that they encouraged him to imagine another direction, starting with high school. Education, Borlaug’s Norwegian grandfather Nels said, was key.

“He was always a very curious boy,” says Borlaug’s sister, Charlotte Culbert, one sunny afternoon at the Borlaug homestead. “My sister Palma and I figured he would do something great. I remember he would say, ‘If you can’t do something, tackle it another way. Try and reach for the stars.’”

The stars were in Borlaug’s sights all the while. Through a Depression-era program called the National Youth Administration, Borlaug was fortunate enough to be able to attend college at the University of Minnesota. He graduated with a degree in forestry, years of wrestling under his belt (he even helped introduce the sport to Minnesota high schools), and an interest in food crops and plant breeding. His forest service job was cut after just a couple of years, so Borlaug headed back to the U of M to study plant pathology. He received a Master of Science in 1939 and a Doctorate in 1942.

After two years as a microbiologist on the staff of the du Pont de Nemours Foundation in Delaware, Borlaug accepted a position in rural Mexico organizing and directing the Cooperative Wheat Research and Production Program. Over the next two decades he developed his best-known achievement: a strain of dwarf wheat that tripled grain production there. This eventually led to the “Green Revolution,” the development of high-yielding crops in conjunction with technologies like hybrids, fertilizers, and pesticides. He worked in the fields as much as possible, right alongside Mexican farmers the research was to benefit. Some new varieties of grains produced yields two to four times that of traditional strains, shortened the time required for growth, and produced a plant that could handle diseases and extreme climates.

The Green Revolution spread across the world. With help from the Rockefeller and Ford Foundations and additional government agencies, funding was increased, and in 1963 the Mexico research institution called The International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center was founded. The resulting research benefited millions worldwide. Starting in India and Pakistan, the revolution continued on to Southeast Asia, China and beyond. It was “a temporary success in man’s war against hunger and deprivation,” Borlaug has said, not an answer to the real problem. It would merely allow more time to figure out a long-term solution.

“I think Norm brought the technology to needy countries at a critical time,” Stevenson says. “I’m certain it would have happened eventually, but I think the work ethic, passion, and value system that Norm brought with him was unique and critical to the success of the effort. Norm focused on helping individual farmers improve their production capacity, making them self sufficient and capable of making a living for themselves and their families.”

Borlaug, now 95, had put enough work in for five men’s lifetimes by the mid 80s. 70 years old, he was semi-retired and ready to take it a little easier. But Japanese businessman and philanthropist Ryoichi Sasakawa had other plans. Why wasn’t anyone doing anything about all the starving people in Africa? After decades of research and fieldwork, Borlaug thought he was “too old” to go to a place like Africa to continue the battle against world hunger. To that Sasakawa responded: “I’m 15 years older than you. We should have started yesterday.” Although Sasakawa has since passed away, his and Borlaug’s work continues in Africa. Hunger is not something Borlaug will ever consider beaten, at least not in his lifetime.

“He thinks about world hunger all the time,” says Borlaug Heritage Foundation board member Don Arendt. “No matter when you speak with him, he eventually talks about hungry people.”

Borlaug is and was so entrenched in advancing efforts to challenge poverty and world hunger that after winning the Nobel Peace Prize, with the help of Carleton Smith and General Food Corporation, he created a new award to recognize exceptional achievement in agriculture: the World Food Prize.

Gifted at the annual Laureate Award Ceremony, the $250,000 prize is now endowed by philanthropist, businessman, and fellow Iowan John Ruan. Ruan “saved” the prize from defunct status in 1989 when General Foods withdrew its sponsorship. He moved headquarters to Des Moines, Iowa, and put together a foundation with a bi-partisan Council of Advisors including names such as former Philippine President Corazon Aquino; former U.S. Presidents Jimmy Carter and George Bush; and H.E. Joaquim Chissano, former President of Mozambique. Chairman until 2003, Ruan supported the prize because he feels a second Green Revolution is necessary to prevent the possibility of future food crises. Today his son, John Ruan III, serves as chairman.

The Prize recipients, hailing from locations all over the world, have contributed a range of research and advancements in agriculture and the fight against global hunger. The World Food Prize also holds an International Symposium and a Global Youth Institute each October – this year it will run from October 14 through 16 and the focus is “Food, Agriculture, and National Security in a Globalized World.” Recently renamed “The Borlaug Dialogue,” the symposium fosters a discussion on world hunger and related issues. It brings more than 700 people from 60-plus countries to Des Moines each fall for what organizers call “the most significant observance of World Food Day anywhere around the globe.” They talk about topics like the threat of agro-terrorism, the impending global water crisis, the worldwide challenges of obesity and malnutrition, and the impact of biofuels.

