ScottS poolman
Parfrey’s Glen, near Wisconsin Dells, features a gorge that was carved by glacial meltwaters thousands of years ago.
The “Balanced Rock” perched on a quartzite cliff in Devil’s Lake State Park wasn’t moved there by some huckster to create a tourist attraction.
It likely broke off and fell into place during the freeze-and-thaw cycles of the last glacial advance in Wisconsin 15,000 years ago.
This “how and why” behind some of Wisconsin’s greatest natural wonders is central to a new book from Ma dison science writer and former DNR journalist Scott Spoolman.
In Wisconsin State Parks: Extraordinary Stories of Geology and Natural History (Wisconsin Historical Society Press), Spoolman highlights 28 different parks, forests and natural areas that showcase many of the state’s incredible natural features. Spoolman’s own beautiful photography adds to the readability of the book.
But the book isn’t a tour of the state parks as much as a geology lesson disguised as a trail guide. Instead of writing about each park, Spoolman decided to focus on places that feature a unique piece of natural history.
Spoolman does ask readers to wade through the first chapter, which gives a concise history of Wisconsin’s geologic past. He recounts how volcanoes poured layers of lava rock over a vast area in the northwest, glacial masses that flattened and molded the landscape of northern and eastern Wisconsin, and ancient mountain ranges that rose up and were eroded away over hundreds of millions of years.
But patience pays off, as we gain a better understanding, for example, of why the Driftless area west of Madison looks like it does and how continental drift brought some of the planet’s first coral reefs to Wisconsin.
“I tried to spin it as a narrative and not get too bogged down in the science,” says
Spoolman, who has worked as a freelance writer and editor for a variety of outlets and co-authored several editions of a series of environmental science textbooks.
Spoolman made at least two trips to each of the 28 sites and estimates spending at least 150 days in the field.
“It’s hard to call it work; I was living the dream,” says Spoolman, 63, who grew up near Hayward and credits his parents with introducing him to the wilds of Wisconsin via blueberry picking.
The stories Spoolman tells connect geologic processes to the current landscape, as well as to the evolution of flora and fauna and development of human settlement and activities, creating a deeper understanding of the state’s natural history. The book also includes a selection of detailed trail guides for each park, which hikers can take along to view the evidence of Wisconsin’s geologic history for themselves.
Spoolman contends he doesn’t have one favorite state park but finds something of wonder in all of those he features in his book.
“Asking me to pick one is like asking a parent to pick their favorite child,” he says. “I love them all.”
