The Redbuds are Blooming!
Several years ago I came across a magazine article with photos of a beautiful park. The photo that captured my attention was of a paved road with a slight curve, lined by brilliant purplish-pink redbud trees. I had fallen in love with this species of tree while working at a garden center and had never seen so many in one place. Often times you see one or two incorporated into the landscape of someone’s property, usually up closer to the home, but at this park, they looked to have taken over the understory of the woods that ran on either side of the parks main road.
Sometimes we see a thing in a magazine, with beautiful photos taken by expert photographers but then the reality turns out to be…a disappointment. I wondered if that would be the case when I decided to pay a visit to this storybook park.
Red Haw State Park is located just southeast of Chariton, Iowa and approximately 56 miles from my home. On a late spring day, knowing I was too late for the redbud show, I really was not expecting much. What I found however was a gorgeous park, with lovely trails and a beautiful lake. A storm was brewing and I captured a few photos of the dark ominous clouds hanging low over the water and then high tailed it home before the skies erupted, with a promise to myself to return earlier the next spring in hopes of seeing what I had seen in that magazine photo.
I’m not always great at remembering to follow through on promises, to myself, like this, but the impression of Red Haw stayed with me and the following spring, in late April, I found myself standing where I imagined the photographer from the article I had read, must have stood. I was in complete awe. It looked like something straight out of a fairy tale in the morning light. The rich color of the redbud trees was set off by the brilliant chartreuse of early spring leafing from the surrounding vegetation. It was ethereal…magical…and almost impossible to stop staring at.
Finally tearing myself away when I realized I had taken over a hundred photos and still had not explored any of the parks trails, I headed towards the parks lodge which turned out to be occupied by a wedding party. While nothing was quite as magical as that little curve in the road, I soon found myself deep into a well-worn trail running just alongside the lake, the redbuds still a striking feature, lighting up the edge of the water bank or calling to me from the surrounding woods. When I finally emerged from my delightful walk, I drove back towards the entrance and parked just on the other side of the lake beneath large redbud to eat lunch and enjoyed watching a group of orioles flitting here and there. A perfect end to an amazing day at Red Haw.
While I love visiting this little slice of heaven in the spring, it’s still offers beauty and opportunities to explore all year long. With four miles of easy to walk trails, boat ramp access and a beach, it’s the perfect spot to spend a day outdoors. If you are interested in catching the redbuds, I was just there this past week (4/5/24) and the buds were just beginning to bloom. So make your plans to visit within the next couple of weeks to catch them in all their glory.
Photos:
All photos were taken at Red Haw State Park on May 3, 2023.
