Thunderhead over Stone Park

Thunderheads over Stone Park have been a common occurence this summer. Heavy rains result in more picnics being washed out and more time spent mowing grass. Stone Park has faired much better than other state parks in Iowa. Several parks have experienced flooding and closing of facilities. We have had only minor trail washouts and a few fallen limbs.

A few of our staff helped out recently at Gull Point State Park. Gull Point is located on Okoboji where numerous trees were damaged from a sudden storm.

Today at Stone Park

While waiting for the grass to dry this morning for mowing, I snapped some pictures at the park. The prairie grass is getting awfully tall!

There are still plenty of flowers blooming, too.

Unfortunately, a storm blew in around noon, putting photos (and mowing) on hold...

Pleased to Meet You!

This is Bethany here; I'm interning this summer here at Stone State Park! I just finished my junior year at the University of Iowa, majoring in Geoscience and International Studies. I've been working at the park since June and have enjoyed getting to know the land. I'm fascinated by the earth sciences, and love hiking, running & traveling. Although I grew up in Connecticut, my mother is from Hinton, so I've been visiting Stone Park since I was a child. This past fall semester, I was able to came home from school to run in the Broken Toe Trail Run; I even won my age group! (full disclosure: I may have been the only runner in my age group...) I'm excited to have the opportunity to give back a little to the park!
I volunteered this past Spring Break at Hitchcock Nature Center in Honey Creek, Iowa. I was able to learn about their efforts to restore native prairie and even got to spend some time clearing hillsides, even though it was still quite frosty out! It was a wonderful experience, and Mr. Redmond (who helped guide the trip) recommended that I intern at Stone Park this summer. I'm glad I took his suggestion! I look forward to learning more about the park and lending a hand in caring for the land.
Pleased to meet you all!
Bethany M.