Our July's have been very busy for as long as we have known each other, so after a few weeks of solo vacations and family get-togethers, we were able to resume hiking at the end of July with a visit to Shabbona Lake State Park. The day we went was sunny and beautiful, and we... Continue Reading →
In Utica, all of the road signs directing you to the nearby state parks will have three different destinations on them. First: Starved Rock, Second: Matthiessen, and Third: Buffalo Rock State Park. We have been to the first two parks several times over the years, but we finally managed to make it to the third... Continue Reading →
Park 17 on our journey was Kankakee River State Park, about an hour and a half south of us. While this one is actually fairly close compared to some other places, we kept overlooking it in favor of the parks that are clustered together. For example, there are several along the Illinois River which meant... Continue Reading →
With spring truly here, we decided to head up north one more time to check out Moraine Hills State Park and McHenry Dam. This park is located in McHenry county, about an hour away from us. The landscape is very similar to nearby Volo Bog and Chain O' Lakes, with the same glacier movement forming... Continue Reading →
With the season drawing to a close and the cold weather looming, we wanted to get a couple more parks in while we still could. The ones we did that day were Illini State Park and William Stratton State Park, mostly for their small size. We started our morning by driving the hour and a... Continue Reading →
October 29th brought our first major dilemmas. 1) We had plans that evening and didn't want to wear ourselves out and 2) it was raining a bit. A good solution to this was to go to Channahon State Park, because it is very small and not very far away. Originally, this park was known as... Continue Reading →
After a week off for other obligations and a big weekend for this project coming up, we found ourselves with a single day to go to one of the random parks we hadn't made specific plans for. We picked Volo Bog State Natural Area because it was a little smaller than our other options, but... Continue Reading →
For the start of October, we decided to do something a little different. We wanted to go to St. Julian Winery in Michigan to celebrate friendship (and also maybe Emma’s birthday). We’d been talking about going for a couple years, but it had been put to the back burner because of the pandemic. And, since... Continue Reading →
Well into September and unable to travel on most Fridays anymore, we went north to Chain O’ Lakes State Park on a bright Saturday morning. This park was the one we’d heard the most about, without actually having any prior visits. We’d been going to Spring Grove for several years for other attractions, and Chain... Continue Reading →
When talking with family and friends about this project, one comment kept popping up. “There’s a state park in Bartlett?" Yes! A relatively small area off of Stearns Road and just east of Route 25, James “Pate” Philip State Park is completely unexpected. The land was purchased in 1991 for the purpose of establishing a... Continue Reading →
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