Hiking Again

Alum Cave Trail & Mt. LeConte

In the beginning.

The Alum Cave

The trail gets interesting.

And we climb.

And the fog rolls in.

And it keeps rolling.

And the trail becomes more interesting.

But five miles later we reach the Mt. LeConte Lodge.

Our back door.

The dining hall.

Front porch.

Other folks' cabins.

So it rained during the night.

We were treated to waterfalls on the hike back down.

Beautiful, but soaking wet feet.

All in all, absolutely worth it.

Starved Rock - Again

French Canyon, Starved Rock State Park, Il.

Great egret, Illinois River, east of Starved Rock.

Gene and I ended up the trip with a brief stay at Starved Rock. If you haven't been there, go! There are miles and miles of trails through the limestone canyons and an incredible array of wildlife. According to the DNR:

"Red fox, beaver, Canada goose, tundra swan, bufflehead and other migratory waterfowl, double-crested cormorant, great egret, wild turkey, osprey, bald eagle, white pelican, herring gull, belted kingfisher, yellow-bellied sapsucker, cedar waxwing, softshell turtle, gar."

I want to go this winter, when the eagles come down from Canada to feed on the fish below the Illinois River dam there. Gene's been coming here for four years to work, bringing me along to hike. I missed one trip because of finals! No more!