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The posted coordinates will bring you to parking and the trailhead (with the informational sign) at Barn Bluff Park, Red Wing, MN. It is an adventure in itself to wind your way through this historic riverside community just to find the road which crosses under the highway. Each twist and turn gives you another vantage point of this ancient landmark we normally bypass in our hurry to get down the road.
One of the most prominent and well known landmarks of the Upper Mississippi Valley is Barn Bluff. This magnificent bluff dominates the landscape as it towers over the town of Red Wing. During the 19th century, the bluff functioned as a visual reference for explorers and travelers. The bluff overlooks the downtown area and towers about 400 feet above the Mississippi River with an extensive view of Lake Pepin to the south. It is one of hundreds of bluffs in the Driftless Area, which covers parts of Wisconsin, Iowa, and Illinois, in addition to the southeastern toe of Minnesota.
The bluff itself is composed of early Paleozoic rocks, including Ordovician dolomite and sandstone atop Cambrian shale, siltstone and greensand at its base, deposited by early Paleozoic seas. The aggregates left by glacial drift and wind-deposited loess form a 20 metres (66 ft) cap deposited some 450 million years after the bedrock beneath. Barn Bluff was cut off from nearby uplands by an earlier course of the ancestral Mississippi along which US Highway 61 now runs, and it was an island during the massive outflow flow of Glacial River Warren which carved much of the present Upper Mississippi Valley.
The name of Barn Bluff translates from its early French name, La Grange, meaning the Barn, which refers to its prominence as a lone, high, and nearly level-crested bluff. It is quite separate from the side bluffs of the valley and easily seen at a distance of many miles up the valley and even more observable from the river. Major Long in 1817 ascended this hill or bluff, called in his journal "the Grange or Barn," of which he wrote: “From the summit of the Grange the view of the surrounding scenery is surpassed, perhaps, by very few, if any, of a similar character that the country and probably the world can afford. The sublime and beautiful are here blended in the most enchanting manner.”
Dakota legend about the bluff tells that hundreds of years ago, a mountain twice as big stood in the place of Barn Bluff. . The inhabitants of two Dakota villages quarreled over possession of the mountain, and to settle the dispute without bloodshed, the Great Spirit divided it into two parts. He left one part here, and moved the other half downstream to the second village. The portion that was moved rises above today's city of Winona and is called Sugar Loaf.
Today Barn Bluff is re-foresting with deciduous trees and native prairie grasses. It is ringed all around by limestone cliffs, except at the northern end where steps have been built and carved into the bluff. Using these steps, hikers can ascend Barn Bluff with a strenuous but relatively brief hike. The trails are well marked and the views from any point are outstanding! This is a heavily hiked area, but rattlesnakes tend toward this type of habitat. Please stay on the trails and respect the park.
To log this EarthCache, please forward to me in an e-mail:
1. What are the three types of Palezoic rocks listed on the sign at the trail head?
2. Per the sign, how was the 35 foot cap deposited?
3. Please post a photo of one of the views from Barn Bluff with
a. the direction you are facing and
b. the elevation you have climbed to so other visitors to this EarthCache can learn and appreciate your exploration of this historic geologic gem.
********IMPORTANT INSTRUCTIONS******** READ THIS********
These caches are not accessible from Hwy 61. There is one side road which crosses under Hwy 61, and that is 5th Street. Look at the maps.
If you do the 3 EC's in Red Wing, do them in this order, otherwise you will be confused.... (per the MEN trying to find these and cant' multi-task!)
1. Limestone Kiln. proceed to the kiln, sing, dance, etc., next you will heading to the stairways to climb the trails to find the tunnel in the side of the cliff.
2. You are at the stairs - 1st flight up - you are at the BARN BLUFF EC destination. Sing, dance, take a pic.... then continue up the stairs....
3. You are at the shelter and at the SLIP/DIP EC. Take a pic of the LaGrange sign, sing, dance, etc......then
4. Proceed up the NORTH TRAIL along the side of the bluff. You are over the Lime Kiln. Walk to the TN waypoint for the Lime kiln and you will arrive at the heavily painted tunnel entrance. Take a pic, sing, dance...... (You have completed the Lime Kiln EC)
5. If you want to explore further, go up the trail a little further toward the observation areas. Take a pic and an elevation reading, and note what direction you are looking, anywhere along the trail.....sing, dance..... You have completed the Barn Bluff EC.
6. Go back to your car, and lock in either waypoint 1 or 2 of the DIP/SLIP EC to find the fault (both spots are side streets accessible from where you are and not immediately accessible from Highway 61.
7. Find the Fault, take a pic. Check out the uplift angle of the greenstone layer near the fault (estimate that) Sing, dance, etc....You have now completed the tasks for the DIP/SLIP EC and are free to leave the area.
8. Thank you for visiting! :-)
9. There.....Even a MAN should be able to figure it out now!
This should eliminate the confusion!
Additional Hints
(No hints available.)