A Cave, You Say? But Ben didn't bring his headlamp!

We entered the city of Burlington, IA with no idea what our next stop would be. Spread along the west bank of the Mississippi, the neat red brick buildings of Burlington hugged the hills and valleys of the landscape and topped a bluff overlooking the river. As we moved slowly through the city, we once again found ourselves on quite residential streets nearing the top of the bluff. On the lefthand side our destination suddenly came into view.

Beets said, "Hold on to your hats!" but we were already sliding down the bluff.

Our destination? Snake Alley, one of the world's crookedest streets. Like the cable car in Dubuque, it was designed to bypace a long journey up the bluff, only by car. Now it carries the traffic of Burlington, an annual bike race, an art fair, and hundreds of tourists like us.

Thrilling as it was, the journey down the bluff lasted only a few minutes. We weren't surprised to learn that this stop was a two-parter. Our second destination proved to be both the most challenging and dirtiest stop, yet! Leaving Burlington behind we drove north to Starr's Cave Park and Preserve. We were going to explore Starr's cave.

Only one problem - Beets wasn't sure there was a cave. The Starr's Cave Park and Preserve website had no information on caves in the park, but based on the name , there had to be one, right? He took a chance and it paid off. A few minutes muddy, muddy walk from the parking lot we came to a huge iron bridge. It's one purpose, to carry travelers across the park's Flint Creek and straight into a cliff face - Starr's Cave.

Overhead, hawks circled. Below us, the fast Flink Creek rushed on its way out to the Mississippi. At the end of the bridge, we faced an iron gate, the entrance to Starr's Cave.

Home to bats, moss, bugs, and the erstwhile bandit, the cave was close to 7 feet tall at the entrance, with a steepled ceiling and a fairly even floor. Cautiously, we entered. With Ben in the lead and me at the back, we moved in single file deeper into the bluff. Almost immediately the cave ceiling lowered and the ground became uneven. 10 feet in. 20 feet in. Using a flashlight, Ben was able to navigate the dips and puddles, although we almost lost him when the cave floor dropped away into a deep crevice on one side.

Recovered, he continued deeper into the cave, with the rest of the group following behind. Unfortunately, the shrinking cave walls proved too much for this intrepid reporter. At the back of the line, I chickened out and went back. Waiting at the gate, I could hear the others' voices fade, the sound of their shuffling steps descending further into the dark.

And they were never seen again.

Just kidding. But they went pretty deep. Hard to say for sure, but probably close to 100 feet into the cave. A really unique and unusual experience. Alicia said that by the end they were waddling along and stopped when they would have had to crawl to go further. Good job, guys!

Muddy, but happy everyone returned safely. Back in the car, we moved ahead toward Ben's destination and our last stop of the night. Crossing the Mississippi for the second time this trip, it began to pour. Through the rain we could see a giant Abraham Lincoln sign, "Illinois Welcomes You."

Hopefully, Illinois will also welcome us with better weather at our next destination.