Hiking in Matthiessen State Park | February 2023 On the Monday following our hikes in Starved Rock State Park, we decided to branch out a little and visit another state park near us. Just a little ways Southwest of Starved Rock lies Matthiessen State Park, along the Vermillion River. A lot of the scenery here…
Hiking in Starved Rock State Park | Illinois Canyon | St. Louis Canyon | February 2023 Even though Curtis was on shift work, working 12 hour night shifts, and only getting one day off a week, we still managed to fit in two more hikes in Starved Rock State Park over our second weekend in…
Hiking in Silver Spring State Park | Buffalo Rock State Park | Our Second Week in Ottawa | February 2023 We kicked off week 2 in Ottawa with a day trip in pursuit of new counties. There were 3 counties North/Northeast of us that we figured we could easily knock out, so we searched for…
Starved Rock State Park | Hiking a Loop Trail to Lover’s Leap, Eagle Rock, and Wildcat Canyon | Ottawa, IL | February 2023 One of the best parts about being assigned to Ottawa is that there are a considerable amount of hiking trails within only a half hour of driving. And by Midwest standards, the…
Week One in Ottawa, IL | Dayton Bluff | Ottawa Riverwalk | Allen Park | I&M Canal Trail | February 2023 Curtis’ first assignment with his new job brought us to Ottawa, Illinois for the month of February. It was a quick and easy drive over on I-80 after leaving my parent’s house in Iowa…
Visiting Horseshoe Bend National Military Park | Flagg Mountain | Cheaha State Park, Alabama to JP Coleman State Park, Mississippi | January 2023 We woke up on the highest peak in Alabama to arguably one of the colder mornings we’ve camped through in recent memory. Frost on the tent, frost on the car, and all…