There is, of course, a flip side to the coin and to tell you the truth, food and population are surprisingly political. First there are the age-old Malthusian Theorists who believe population overgrowth will perpetually get “righted” by famine and epidemics. In 1798, Thoman Malthus published “An Essay on the Principle of Population” describing his theory. He made two main points that supposedly proved his assessment: “First, that food is necessary to the existence of man. Secondly, that the passion between the sexes is necessary and will remain nearly in its present state… I say, that the power of population is indefinitely greater than the power in the earth to produce subsistence for man.” Basically, our population would outgrow our resources and widespread mortality was a necessary evil.

Borlaug battled this theory, and seemingly won, at least for now. According to a June 2009 National Geographic Magazine article, “The Global Food Crisis: The End of Plenty,” by Joel K. Bourne, Jr., the benefits of the Green Revolution in terms of production alone are hard to deny. “India hasn’t experienced famine since Borlaug brought his seeds to town,” it says, “while world grain production has more than doubled. Some scientists credit increased rice yields along with the existence of 700 million more people on the planet.”
Whether this is a good or bad thing is highly debated. But what could Borlaug do? Just let a nation starve?

“I have never experienced nor witnessed severe hunger or starvation, but I suspect those that have come away with a dedication to finding a way to stop it and prevent it from reoccurring,” Stevenson says. “Norm admits that it will take more than just increased food production to feed the growing population, it will also require educating people about population growth.”

Next, there are, of course, problems with the Green Revolution that – like so many things – are clearly viewed in hindsight. In the 80s Borlaug was met by a borage of criticism: pesticides, it seemed, were a probable cause of cancer, fertilizer was far from the natural, organic way that was taking the Western world by storm, and irrigation systems were expensive, impractical, and damaging to the land of these developing countries the new technologies were supposedly benefiting. And while Borlaug has been known to admit that some of these things, specifically pesticides, could be harmful, it never trumps the immediate need to eat.

“Some of the environmental lobbyists of the Western nations are the salt of the earth, but many of them are elitists,” Borlaug says in a 2000 interview with Reason Magazine. “They’ve never experienced the physical sensation of hunger. They do their lobbying from comfortable office suites in Washington or Brussels. If they lived just one month amid the misery of the world, as I have for 50 years, they’d be crying out for tractors and fertilizer and irrigation canals and be outraged that fashionable elitists back home were trying to deny them these things.”

Even pesticides, he says in the same interview, get a bad rap. “All serious agronomists know that pesticides must be kept to a minimum, and besides, pesticides are expensive. But somehow the media believe the overspraying is still going on, and thus creates a bias against high-yield agriculture.”

This statement is hard, no pun intended, for the wave of organic-lovers to swallow. Ironically, the term “green” today refers to organic, sustainable, eco-friendly habits. Even Decorah is hosting a “green” festival this August called “Dig IN: the Decorah Iowa Green INititiative.” My own clean plate last night consisted of a frittata with local eggs, a salad with greens from our CSA (Community Supported Agriculture), and grass-fed bacon from our friends’ organic farm, Grass Run. And it was good. Plus we enjoy supporting our neighbors and feel healthier, personally, when we eat organic and local food.

But not everyone in the world can have access to this luxury. In an opinion piece for the Wall Street Journal published July 30, 2009, Borlaug writes: “Even here at home, some elements of popular culture romanticize older, inefficient production methods and shun fertilizers and pesticides, arguing that the U.S. should revert to producing only local organic food. People should be able to purchase organic food if they have the will and financial means to do so, but not at the expense of the worlds’ hungry – 25,000 of whom die each day from malnutrition.”

With the population estimated to lurch upwards of 9 billion by 2030, scientists are predicting the need for another Green Revolution to meet the requirements this will produce: reportedly double the current food production. Organic, Borlaug says, is simply not practical for everyone.

But just maybe this new green revolution could be a hybrid itself. Perhaps there is room in the world to both feed the hungry and educate them on population control and healthy farming practices. We need to find solutions to get us to the next moment and solutions to get us to the next generation. The goal: staying alive while also having a good quality of life. But no matter what, there needs to be something in the bellies of the world’s people.

