Named thusly by it's discoverers in honor of various and sundry whims, including cryptic grafitti, local features, and historical interests.
This drain was once known by another name and looked completely different,
but construction in the not-to-distant past has totally altered the character
and appearance of the system. What was once a boring RCP has been transformed
into one of the most feature-packed storm drains in the Twin Cities area.
We felt priveledged to be the first explorers to discover this system's
incredible additions, especially since one of us had explored the original
system.
Upon entering this system, we encountered a generic RCP which soon
gave way to a shape change:
However, this "shape change" turned out to be a massive forest of
pillars, one of the only drains in the area with this feature:
Navigating through the grove, we found ourselves faced with four
massive stairways. Not just stairways to heaven as one might find in a
Lillydale cave,
these were in fact stairways to Awesome:
Even navigating one of these collosal steps is a difficult task,
especially when drenched by water from above:
Farther upstream, we encountered an ingenious grille designed to
filter out errant Volkswagen Bugs from the stormwater flow:
About this time we also discovered a very moist mouse, who was ejected
out a surface grille and given a stern warning not to come back without
proper lights and equipment.
We naturally had to continue our quest, and in doing so discovered
yet another Stairway to Awesome:
Sadly, the end of our journey was reached far up each branch of the
massive drain, by way of deep pits of water. A raft or perhaps a manhole-leapfrogging
method may be needed to bypass such obstacles and continue even deeper
into the mysterious depths of this tunnel network. Indeed, a number of
side tunnels, upper levels, and walking-height tributaries will surly lure
us or others back soon.
