Cross Ranch State Park reopening
By Michael Johnson, Editor
Work to get Cross Ranch State Park back into shape for campers over the Labor Day weekend took extra employees and some changes to the landscape. The Missouri River’s rising level pushed silt over the banks, removed some of the bank and trail system and left the park a bit disheveled. But you’ll be able to take in all the splendorous sights and sounds of the park this weekend as it reopens with the local bluegrass band Cotton Wood performing. Cotton Wood singer and bassist Jill Wiese said the chance to get outside and play among the cottonwoods is something the group has been waiting for all summer. “That’s our place,” Wiese said of the park. “We’re pretty excited to play outside and it’s so beautiful there.” The state and Cross Ranch manager Eric Lang brought up the idea of a more grand opening to remind people that the beauty along the river is still here despite some changes brought by flooding. The two cabins near the river were sandbagged to protect them from water. They were unharmed. Workers reassembled the yurts, which were removed from the site so they would not be damaged. Some extra insulation was added to the floor of the yurts this time around, park interpreter Laura Kohn said.