“Of history, one thing is certain: Civilization as we know it could not have evolved, nor can it survive, without an adequate food supply,” Borlaug writes.

No one would have thought that one man could feed a billion people, so who knows what the next generation of thinkers, scientists and farmers will bring. A Borlaug of the new era? In an Iowa Public Television program, the determined father of the Green Revolution encourages the masses to try.
“Too many people are satisfied with mediocrity,” he says. “They never try to attain their maximum potential. They don’t reach for the stars. If they did, there would be more people with stardust on their hands.”

Aryn Henning Nichols learned a lot about food and farming in the research of this story. It honestly made her head hurt more than a little bit, and led to many an interesting conversation/debate in the Inspire(d) headquarters kitchen.

See Borlaug’s hometown in person!
The 2nd Annual Norman Borlaug Harvest Festival
Parade, boyhood home tours, live music and more
Cresco, Iowa
September 25-27
Learn more about Norman Borlaug at www.normanborlaug.org

By Lauren Kraus
Printed in the October/November 2008 edition of Inspire(d)

This is the fourth in a series of articles that serves as a tribute and tutorial of the amazing hiking, biking, and walking trails in the Driftless Area, a region in the Midwest lacking “glacial drift.” By escaping the glacier’s path in the most recent Ice Age, the Driftless Area was not flattened out like much of the Midwest. Thus, the trails and scenery are supreme.

Nature is second nature to me. I don’t even think twice about choosing between watching a movie and going for a hike or a run. Don’t get me wrong – who doesn’t love a good movie? – But, being outside keeps me ticking, brings me peace and makes me happy.

This is why I have delighted in getting out and exploring several areas of our region here in Northeast Iowa. This land is just awaiting adventurers to trod its trusty ground and relish in spectacular views. I sincerely hope you have enjoyed and gotten good use out of the trail suggestions I have brought to Inspire(d) during the spring and summer months, and check back in the spring for a continuation of the series.

Let us recap: we started off learning of this area’s unique natural landscape known as the “Driftless Area” – a region in the Upper Midwest lacking “glacial drift” and consequently being laden with deep river valleys, rolling bluffs and pronounced limestone outcroppings. First, romping around on Decorah’s awesome trails makes us realize how great this locale is. Next, we were wowed by the rugged variety offered at Pine Bluff 4-H camp and Coon Creek. In September, we went a little further and soaked in the lush Bear Creek and Pine Creek areas. I think Jerry Garcia and friends would agree, what a long, great trip it’s been.

As this year’s trail series wraps up and you snuggle into a comfy sweater in preparation for crisp fall days and cool evenings, keep hiking! When the snow greets us, pull out those skis and snowshoes! Keep taking solace in the beauty that encompasses Decorah and the surrounding region. The access to remote landscape is right out your backdoor and the abundance of rugged trails is great enough to write articles for years to come. You have got to love this area.

For this issue, we’re heading northwest of Decorah to two little hidden gems a fellow outdoor enthusiast recently introduced to me. A quick drive from Decorah makes Falcon Springs State Wildlife Area and Lionberger Environmental Preserve prime destinations for an afternoon stroll or a weekend hike-n-picnic outing. Whatever your mode, get out there soon to catch some enchanting fall color and an escape from the daily grind.

Falcon Springs State Wildlife Area:

This patch of land is diverse in its thick forests and open cornfields. I was amazed at the variety of trees in such a small space. Aspens (my personal favorite), sumacs and white pines provide ample forest to trek through and explore. After parking, head down a two-track road that winds down and up through an open corn field and leads to thick forest. A small loop on this road takes you around the wooded area. If you’re feeling really adventurous, take a detour on one of several deer trails that run through the forest. Hike in the direction of the white pines and you’ll find yourself in a very cool area to explore. This would also be a perfect place to try out some new snowshoes. To check out Falcon Springs: drive west on Pole Line Road about 4 miles and look to the right-hand side or the north. There is a small gravel parking area with a state wildlife area sign. Have fun.

http://www.stateparks.com/falcon_springs.html

Lionberger Environmental Preserve:

This beautiful chunk of land is located right before or just east of Falcon Springs four miles out on Pole Line Road and is owned by Luther College. Two cool forests for one easy drive. After parking on the left side of the road, you’ll start by descending a large hill leading into a deep valley. This valley opens up to lots of trails heading in every direction and ready for thorough discovery. Thick woods make it easy to get lost in thought in this rugged forest. Put on your boots and hit the trails!

