The Ice Cave

Bobby and I took a side trip to Decorah last weekend to explore the "ice cave," which we learned about from our Iowa canoe guide. Once Bobby heard about it, it became mandatory. The cave has a shape that apparently allows it to have ice in it year round.

We went up a trail that seemed sort of difficult for a famous cave, but we found this, and went in, on our bellies.



It opened up inside, and it was a bit chilly, but no ice. I wanted to turn back, but Bobby spied some light...



And we got out standing up through this exit.



After thrashing around the woods, we found the real cave, which we would have found much easier had we started right from the car, rather than left. We found no ice before we reached this sign:



As I find caves kind of creepy anyway, I was perfectly willing to not crawl on my belly any further in search of Ice. While the camera flash makes it look well lit, this part of the cave was absolutely dark, with only the flashlight for light.


Unfortunately, the ice must be confined to the deep recesses of the cave by October. The book says that in June its sometimes 12 inches thick. They say the cave works like a frosty mug on a warm summer day. I guess the mug isn't as frosty by October.