On October 12, 2024, Sterling High School’s Travel Club visited Maquoketa, Iowa. In Maquoketa, they hiked and explored the Maquoketa Caves State Park and enjoyed lunch at Mega’s Grill and Eatery in downtown Maquoketa. Heather Johnson and Cami Hartman, the club leaders, took 13 students with them on this trip.
The Maquoketa Caves are one of Iowa’s most unique outdoor attractions. The park was created in 1921 and has been a part of the National Register of Historic Places since 1991. The trail is 1.7 miles long and it takes around 48 minutes to get through the whole thing.
When interviewing sophomore Owen Ports, what he found most interesting was “the natural cave formations and looking at the unique and strange formations as well as exploring in the caves and crawling around.” When interviewing senior Gavin Guernsey, what he found most interesting at the caves was “how large and wonderful the nature was.”
Travel club was created in the fall of 2018. Johnson said she started the club “to provide opportunities for students to explore areas of historical, cultural and natural significance in and around Sauk Valley.”
The travel club goes to many different places, one being a trip to Boston at the end of the year. Johnson said that her favorite part of travel club is “watching students gain new experiences, whether it is seeing an iconic landmark for the first time, or having a new experience they would not have otherwise had, had it not been for our planning!”
Hartman reiterated this, saying, “The Maquoketa Caves [trip] was a ton of fun. All of the students were exploring and checking out the caves. I really loved our trip to Boston; we learned a lot about our country’s history and visited some amazing museums.”
Travel club’s next adventure is the Dillon Museum in Sterling. Then they are going to go downtown and have dinner at a local restaurant.
If interested in joining the club, feel free to email Mrs. Johnson or Mrs. Hartman!