Lauren Kraus loves the quiver of aspens in the wind and the sound of leaves crunching and bats chirping as they flutter around her apartment when they squeeze in for some fun. Ok, the bat part is a lie. Thank goodness for brave mavericks who kindly take them outside.

By Lauren Kraus

Printed in the September 2008 edition of Inspire(d)

This is the third in a series of articles that serves as a tribute and tutorial of the amazing hiking, biking, and walking trails in the Driftless Area, a region in the Midwest lacking “glacial drift.” By escaping the glacier’s path in the most recent Ice Age, the Driftless Area was not flattened out like much of the Midwest. Thus, the trails and scenery are supreme.

September has arrived and I can hardly believe it. After the commotion of the June (08) flooding in Decorah, I hope the summer brought relaxation and rejuvenation for everyone. I spent a good portion of my summer traveling to different stretches of the country including Utah’s Lake Powell. This man-made reservoir sits at the bottom of a tall, expansive canyon with several narrow fingers jetting off taking a boater or canoeist deep into sandstone crevasses. After days of dry heat, blue water and red rock, my return to the green Decorah landscape was intoxicating. The dense, lush wooded sprawls never cease to amaze me.

As summer slowly transitions into autumn and temperatures fall, the time to get out and hike, walk, bike, or run in the woods is prime and precious. Heading north of Decorah toward Highlandville offers a couple of tremendous treks I strongly suggest hitting up on a free Saturday or even one evening after dinner. Also, keep these places and the other areas I have written about in mind as the winter rolls in for some great snowshoeing and cross country skiing opportunities.

South and North Bear Creek Public Access Area:

South Bear Creek offers a gentle, winding creek side path with incredible rock formations along the water to view. Who knew there were such rocks in this area? This path is a bit shorter in length and stays near the road for easy access.

North Bear Creek is a rugged two-track road with creek crossings and good fishing. Expect some good backwoods running or walking for a potential seven miles total out and back. The water is higher now, so take caution when tromping through the creek (wear shoes that can get wet and muddy).

To reach these beautiful spots, head north on Locust Road leaving Decorah. Take a right on Big Canoe Road then a left on Highlandville Road heading toward the town. Go right on Quandahl Road in Highlandville. South Bear Creek is accessible by any of the three parking areas on the right hand side that you’ll hit soon after you have turned onto Quandahl Road. Continue on Quandahl for roughly three miles to reach North Bear Creek. A parking area will be on the left hand side of the road before a bridge. (Cross the bridge and head a bit further to get to the home of yummy Bear Creek Honey or the Bear Creek Inn.)

Pine Creek Wildlife Management Area:

Pine Creek is a rugged, thick hillside with awesome wildflowers. Hiking here is less guided by any paths and more rough country tromping – more adventurous if you ask me. Wear long pants and you’ll be set. Approaching the area, you will start in a field with the bluff on your right side. Walk in a bit until you see a clearing on the hillside. It is at this point where you can access an old, two-track road that is pretty overgrown. (This is why it’s bushwhacking-hiking.) Put on your safari hat and have some fun. Definitely remember this spot for some killer snowshoeing.

To access Pine Creek, head north on Locust Road leaving Decorah. Take a right on Big Canoe Road and continue on until the pavement ends, gravel begins. Take a right on Balsam Road, go down a large hill. Before you cross a bridge, you’ll see a parking area on the right and a sign that reads “Pine Creek Wildlife Management Area.” Enjoy.

Lauren Kraus, Colorado native and lover of Decorah, spent the summer jet setting and definitely seeing some sweet sights. Three travel highlights include: cliff jumping in Lake Powell, sleeping under the Montana night (big) sky and hiking amongst the glaciers and ripe blackberries in the Cascade Mountains of Washington.

By Lauren Kraus
Printed in the June 2008 edition of Inspire(d)

This is the second in a series of articles that serves as a tribute and tutorial of the amazing hiking, biking, and walking trails in the Driftless Area, a region in the Midwest lacking “glacial drift.” By escaping the glacier’s path in the most recent Ice Age, the Driftless Area was not flattened out like much of the Midwest. Thus, the trails and scenery are supreme.

