Maquoketa Caves

For Labor Day Weekend we went to the Maquoketa Caves for one last getaway before Fall. We even went off the trail and climbed through a cave. I shouldn't say climbed, it was more like crawling, really crouching because however willing I was to put my feet in all of that water, I didn't want to put my knees in it. And of course, I thought I needed my camera so I was crouching, crawling, holding my camera in one hand and my flash light in the other!! I did have the best end of the deal though, Al had to help Casey balance and walk while crouching/crawling through this cave with a flashlight. As you can imagine, Emily and Carter LOVED it!! They were unencumbered and took off way ahead of us!! They were a bit ticked when they got so far ahead of us we made them come back and head out. All in all it was great exploring and hiking.

One of the neatest rock formations was this "stone toilet" Someone even put a stick with toilet paper out for effect.
The fake vomitting...
Eeeewwww!!!
But really, the best part....Once Casey heard the word toilet, he could think of nothing but having to go potty. Hey it's a "toilet" right?? Al was walking the other way and shaking his head, while I on the other hand was capturing the moment for posterity and my blog of course!!