The Water Column 


At the end of September, 2024 my wife and I hiked the entire length of Hadrian’s Wall in northern England. This UNESCO world heritage trail follows the northern most border of the ancient Roman Empire. Begun in AD122, it was a stone wall stretching across the whole width of the island. It is the largest Roman archeological feature in Britain and was the inspiration for the Wall in George R. R. Martin’s best selling series “A Song of Ice and Fire” dramatized in the TV series “Game of Thrones.”

Hiking fifteen to nineteen miles each day, we completed the 85 mile trek in six days. There were moments of awe and wonder each step of the way. When walking next to intact sections of the wall, I would marvel that I was placing my feet in the same places that Roman soldiers and citizens did in the first century. I was walking in the “old world” touching stones that had been placed almost two thousand years ago. Standing amongst the ruins of forts and castles where ancient people lived. So much history!

walking path along Hadrian's wall
The walking path along Hadrian's Wall 

On the flight home I mused about our “new world.” I am a history enthusiast and I know there are ancient sites in our country and even in Douglas County. But is there anything that can compare to walking along structures that have stood for two thousand years?  Then I thought about Lake Miltona and all the lakes in Douglas County and in Minnesota. These lakes are more ancient than that wall! When you dip your toe in these waters, or watch the waves, or walk on the frozen surface you are connecting to an ancient past.

Eighteenth century chemist Antoine Lavoisier confirmed the law of conservation of mass: that matter is neither created or destroyed, it just changes form. The hydrologic cycle, also called the water cycle, is the continuous movement of water between the Earth’s atmosphere, land and oceans, lakes and rivers. Powered by the sun, liquid water evaporates from the lakes, condenses and returns as rain, running through creeks and streams, moving through the ground to aquifers, absorbed by plants that release water vapor back to the atmosphere and eventually back to the lakes. It is an ancient cycle that has been turning since creation. In fact, we could say that the water John used to baptize Jesus still exists.  

Our lakes are filled with an ancient fluid that is necessary to sustain life. Some organisms can exist without oxygen, but nothing can live without water. We live in a water rich area of a water rich state. We are wonderfully blessed. We need to marvel at this more. It's awesome! The next time you are in a boat or kayak or canoe, or standing on the frozen surface of a lake remember you are in the presence of history. When you sit and watch the waves, or step in and feel them wash over you, you are interacting with a compound as old as creation. It’s pretty cool when you think about it. That’s the goal for The Water Column: to get people to think more about water - where it comes from, where it goes, what it does, how it changes, how we treat it, how important it is. Let's all be "thinking" water in 2025!


Lightning in storm clouds looking east over Lake Miltona
Hydrologic Cycle in action over Lake Miltona

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