I thought Minnesota was essentially a caveless state, other than a few holes in the limestone in St. Paul and a manmade one (Wabasha Cave--also in St. Paul), but when Jim and I started on this State Parks kick, we learned that there is a cave system in MN, south of Rochester. We had to go, and picked the last weekend it was opened to hit it up.
Forestville/Mystery Cave state park. Two thumbs up, would recommend.
The Mystery title comes from the mystery of why there are no lakes in that area and it has to do with the cave. The tour guide pointed out clues to the puzzle and pointed out basic geological cave formations. We learned about flowstone, dripstone, drapery, domes, pockets, floods, limestone, carbonic acid, fossils, mudstone, etc.
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| armored squid fossil |
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| Happy cavers, soaking up the education |
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| low ceilings, all natural. the floor is not natural, however. |
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| I wanted to squeeze through a few cracks |
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| drapery |
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| these little pools were so beautiful |
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| an underground "lake" (only about 15 feet across) |
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| I just liked the mushroom lamps. |
We did a short hike in the state park too, after the cave and a picnic lunch (it was windy and cold, but we managed to eat our egg salad sandwiches and vegetables without too much hassle).
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| we ate by this river |
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| swishy leaves |
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| I like footbridges |
We attempted to hike at Lake Louise State Park only 30 minutes from Forestville, but after getting lost (I thought I could read maps...) and finally finding the park, it was closed for the season. We could have hiked, BUT no one was in the office to administer the Lake Louise stamp in my passport, unless we wanted to drive back to Forestville. No. SO, we are saving that park for another time. We chose instead to go to Myre-Big Lake state park in Albert Lea.
It was a beautiful, yellow-leafed hike. We ignored a Trail Closed sign (Jim's suggestion, NOT mine) which turned out to be JUST FINE. It might have flooded after recent storms, but the water had receded enough for the trail to be passable. I did get attacked by tiny burrs, which we had to remove by hand (and it didn't hurt), but the hike was worth the time.
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| We entered. Actually this is where we exited, and we picked burrs off my pants and jacket |
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| a giant fish, in a sad state of dilapidation, at a gas station |
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