The time is better than ever: the weather is inviting and the rugged Driftless Area landscape offers much more beyond the city limits of Decorah. I hope you got a chance to check out a couple, or all, of the tremendous trails accessible in Decorah that I highlighted in the May issue of Inspire(d). Isn’t this town packed with great get-away spots right out our backdoors?

This month my focus has moved north of Decorah a bit to thoroughly explored two phenomenal areas that I insist you take an afternoon, an evening or a Saturday to tromp around. You will leave tuckered out and energized all at once as these prime wilderness spots offer a variety of terrain and way more beauty than Iowa is stereotypically deemed to have. Enjoy.

Pine Bluff 4-H Camp:

This densely forested area chock full of Black Oak and Basswood, White Ash and Hackberry isn’t just for 4-H campers. An easy 15-minute drive from Decorah promises lush landscape, a very cool swinging bridge rebuilt in 1994 after a flood and a supposed magic tree. Although I never came across this “magic tree,” I was in awe of the mixed woodlands that the rolling trail traveled through. Next to the swinging bridge, my favorite part of the 115 acres is the thick groves of White Pines that will surely leave you feeling like a five year old on a playground. Bring a good book or a picnic lunch as friendly wooden benches line parts of the trail. To get to this little refuge, take a left of Hwy 9 on to Trout Run Road, a right on River Road and head toward the Oneota Country Club through Freeport.  After driving a little bit and crossing three bridges, you will see the entrance to Pine Bluff on the right side of the road.

www.cs.luther.edu/~winnco/pinebluff/index.html#

Coon Creek:

An amazing area of Iowa DNR land, Coon Creek could suck you in for days. I have entered the space from two different points and am sure there are several other ways to tap into this hiking haven. The Coon Creek winds through an incredible rolling plot of thick forest, compressed limestone and farm patches. A thin tire-track road treks back, over and deeply into this countryside providing virtually endless access to more natural wonder. Go see for yourself:

Southwest side- left on Trout Run Road, right on River Road heading toward Oneota Country Club through Freeport. Pass by Pine Bluff 4-H Camp and go right on 143rd. After crossing a bridge, take a left on Coon Creek Road. Beware of a black and white dog that likes to chase cars. Soon enough you’ll notice a small parking space on the left side of the road. If you miss this one, there is yet another parking area about a half mile up the road. Have fun.

Northern side- go north on Locust Road, take a right on Canoe Ridge Road or A38. Stay on Canoe Ridge and you’ll pass two white churches, Canoe German Methodist and Canoe Ridge Lutheran. After the second church, veer left on Lundy Bridge Road. Take this road for a bit and you’ll start heading down into a valley. Stay right on Lundy Bridge Road until you reach a rusty, one lane bridge. Cross the bridge and park. The trail begins on a small path above the bridge. And have fun… you’re outta town!

Lauren Kraus loves her family and friends, is stoked about the transition into warmer weather, and was most definitely a mountain goat in a previous life. This is evidenced by her need for climbing steep surfaces and maybe a correlation to her frequent cravings for chèvre. Goats don’t ride bicycles though.

By Lauren Kraus
Printed in the May 2008 edition of Inspire(d)

Spring is here and you should be too! The squeals of kids playing ice hockey on Decorah’s flooded and frozen 5th Avenue basketball courts have been replaced by chirping birds eagerly greeting the day ahead. Mammoth mounds of snow have disappeared. The Whippy Dip is open. Daylight is staying with us longer and the many miles of trails that weave in and out of the area’s wooded bluffs are beckoning for exploration. This is the first in a series of articles that serves as a tribute and tutorial of our regions amazing hiking, biking, and walking trails.

We folks in Winneshiek County are lucky for several reasons. One, the Oneota Valley is located within the Driftless Area, a region in the Midwest lacking “glacial drift.” By escaping the glacier’s path in the most recent Ice Age, the Driftless Area was not flattened out like much of Iowa. I often have to remind my Colorado friends and family that I am not living in a giant, flat cornfield, say, like most of Nebraska, but rather am surrounded by deep river valleys, rolling bluffs and pronounced limestone outcroppings that are characteristic of this region.

