While back in Moorhead this last weekend, we took some time to walk along the river. My sister owns a house near the river and so we decided after eating so much good Christmas food, we would try to walk a bit of it off.
The river isn't anything spectacular, but it was interesting to think about just how high the river has gotten the last few years with epic record breaking floods. We showed our relatives from California marks on the trees from high water as well as pointed off in the distance to the dikes. We explained to them how the owners will sandbag on top of those dikes to keep the water out.
As we hiked along the way, we were reminded that the river can be a treacherous place to walk as you can never really know how thick the ice is. A rock or tree just under the surface of the water might create an eddy that hinders the ice from forming as thick as the ice around it.
It was a relaxing trek, that allowed us to reflect on the history of the area and the beauty and destruction that the river brings.
I thought about the walk as I saw this video. It was recorded a few miles north of where we were walking, but was another reminder of the deception the river can hold.