Author: Andrew

You can read part 1 here.

On Sunday we ran some errands around town and then hit the road for our second hiking trip.  A short drive later and we had arrived at our destination, Starved Rock State Park.

Starved Rock sits on the south side of the Illinois river in the center of the state.  As with all Illinois parks, there is no entrance fee.

We met up with Grandma and Grandpa just in time to have a picnic lunch.  It was a bit chilly outside but the sun sent rays of warmth that had us taking off our jackets later in the day.

After lunch and a few trips to the parking lot and back to get the appropriate baby gear for hiking we set off on our first trail.  Baby carriers like the Boba are, in my opinion, essential to hiking with a little one.  There were many stairs on the trails and it would have been impractical to take a stroller.

We tried to let Frugal Boy out frequently so he could get some of his wiggles out.  The day before he spent too much time in the carrier and by the time we got home, we were exhausted and he was ready to crawl all over us.

The grandparents were happy to keep an eye on him, while I watched a barge go through the lock.

There was plenty of debris caught up by the dam.

Frugal Boy found that he could sit on part of the fence that was just the right height for him.

Eagle Cliff Overlook seemed like a good place to turnaround.  A few years back, Shae and I hiked about three miles beyond the overlook and the trails were not as interesting.  Perhaps the next time we visit we will try some of the side trails and canyons.

We worked our way back to the visitors center via a roundabout way so we could see French Canyon.  The canyon was very icy and the grandparents wisely chose to watch us from afar.

Shae and Frugal Boy turned around when the handrail ended, leaving just me to scratch a bouldering itch.

After some precarious footing, I managed to get a glimpse of the icefall.

The people watching and listening was superb.  I especially enjoyed the couple that talked about how they were going to drink the calories that they burned by climbing a big flight of steps.  Then on second thought, they decided that the steps looked to daunting and they were just going to go drink instead.  Clothing choices were also interesting.  😉

Back at the river front we threw leaves and sticks in.  It’s not like it isn’t already imprinted in little boy DNA, right?

We tried to get a good picture of the grandparents and grandson, but Frugal Boy wasn’t very cooperative.

Shae and I thought about putting a little jar or box next to this cute hobo.  I wonder how much money he would have raised.

It was a fun day and the unseasonably warm weather has left us.  We’ll be doing plenty of hikes this year and I am already starting to get the itch to go out and camp.  That will definitely have to wait until it gets warmer though!

 

The last bit of the snow mountain in our backyard has melted after an unusually warm weekend.  We crammed as much into the weekend as we could including replacing the brakes on the car and logging almost 10 miles of hiking.

Frugal Boy was sent outside to play more than once and always came back dirtier than he started.  Eating mud is a new favorite activity.

All of the fresh air and exercise have been good for him, and some nights he doesn’t even make it to bed.

Our first hike on Saturday was at a little county park.  The ground was squishy and it ended up being a pretty good workout even though it was mostly flat.  Having an extra 25 pounds on your back also helps work muscles you didn’t know you had.

Some parts of the trail had running water crossing over it so a little intrepid bushwhacking was in order.

Even though it was about 60° out the ponds still had enough ice to support these geese.

I think all of that ice was to blame for partially destroying the fishing dock.  It took a little bit of scrambling to get up and down the upheaved floating platform.

Eventually Frugal Boy woke up and it was somebody’s bright idea to give him a new toy.

It was a REALLY good toy.

After finishing the first two mile loop trail, Shae and I switched off so we could do another trail.

What we thought was another loop trail ended up being an out and back.  We tried to connect the two ends with a little creative hiking, but were thwarted by a deep stream.

 We trekked back to the car with muddy boots and started planning the next day’s grand adventure.  Read about it in Part 2 (coming soon).  🙂