The fine people behind Decorah Human Powered Trails and Decorah Parks and Recreation deserve praise for helping us take advantage of this geological luck. These two groups are concurrently pushing forward, and with the help of a myriad of volunteers, numerous trails have been constructed and secured since 1991. While talking with Deke Gosen of Oneota River Cycles in Decorah, I was thoroughly impressed with the evolution and documentation of the trails right in or near town. Gosen explained that, in the 80s specifically, only a limited amount of the Ice Cave trails existed. The year 1981 saw the birth of bicycles equipped with fatter tires to ride on terrain more technical than a road. Decorah led the state of Iowa in hosting the first mountain bike race on its (then few) backwoods trails. The rest is pretty much history… and some good organization, solid dedication and mindful trail building.

The current 15 miles of trails are truly something to be proud of. They form a foundation of outdoor life in Decorah that has caught the attention of people from all over the country.

“The incredible variety of trails in Decorah and the ability to totally lose yourself once you’re out there is awesome! The trails keep my running exciting and challenging,” says Yarrow Pasche, Luther College cross country and distance track coach from Bellingham, Washington.

Jesse Reyerson, biking enthusiast and secretary for Decorah Human Powered Trails, says on his website (www.bikedecorah.com), “The biking in Decorah, Iowa, is some of the best in the Midwest. From our gravel and road rides to our miles of singletrack, you’ll have a hard time finding the challenges and fun that our trails offer anywhere else.”

I have to completely agree with these two. While growing up in Denver, Colorado presented an exciting childhood full of all the hiking and skiing I could handle, a vehicle is a vital component in mountain access. The extensive and wide-ranging trails in Decorah are available right out our backdoor. The town is literally bordered by great trails of all sorts and sizes. Throughout my time as a Luther College student and runner, I explored them with utter excitement and awe. I continue to discover more and more accessibility to the peaceful stillness that awaits us in the woods. So, whether you’re clipping into a mountain bike, throwing on some hiking boots or tying a pair of running shoes, get out on those phenomenal trails for front-row access to budding trees, grazing wildlife, and riverside views.

To the trails
If you’re feeling like cruising through a natural-grass prairie while watching the sunset or hurdling fallen trees and large rocks in some rugged woods, we’ve got it all here. Check out the sidebar for a complete listing of trail recommendations.

A few of my favorites are: Twin Springs Park, Upper Ice Cave Hill in Dunning’s Spring Park and Van Peenen Park. All three offer a mix of jagged rock and mud trails that snake though the heavily wooded bluffs, the trickling of natural spring water never far away.

Twin Springs Park
Twin Springs Park is tucked on the west side of Highway 52 past Twin Springs Campground off a road of the same name. You can get there several ways – walk, bike or run from town off the Oneota Trail (Dug Road) below Phelps Park and head west past the campground and under Highway 52. Cross a single-lane bridge and you’re in the middle of the lush foliage and crystal clear water that is Twin Springs. Once you forget about the great grilling smell from the campground, you may almost think you’re on the set of Lord of the Rings – but pinch yourself – you’re still in Decorah. Hop on the trail parallel to the stream and continue west. Eventually you will come to the base of a bluff and have to head up. This portion of the trail is a loop and is roughly three-fourths of a mile in length. You’ll be happy you made the trip and may even work up an appetite to do some of your own grilling later.

Dunning’s Spring Park
If you’re familiar with Decorah, you’re probably familiar with Dunning’s Spring. Perhaps you’ve enjoyed a picnic there or climbed the wooden stairs leading to the top of the waterfall to see the natural spring’s source. But did you know that there are several trails in the woods above the legendary spring? Finish that peanut butter and jelly and go east of the waterfall to the trailhead. From that point, you’ll begin on a very steep path that eventually leads to an awesome viewpoint of downtown Decorah. Keep heading up and you’ll find yourself in a wooded area on top of the bluff, east of Dunning’s Spring. These trails form a series of loops that wind through pine groves and other native trees and provide perfect opportunities to spot deer, hawks, bald eagles and other animal friends. On the opposite end or east side of the bluff, there are exit trails marked #36 and 37 that let out onto Ice Cave Road. If you don’t feel like stopping here, head down the north side of Ice Cave Hill on Randy’s Trail or Backside Trail and find yourself in Van Peenen Park.

