Years ago I would have thought “the Iron Range” referred to a wood-burning cookstove. This weekend, I begin in-person research for a second edition of my book, Minnesota Underground: A Guide to Caves, Mines, and Tunnels, originally published by Trails Books way back in 2003. (While I did visit a manmade cave in a Red Wing bluff with geologist Greg Brick over Memorial Day weekend, that excursion was more of an add-on than a focused research trip.)

On this trip, I’ll update descriptions of the sites described in the first edition and check out a few new sites as well. One myth about writing is that it’s all about writing: sometimes it’s about reading, phoning, and walking around the edge of a mile-wide pit mine.