“You can’t understand someone until you’ve walked a mile in their shoes.” The person who first uttered this American saying is lost to history, but I think it not only applies to people, but in a way, to the place we live. Let me explain.
Hosting a recent Dakota Life episode from Newton Hills State Park reminded of how much I take that area for granted. I drive by frequently but there is a completely different point of view when I stop and take a look around.
The rolling hills along the Sioux River south of Canton is a picturesque drive. But if you get out of the car in Newton Hills park, the hiking trails will take you up and down the hills and along the valleys to quiet wooded canopies and hidden pastures. It’s the park system’s goal to provide you the access, but with your initiative, the hike will change your point of view.
More than once when my daughter’s family has visited from Florida, we’ve made a walk in Newton Hills or Good Earth Park east of Sioux Falls, an “activity of the day”. We are never far down the trail when the park atmosphere leads to family conversation. Part of that may be lack of TV or mobile device noise in the background, but it’s a good trade for a few hours together. For me, it’s the same when I walked in Union Grove, Sica Hollow, and Adams Nature Area.
I’ve visited the hills enough to try to take time and find the roads less traveled. The area around Deer Field Lake and the deep wooded areas west of Cheyenne Crossing, I love the sound of the wind through the lodge pole pines. But riding the Mickelson trail on my bicycle was a revelation. Even along the more accessible areas of the trail between Hill City to Custer, just getting a few hundred yards of the highway was like being transported to another world. Even the view of the open prairie south of Custer to Edgemont takes on a unique scene when you get away from the sound of vehicles on the highway. The pine and aspen forest north of Hill City to Rochford, and high pasture to Dumont are landscapes you will appreciate if you get out of the car or four by four.
It is a matter of point view and is worth walking a mile in your own shoes.