"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"--

Introduction: Midwest Bedrock1. Wisconsin: The Ice Age Trail2. Michigan: A Great Lakes Shoreline3. Ohio: The Hocking Hills4. Indiana: Hoosier National Forest5. Kansas: The Flint Hills6. Nebraska: The Niobrara River and Northern Sandhills7. Missouri: The Katy Trail8. Illinois: Cahokia and the Upper Mississippi River Shoreline9. North Dakota: The Rendezvous Region10. South Dakota: Glacial Lakes and the Eastern Corridor11. Minnesota: Lake Itasca, Headwaters of the Mississippi River12. Iowa: Effigy Mounds in the Driftless LandConclusionNotesBibliographyIndex