Midwest Bedrock: The Search for Nature's Soul in America's Heartland (Heartland History)

To know a place deeply means to understand it on several levels, layered almost as if from bedrock to topsoil. Midwest Bedrock: Searching for the Center of Nature takes readers on a journey across all twelve Midwest states to natural settings that defy typical stereotypes of the Midwest landscape. Each chapter focuses on one focal region or locality within each state, often seeking out lesser-known landscapes steeped in beauty and story. Author Kevin Koch invites readers to join him on a journey through the beauty of the Midwest and to discover such places as Wisconsin's 1,100-mile Ice Age Trail that follows the furthest reach of the last glacier; Minnesota's Lake Itasca, headwaters of the Mississippi River; and Indiana's Hoosier National Forest, which still cradles hidden graveyards from long-abandoned farm communities. Part history, part memoir, part interview-based research, Midwest Bedrock is a personal narrative of exploring the natural beauty of America's Heartland, where each location tells the stories of the past that linger on the landscape. To know a place deeply means to understand it on several levels, layered almost as if from bedrock to topsoil. Midwest Bedrock: The Search for Nature's Soul in America's Heartland takes readers on a journey across all twelve Midwest states to natural settings that defy typical stereotypes of the Midwest landscape. Each chapter focuses on one focal region or locality within each state, often seeking out lesser-known landscapes steeped in beauty and story. Author Kevin Koch invites readers to join him on a journey through the beauty of the Midwest and to discover such places as Wisconsin's 1,100-mile Ice Age Trail that follows the furthest reach of the last glacier; Minnesota's Lake Itasca, headwaters of the Mississippi River; and Indiana's Hoosier National Forest, which still cradles hidden graveyards from long-abandoned farm communities. Part history, part memoir, part interview-based research, Midwest Bedrock is a personal narrative of exploring the natural beauty of America's Heartland, where each location tells the stories of the past that linger on the landscape. Cover Title Page Copyright Dedication Contents Acknowledgments Introduction Midwest Bedrock 1. Wisconsin The Ice Age Trail 2. Michigan A Great Lakes Shoreline 3. Ohio The Hocking Hills 4. Indiana Hoosier National Forest 5. Kansas The Flint Hills 6. Nebraska The Niobrara River and Northern Sandhills 7. Missouri The Katy Trail 8. Illinois Cahokia and the Upper Mississippi Shoreline 9. North Dakota The Rendezvous Region 10. South Dakota Glacial Lakes and the Eastern Corridor 11. Minnesota Lake Itasca, Headwaters of the Mississippi River 12. Iowa Effigy Mounds in the Driftless Land Conclusion Midwest Bedrock Notes Bibliography About the Author