The Minnesota River winds for 330 miles through the heart of Minnesota.

It also winds through the hearts of many Minnesotans.

During the past 11 days, we introduced to you many of them, people for whom the river is a valued and beloved resource.

In a state blessed with so many lakes, perhaps it is understandable the Minnesota River is a water resource that is overlooked for recreation, in the past has been largely unappreciated, frequently abused.

But it is clear from talking to people who live on its banks, float on its currents, embrace its history, that there is a growing awareness of the value of this remarkable resource.

The state of the river itself?

First off, it’s important to recognize the Minnesota River has never really been a sparkling clear-water flowage. It historically has carried a certain amount of suspended sediment as it wound through a wide variety of terrain and soils.

And like all rivers, the Minnesota is a living thing. It is constantly changing, its currents searching for a weak spot along tight turns in which to establish a new channel.

What has changed, say longtime river observers, is that because of extensive farmland tiling and the draining of wetlands, the erosion has been accelerating.

Extensive drainage systems in the river watershed now flow quickly into the river, causing water levels to wildly fluctuate, coming up very quickly sending torrents of water to eat away at river banks before falling just as quickly.

When we made our trip down the Minnesota from near its headwaters to its conclusion in St. Paul, it was clear that bank erosion was a major issue, with hundreds of trees hanging precariously to undercut riverbanks.

On this trip, we saw hundreds of trees, still green with foliage, that had slid into the river channel after the strong currents from late spring flooding eroded the riverbanks.

But for all of that, there are encouraging signs that significant efforts are being made to repair and improve the river.

Up and down the Minnesota, tens of thousands of acres of Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program land now grow thick and lush where row crops once grew, to slow and filter runoff.

St. Peter now has a state-of-the-art sewage treatment plant and no longer relies on the low-lying settling ponds that frequently became part of the Minnesota River during flooding.

On our last trip, we saw enough eagles to be encouraged — perhaps a dozen or so. During this journey, bald eagles of all ages became such a common sight that they rarely commanded our attention near trip’s end.

The fishing, well-kept secret that it is, has always been good on the Minnesota River. Nowadays, it is even better. We were told that kids in the Henderson area are having a grand time catching sturgeon and white bass.

And this past winter, anglers trying their luck at the Wilmarth power plant near Mankato reportedly were catching and releasing the curiously prehistoric paddlefish.

Experienced anglers swear that sometime in the near future, the Minnesota River likely will produce the next state record walleye.

Floating the length of the Minnesota River a second time proved to be as enjoyable as the first time we dipped our paddles into its cloudy waters.

We’d be liars if we didn’t admit that on several occasions tired muscles and pesky deer flies didn’t have us second-guessing ourselves. We are, after all, 10 years older than we were during our first river journey.

But on those toughest days, after partaking of the hospitality of river enthusiasts such as Del Wehrspann of Montevideo, Scott and Angie Kudelka of New Ulm, Joe Michel of Mankato, or the River Dogs of Le Sueur, we came away with renewed energy.

And it was impossible not to catch the enthusiasm of folks such as Tom Kalahar of the Soil and Water Conservation District in Olivia, Lawrence Muetzel of Renville County, Patrick Moore of CURE, Granite Falls Mayor Dave Smiglewski, and Scott Sparlin of the Coalition for a Clean Minnesota River feel for the river.

In the end, we came away with a deep appreciation for the wonderful resource the Minnesota River is for all Minnesotans.

It’s nearly impossible to come in contact with the Minnesota River and not get muddy. Wearing smears of the rich, sticky mud is the mark of a real river rat.

Our mud from the Minnesota River mud washed away easily.

Our memories of the Minnesota River will not.