Troutbirder II

Troutbirder II
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Tuesday, May 5, 2020

Limestone Cliffs



Mrs T. and I had taken our GSD Lily for a hike along a small trout stream and below one of the many limestone cliffs here in Bluff Country.


The spot was very familiar to me as I had often accompanied my friend Mr. Sciences 8th grade Earth Science classes on field trips to this area.  Perhaps you can picture two orange busloads of kids piling out, notebooks in hand and then being  told to
estimate the height of the cliff, the rate of the water flow and to look for fossils.  Although as the American History and Geography teacher this geology stuff wasn't my area of expertise I'd been along on these outings enough with Mr. Science to know the answer to some of the questions. Such as "you people don't imagine this little  dinky creek carved out this huge cliff do you?"  I had to make sure I wasn't nodding my head and thereby giving away the answer.










The same question was often posed as we stood  on the bluffs more than three hundred feet above the Mississippi River and gazed across the great valley towards Wisconsin several miles to the east.   "You think that little river way down there carved out this huge valley" Mr. Science asked again.   Of course NOT common sense would say.   But after hearing him explain the melting of the great ice sheets to the north at the end of the last ice age and the mighty flood that followed it seemed very possible indeed. 
On Barn Bluff near Red Wing, Minnesota


Far below is Lake Pepin  a widening of the Mississippi River.  Photo taken from Frontenac State Park with Wisconsin in the distance.

Gary (Mr. Science) studying rocks......


21 comments:

  1. such a pretty area. you made me a bit homesick for the northern midwest. :)

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  2. Very nice area. I'm so glad you get out and about and then share it with me!

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  3. Bluff country is beautiful. Thanks for showing us some of the views from a higher vantage point than we saw when we drove through there.

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  4. Bet that was an amazing and enjoyable trip for the students! It sure would have been for me!

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  5. You live in one of the prettiest areas of Minnesota! Thanks for the views! :)

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  6. They are just lovely. We have those cliffs here also and now you make me want to take a closer look.

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  7. looks like a nice area to investigate

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  8. Those are the field trips that linger long in the memory. I'm sure those kids are going to tell their kids how the land formed there. Very cool.

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  9. Rocky cliffs are always interesting.

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  10. So it wasn't really the little river that carved that out, but a torrential parent. Eh? Sorry can't resist being a wise***.

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  11. So it wasn't really the little river that carved that out, but a torrential parent. Eh? Sorry can't resist being a wise***.

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  12. You remind me of the many field trips I was on. sometimes they were my field trips and sometimes I accompanied Mr science guy. Kids (adults) keep coming back and telling me how they enjoyed the field trips and what they discovered and learned.

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  13. I would have liked to travel on that yellow bus and listen to Mr Science explain how the bluffs were created. -- barbara

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  14. So you're going to leave us in suspense? What carved the bluffs dammit? And don't say giant prehistoric woodpeckers. We're not buying that one again.

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  15. What an amazing spot you live in and how very cool to have a science teacher for a friend :)

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  16. You do live in an interesting area, TB. I wish we had such science lessons when I was at school.

    (At least your Captcha is clearer than most!)

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  17. Hi troutbirder, Neat photos and memories of field trips to the bluffs. I'm also a retired teacher ... business ed. Yes, field trips ... who could forget them? Ha ha. Thanks for the info on your grandfather being a chef on the NP. There are collectors who go crazy looking for the old menus. I have a couple. Doesn't the AMTRAK Empire Builder go through Red Wing? That is pretty country back there. Thanks for stopping by John's Island. John

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  18. Great pictures. I have been to that area twice and really enjoyed myself. Thank you for sharing.

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  19. Nice to see pictures of your part of the world.

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  20. Dear Ray, thank you for the posting and for the photographs. The latter bring back so many wonderful memories of my 38 years of living in Minnesota by the St. Croix river (Stillwater) and exploring especially the eastern part of the state from Canada down to Red Wing. Peace.

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  21. What fun to have "Mr. Science" as a guide. Lovely memory.

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