Conservation Column: Getting Your Toes Wet

Something funny happens every time I drive across a bridge over a creek, a reflex I can’t control: For a split-second at highway speed, my neck snaps sideways, eager to catch a fleeting glimpse of the water below.

Why? Who knows. Maybe the busy traffic and beating highway heat makes me long to sit under shady trees with my toes playing amongst the cool water and minnows. Maybe my fishing pole feels more comfortable in my hand than a steering wheel. Maybe, as Wallace J. Nichols writes in the book “A Blue Mind,” our relationship with water goes back to the womb, bobbing weightlessly as we were nurtured by Mom. I can’t be certain of the drive, but I’m sure I’m not the only one.

June is my perfect month. That first kiss of summer heat, warm enough to swim, but usually before the summer in Southeast Missouri takes things just a little too far. In June, I spend every chance I get on the water. Kayaking or canoeing lakes and rivers; wading in my sandals casting for smallmouth in small, clear creeks; or, if relaxation is a full priority, simply sitting on the gravel, watching the ripples and clouds carry my stress away.

Southeast Missouri is rich with places to experience summer water, no matter your ability. The Missouri Department of Conservation provides wheelchair-accessible fishing — or relaxing — piers at Tywappity Community Lake, Duck Creek Conservation Area Pool 1, Perry County Community Lake and Lake Girardeau Conservation Area, among others.

Those able to manage uneven terrain will enjoy a walk down to Whitewater Creek at Old Plantation Access near Millersville, or to the Castor River at Marquand Access and Amidon Memorial Conservation Area. If you’d like some guidance, Cape Girardeau Conservation Nature Center staff offer programs year-round to deepen your connection to water through paddling, art, nature study and more.

Whichever way you go, don’t forget to include family, especially the young ones. A pail full of gravel, crawdads and minnows is a memory that stays with kids forever.

Water is a necessity. Certainly, we drink it and bathe our bodies and clothes with it, but we often forget how powerfully healing it is to mind and spirit. The Missouri Department of Conservation is dedicated to providing healthy ecosystems for wildlife and people to deepen that connection. For more information on places you can access water, contact your nearest public Missouri Department of Conservation office, or visit us online at mdc.mo.gov.

As you contemplate a place to experience nature near you, I’ll leave you with the words of area songwriter Curt Carter: “Give me a river … to patch up my soul.” Have a beautiful June, and reconnect with nature: Go get your toes wet.

Alex Holmes is the assistant manager for the Missouri Department of Conservation’s Cape Girardeau Conservation Nature Center. Alex has a passion for outdoor education and can be found fishing and floating Missouri’s beautiful streams and swamps when not at work.