Saturday September 15, 2007

Today's journey brought me to Interstate which is- as the name implies- a park that crosses the border of Wisconsin & Minnesota. I was under the impression that after Labor Day no one would be out and about (don't ask why...perhaps because no one is around before Memorial Day?). That was way off though because this place was swarming with people!
I headed off on the Sandstone Bluff trail. This goes under the road through a tunnel. Next is a long uphill staircase to conquer. Along the way I saw what I thought was a very large spider...but it turned out to be a strategically placed leaf on a twig. Don't ask. After reaching the top of the stairs the trail goes by some bluffs that look exactly like those at Whitewater on the Dakota Trail. Well I got worried after that because it was saying the trail was closed, but it turns out that was just the first overlook. The trail continues up some stone steps and then follows along the hilltop to the next overlook. This one I didn't really check out because there were these people there taking a zillion pictures of themselves. Onward the trail continues through the forest and then winds downhill by a creek bed that didn't have much water in it. The Sandstone Trail then intersects with the Railroad Trail. Despite the fact that this involved another zillion steps to climb, I commenced down this trail. Apparently there used to be a railroad along this path (duh) with what must have been a very high bridge where the Sandstone and Railroad trails meet. As one would expect, after the steps the trail is very flat and is pretty close to the road. After awhile you walk past the big Welcome to Minnesota sign and it's kind of confusing right there about where to go, but I kept heading straight and eventually the trail ends at a parking lot with some historic buildings. Then I did get confused because I wanted to get over to the River Trail. Right here you're in downtown Taylors Falls. Leaving the parking lot provides a nice view of the road and bridge into Wisconsin. I crossed the street and eventually made it over to the area where you get tickets for the boat ride. Then I walked through the parking lot over to the pothole area. Didn't really check this out because I was more interested in getting on the river trail. First though I walked down past where the people rock climb and looked at the river. Then it was back up to the River Trail. This is quite a scenic path which starts out on the edge of the road and then heads back into the woods and provides a series of overlooks along the river. A couple times the trail is rather confusing and I wasn't sure where to go. Both times it looks like the trail goes one way and it turns out they are dead ends. The walk was quite enjoyable though. Where else can you conquer a park's entire trail system in less than three hours? Once I made it back to the parking lot the next journey was driving up to Wild River for a couple nights of camping.

Whitewater or Interstate?	Stone steps on the Sandstone Trail
Uphill climb on the Railroad Trail	Welcome to Minnesota
Down by the St. Croix	My imaginary spider
Scenic views