The final day of our big hiking trip in April 2026 had us going to two parks: Sielbeck Forest State Natural Area and Mermet Lake State Fish and Wildlife Area. Sielbeck Forest is in Belknap, IL, about 6 hours south of Chicago, or about half an hour north of Paducah, KY. Mermet Lake is also... Continue Reading →
Apple River Canyon State Park: A Galena Trip, Part 1
Our big plans finally started with this trip. We knew that the majority would require overnight stays, and this was the first one we planned. We decided to focus on the Galena area, because that was the town we were in when we first came up with this project. We also knew that area would... Continue Reading →