Along the many trails in the Big Woods you'll find a large variety
of trees. Besides, and often under, the mighty oaks are the Blue
Beech trees and the Ironwood trees for which the trails near the
bridge have been named. These two trees are quite similar. (See the
images below.)
The Blue Beech (Carpinus Caroliniana) grows to a height
of 30' with a bluish-gray bark which may be smooth but with
irregular vertical ridges on the trunk. The 2"-4" oval leaf is dark
green on top and yellow green on the bottom turning yellow, orange
or red in the fall.
The Ironwood tree (Ostrya Virginiana) is so named because
of its extremely hard wood. The pioneers found many softer woods to
use for their cabins and for firewood and so many of these stands
survived. Because of its hardness it did find industrial uses, such
as for the soles of wood planes. Its shape and size are quite
similar to the Blue Beech. Its bark is more of a gray-brown, is
smooth on the younger trees but becomes rougher as the tree
matures. Its leaves are pointy and lighter turning dull yellow to
brown in the fall and may persist on the lower branches into the
winter.
Hints:
- Question: The tallest trees in the Big Woods are the:
- Blue Beech (Cache is on top of The Big Bridge)
- Oak (Cache is in a small "bridge")
- Question: The Blue Beech is so named because:
- It grows on the beach by the Blue Lagoon. (Cache is west of the
trail.)
- It provides the sap for Beechnut's Blue gum. (Cache is in the
middle of the trail.)
- Its bark is sort of blue. (Cache is east of the
trail.)
- Question: The Ironwood is so named because:
- It's used to make a cross-over golf club. (Cache is at eye
level.)
- It's a common tree up north on the iron range. (Cache is on the
ground.)
- The wood is very hard. (Cache is a foot or so off the ground
unless it fell down.)
Cache was placed with the permission of the helpful park
manager. The cache is within state park boundaries although some
maps may show otherwise. Please park at the parking lot listed
below. Daily fee is $5 but for only $25 ($20 for a motocycle) you
can get a 12-month sticker.