Van Peenen
In my opinion, the Van Peenen trails are the most astounding of them all. I get giddy every time I’m up there. You can access Van Peenen from the backside of Ice Cave Hill, near the intersection of Quarry and Ice Cave Roads or further up on the Quarry Road. If you’re ready to jump right into what Van Peenen has to offer, I recommend starting on the south side either from Ice Cave Hill or off of Quarry Road. Get on the trail marked #1, stay right and you will eventually be led into what the biking community calls “Death Valley.” It’s the valley between the Ice Cave Hill bluff and the bluff Van Peenen is situated on. From here, the only way to go is up. Hang a sharp right in Death Valley on a trail marked #3 that skirts around the bluff and is a little bit more gradual in elevation gain. You’ll cross two wooden bridges and notice a small spring to your left. Continuing up the hillside, pay attention to the trees above as I’ve spotted a large Barn Owl as well as several hawks on that trail. Back in Death Valley, if you take the other right turn at #23, you’ll find yourself on Fred Trail, a pretty direct ascent up the side of the bluff. With either route, you’ll be led to the main set of trails that make up the Van Peenen system.

On top, you will be off the jagged, wooded trails and into a rolling mix of open prairie and deep pine sections. Pines West and Pines East are beautiful pine groves that Decorah Parks and Recreation planted nearly 20 years ago. Now, they have grown enough to walk, run, or bike through the thick of them on a soft, narrow, winding trail covered in pine needles. At this point, sometimes I forget I’m still in Iowa, as it smells just like a pine forest in Colorado. From the Pines, you can continue north down the other side of the bluff onto the Dust Bowl Trail that eventually leads to the exit on Quarry Road. I promise, a thorough exploration of Van Peenen is well worth a Saturday afternoon.

So get out there! May is here and summer is just around the bend. Later sunsets leave plenty of time to get off the pavement, get dirty and check out the terrific trails I’ve mentioned here. Let us know which one is your favorite. And check back next month as I head north of Decorah to explore some other trails…

Lauren Kraus loves her family and friends, is stoked about the transition into warmer weather, and was most definitely a mountain goat in a previous life. This is evidenced by her need for climbing steep surfaces and maybe a correlation to her frequent cravings for chèvre. Goats don’t ride bicycles though.

Here are some details on other great Decorah trails:

College Ridge Trail: two miles of several loops of wide, grassy, rolling trails through beautiful pine area. Bring a picnic and enjoy the great view from the top. Access off of Pole Line Rd. west of Highway 52

Decorah City Prairie: two miles of awesome, flat, wide trail that winds through natural prairie grass alongside the Upper Iowa river. Access it from Ohio Street and make sure to check out the old oak tree.

Luther’s Cross Country course: a great two-mile loop on Luther’s lower campus. Walk over the dike toward Highway 52 into Gateway Prairie. Another flat, soft prairie trail to extend your mileage while you’re out on the course.

Van Peenen Park: see article for description and directions.

Upper Ice Cave Hill: see article for description and directions.

Lower Ice Cave or River Trail: an awesome, rugged trail that runs next to the river off of
Ice Cave Road. Check out the newest additions adding great variety to the trail. About _ mile in length.

Palisades Park: There is something for everyone here! Continue west on Ice Cave Road until you hit the gravel. Head up on the paved road or stay low on the gravel road. Either grants access to the great trail system that meanders through Palisades Park. Hilly, wooded and beautiful views of Decorah.

Oneota Drive Rec. Trail or Dug Road: paved path that provides a great look at what Decorah offers- limestone bluffs alongside the Upper Iowa River. Access on the west end off Hwy 52 on Oneota Drive or at the west end of Main St. (Dug Road portion closed until further notice due to large cracks in the trail.)
Twin Springs Park: see article for description and directions.

Other trails to check out:
Anderson Prairie and the Hickory Ridge Trails: located next to Luther’s Baker Village and across from the Decorah Pool, Anderson Prairie leads up to the trees where you can access the secluded Hickory Ridge trail system. Great for an evening stroll in the woods.

Upper Phelps Park Trail: Access from Phelps Park off of Upper Broadway. The wooded trail leads you west of the Park along the ridgeline and offers an awesome view of the river and town. Come up the backside near Twin Springs Campground. Cross the “Cut” and take a right up the hill to the trailhead.

Pulpit Rock: At Will Baker Park located on Pulpit Rock Rd., head up on the trail. Take a break at the awesome lookout spot and then continue onto a great trail system that borders the ridge of the bluff. Beautiful place to watch the sunrise!

Sites worth mentioning:
www.oneotarivercycles.com
www.bikedecorah.com
decorahbicycles.com
www.canoedecorah.com
www.decoraharea.com
www.decorahia.org