A Mini Chimney Rock (Original Photography)
Howdy,
Whitewater State Park is a fairly short drive from my hometown of Rochester, MN. With the strange weather (week-long thaw in January?!) and bright sunlight making it possible to hike without a winter coat, I headed up to one of the more interesting featuers of the park: Chimney Rock.
Glare, Flare, and a Few Specks of Dust
It's not the famous Chimney Rock of North Caroline, of course, but it is an interesting feature. At the base of the stone tower, there are actually some small tunnels that I was able to crawl into. The view through the other side wasn't really very interesting. I was pleasantly surprised to find these mini-caves free of litter and graffiti.
Nature's Crawl Space
The hike was a little difficult. Where sunlight hits the trail, the surface was muddy. In shaded areas, there was slippery ice. It was worth the trouble to get out into nature and absorb some of that lovely sunlight, though.
Ambitious Little Tree
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@fotosdenada
How big was it inside the mini caves? Great shots and love that you will
"take one for the team" to get that great photo :)
It's definitely more of a crawling situation. I'd say they're no more than two and a half feet high, so I basically pushed myself in there and had a little room to maneuver with the camera. I bet it's full of spiderwebs in the summer months!
The chimney part of the rock is probably a good 20' high, by my estimates. There are a lot of nice handholds and footholds, but it actually slants outward. An expert climber could do it, but I wasn't going to attempt it.
Hasn't this weather been amazing? Glad that you were able to get out and take advantage of it. I'm betting at some point it's going to change.
Whitewater State Park. That sounds really familiar and I'm trying to conjure up memories of having been there, but if I have been it was many years ago. Your photos are wonderful
Thanks. Whitewater is a pretty popular park and has some interesting rocks jutting out over the valley below.
I remember crossing the river at Lacrosse and driving up to Red Wing to the pottery stores, maybe 20 years ago, and it may have been on that trip that I went through Whitewater. That would have been before my picture taking days.
I can't get over this winter over in the US. I am in the UK for the Winter (as I like to do) because my New England winters are usually horrible. Last year I stayed at our house in New England and regretted it. Freeze and snow and even the salt water bay froze over solid. It was horrible. This year I am seeing facebook posts of 50 degree F weather! Oh well, I'm beginning to think it's me that brings the cold and snow ;)
Great shots and this looks like an amazing place to hike!
It has been a very odd winter. We're supposed to have more cold weather on the way, but it's 41ºF today and everything is sloppy and muddy. This is weather more suited to spring in Minnesota.
I actually lived in southern Spain for a few years, including the winter of 2013-2014. That was the year the "polar vortex" had Minnesota between -30ºF and -50ºF for a week. I was riding my bicycle at 60ºF. I wish I could have found a way to stay there or could find a way back...
Howdy sir fotosdenada! Hey that's an interesting place and formation and the view is really great if that bottom photo is the view from that rock.
Thanks. The river valleys have some interesting geography. The rest of the plains up here are pretty flat and featureless.
howdy sir fotosdenada! Well they may be flat but they are growing tons of food aren't they? I know though, not hardly a photographers dream!
What a cool Rock it is and so cool you could crawl in underneath it even if the views were not as good as you may have wished for