Hayes Lake State Park
It has been almost a year since I left my home in woods for a new one on the plains. I won't lie and say it was an easy choice, but it is one that has been made and it's better to look forward than back. Now the White Pines have been replaced by fields of wheat and soybeans. Country churches and grain elevators dot the horizon where panoramic sunsets can expand unhindered by landscape. Though quiet and beautiful in a structured way, things feel distinctly foreign here. Now what can I do but put in a both feet effort to find a piece that fits? Step one is finding nature, because it's out there, hiding between sugar beet fields. That determination brought me and a visiting friend from back home on a camping excursion to a little known state park, Hayes Lake. If you're wondering where it is, just drive north where the soybean fields meet state forest. Just before you hit the border you'll find a patch of woods welcoming you to camp and explore. A year ago I lived