Teri Stickler, Outdoor Blogger
As we begin the New Year, it is time to return to an old friend and savor the silence of winter. Have you visited Blackhawk State Historic Site lately? Ever? For native Quad Citizens, it’s easy to take for granted as one of the oldest and familiar parks in our area.
Located at 1800 46th Ave, Rock Island, this treasure was once home to the Sauk and Meskwaki (Fox) Native American tribes. The park’s well-worn trails not only will take you back in time but even a 2025 New Year hike provides small surprises on every visit.
To learn some history within the park, The John Hauburg Museum itself is a treasure and located right in Watch Hill Lodge. The museum’s exhibits and dioramas bring to life, the ways of native living to the thousands who called this bluff home about 1730.
When hiking, it’s not hard to imagine the beauty of a tribal native’s way of life. The park is beautifully silent. The absence of leaves, the lack of a canopy of protection and, a bite in the winter and the gurgle of the Rock River, both invigorates and alerts the senses and calms the mind.
Encompassing over 215 acres, two separate areas offer well-maintained and posted hiking trails. The River Trail does have some steepness to it, and you’ll encounter some stairs to navigate. Kaia and I are usually drawn to the Woodland Trails. One reason for our choice is because in the past two years, Kaia has had two knee surgeries!
She tore her Cranial Cruciate Ligament, (CCL) in each of her back legs. (In humans, that would be our ACL.) After Kaia’s Tibial Plateau Leveling Osteotomy (TPLO) surgery, she was restricted to minimal walks, just outside and back and on a leash.
No jumping, and no stairs, for a minimum of eight weeks. Each of her surgeries was a success. One can anticipate 95% back to normal after a TPLO surgery, and she is back to being able to do most anything she could do prior to her injuries. Out of caution, however, I still choose fewer staircases for her when we go for our hikes and as always, Blackhawk Park delivers.
The Woodland Trails are well marked. Meander as much time as you want. We traverse as many of the trails as we can, all with the goal to be able to stay as long as possible. There are a few benches along some of the paths and some nice walking bridges. Pausing on one of these bridges is a good spot to blend into the environment. As everything grows quiet, there is an excellent possibility to glimpse a variety of winter-hardy birds such as Chickadees, Cardinals, or maybe even catch sight of a resident deer.
No ephemeral wildflowers here today. In fact, first impressions, not much happening here today. No one out hiking. No wildflowers. No butterflies. But let’s back up. To be truthful, there’s way more than “nothing” happening here today and having it all to myself. Ok, not actually alone, but experiencing this in the quiet company of my best friend is just perfect.
I could be wrong, but I’d venture the winter is Kaia’s first choice as to when to get out and explore. It certainly speaks to her Samoyed roots!
When hiking, if you go slow enough, and we do, you’ll pick up on sounds normally missed. The squirrel busying about the forest floor in fallen leaves, then dashing up the nearest tree and to that carefully constructed nest — the nest that offers food storage, predator protection, and shelter from winter’s wind and cold. Nothing can venture about silently in today’s woods. Each dry and crinkled leaf announces every movement as the leaf-covered forest floor betrays the movements of even the smallest creature.
To savor these moments, Kaia encourages you to wear whatever keeps you warm and comfortable, then make time and take the trip to somewhere in the out-of-door places. Today, Kaia recommends you come to Blackhawk Park.
Deep in winter, the silence is golden, but frozen. Laugh if you must, but a nice pair of long-johns will keep you from running back to the car heater before the adventure even begins. Dress in layers. I most always wear hiking shoes or boots, and I try to have waterproof footwear. One of my favorite accessories is a neck gator. It keeps the drafts off my neck and can double as face protection.
Add a nice stocking cap and roomy gloves. The reason I say “roomy” is because I usually bring some handwarmers that fit nicely inside my gloves or can be removed and placed inside the pockets of my jacket.
Properly dressed, embrace the colder temperatures! Put on that extra layer and whether you have two paws or four, step out the door!
