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The two women straddling bicycles were dressed in matching green shorts and button-down beige shirts.
"Do you notice that we're dressed kind of funny?" asked Ann Sarnecki, one of the guides who would be taking my family on a bicycle tour along the Mississippi River.
"Yeah," said my two boys. Duh.
"What do you think we are?" she asked.
"Scouts?"
"Good guess," said Sarnecki. "But we're National Park Service rangers. Have any of you ever been to a national park?"
The kids tossed out a few examples — Voyageurs National Park, Mount Rushmore.
"Well, then you know that national parks are special places," said Sarnecki. "Do you think the Mississippi River is a special place?"
The children thought this was a trick question. Clearly, the river is no big deal in their eyes, just something Mom drives over to get to Minneapolis.
"Kind of ..." my 7-year-old finally conceded.
As we discovered over the next several hours, the Mississippi River is, indeed, a special place. So special the 72-mile stretch that flows through the Twin Cities has been designated as the Mississippi National River and Recreation Area.
It is the only part of the river from its source at Lake Itasca to its mouth in New Orleans with a major waterfall and a true river gorge. It is the flyway for 40 percent of North American migratory waterfowl.
To get people better acquainted with its wonders, park rangers are leading free bicycle tours along its bluffs
"We want to help people explore the Mississippi River in a way that's fun and healthy," said Sarnecki.
BLUFFS AND BIRDS
I showed up for the first ride of the summer at Hidden Falls Regional Park with my two sons, ages 9 and 7, and my 3-year-old daughter in a bicycle trailer. My friend brought her 7-year-old
After a short safety talk (nothing beats an adult in a uniform reinforcing the rules of the road), we started pedaling downstream on a path next to the river through a tunnel of dappled shade. Clouds of cottonwood seed billowed in front of us.
"It's snowing," shouted the 3-year-old from the bike trailer. "It's a fluffy day!"
Just after we passed under Minnesota 5, we made our first stop at the foot of a bluff by the entrance of Watergate Marina. A cave carved into the soft sandstone had once stored boats during the winter, but it was boarded up.
"How many different kinds of rock do you see?" asked Sarnecki, pointing to the sheer face of eroded rock. We picked out three layers — thin limestone and shale, supported
"If you were here 10,000 years ago, you would be under water," Sarnecki explained. A massive river fed by melting glaciers carved out the floodplain between the bluffs and then cascaded over a huge waterfall near what is now downtown St. Paul.
Over time, the waterfall eroded the soft underlayers of sandstone and receded upstream until it was stabilized under a concrete cap at St. Anthony Falls near what became downtown Minneapolis.
The kids picked up handfuls of yellow sand that had washed down off the bluff and let it dribble through their fingers. Then, we hopped back on our bikes and kept pedaling through Crosby Farm Regional Park.
I had worried my 7-year-old would find the ride too difficult, but he easily kept up.
We heard the laughing call of a pileated woodpecker and spotted its red crest peeking out of the hole in a dead tree. I would have missed it if the rangers hadn't pointed it out. Later, we saw a blue heron flying overhead.
Our trail led us between Crosby Lake and the river and across a bumpy boardwalk. As we approached the Interstate 35E bridge, we climbed out of the floodplain forest and back to civilization.
On other rides, Sarnecki has taken people on a loop over the I-35E bridge and back along the bluff-top Big Rivers Regional Trail on the south side of the river, over the Mendota Bridge through Fort Snelling and then back over Minnesota 5 to St. Paul.
SWEEPING VIEWS
This time, she opted to
We stopped again at an overlook near Gannon Road and gazed out onto a sweeping view of Fort Snelling, Pike Island and the confluence of the Mississippi and Minnesota rivers.
To the Mdewakanton Dakotah people, Sarnecki explained, this place has had deep spiritual meaning. They called the joining of the two rivers Bdote Minisota.
Back on our bikes, we continued up Mississippi River Boulevard to the Ford Motor Co.'s plant and a small sign that marked a trail leading down to Hidden Falls.
Here, Sarnecki guarded our bikes while ranger Amy Meissner led us on foot down stone steps installed by WPA workers during the 1930s. We entered a peaceful shaded glen where the aptly named Hidden Falls trickles from a concrete pipe into a series of cascading pools on its way to the Mississippi River.
The children skipped around on the rocks for a while. But by this time, we had biked nearly eight miles and were ready for the picnic lunch waiting for us back at the car.
"This is cool," said my 9-year-old son, as we climbed back to our bicycles. "I want to come back here when I'm more energetic."
Maja Beckstrom can be reached at 651-228-5295.
THE SCOOP
What: Bicycle rides along the Mississippi River led by National Park Service rangers
Where: Hidden Falls Regional Park, St. Paul, and Philips Community Center, 2323 11th Ave. S., Minneapolis.
Information: 651-293-0200 or nps.gov/miss
Hours: 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Thursdays through September (starting points alternate)
Cost: Free
Target audience: Adults and children able to ride for 8 to 15 miles at a leisurely pace with plenty of stops.
Crowd pleaser: Pedaling through tree-lined tunnels far from traffic and seeing a pileated woodpecker.
Avoid: Getting lost. Find detailed maps and descriptions in the Mississippi River Trail Guide under the "plan your visit" section of the Web site.
Tip: The National Park Service has 10 teen/adult-sized bikes and helmets available to use free of charge on Thursday rides only. First come, first served.
Other rides: Rangers also lead rides at 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, departing from various parks along the river. The July 11 ride departs from Minnehaha Regional Park and takes a 14-mile route circling the confluence of the Mississippi and Minnesota rivers. The shorter July 18 ride leaves Harriet Island Regional Park and travels upriver and back on an 8 1/2-mile loop. Saturday rides are limited to 20 people, and registration is required.
