Starved Rock State Park and Matthiessen State Park - Places Worth Revisiting

When Cory and I drove down to southern Illinois to pick up his friend for a visit at the end of September we stopped at Starved Rock State Park.

Chief Walks With the Wind - part of the Peter Toth Whispering Giants series

I never miss an opportunity to stop in and see how "Chief Walks With the Wind" is faring.  He's looking really well, as he should since he is only 27 years young and wearing some kind of protective coating.  You can read my short post about when Wayne and I stopped at Starved Rock in 2013 here.  A member of the Ho Chunk Nation, Sam Sine (Chief Walks with the Wind) and his family shared Native American stories and cultural programs at the park's lodge for nearly 50 years. 

Lots of stairs to navigate up and down along the canyons and bluffs.  I was a bit too early for true fall color!

The lodge is a great place to park and start hiking if you are just passing through.  There are 13 miles of trails,  yellow dots on posts indicate that you are moving away from the lodge or visitor center, and white dots mean you are returning.  On our return trip we stopped there again and I explored a section of the park I usually bypass, but on this visit I headed straight for St. Louis Canyon as I usually do.

Warm,gorgeous sandstone in St Louis Canyon 2016

I have great memories of when my mother and I visited for a Mother's Day weekend camping trip back in 2010.  Look at how young and cute we were!

Me and my mother in St. Louis Canyon 2010

Starved Rock is a favorite of my mom's, as a matter of fact she and my father went there for a weekend getaway at the lodge not long after Cory and I were there.  She and my father prefer hanging out near the Illinois River instead of wandering the woods as I do.

My mom looking for eagles 

A few miles down the road my mom and I also visited Matthiessen State Park  in 2010 where we had to navigate a flooded trail.  The park has 5 miles of well marked trails to explore, mostly along the canyon.  I put her to work carrying my tripod, she got a great workout that day!

Here's some info from the park's website on its history:
Matthiessen State Park was named for Frederick William Matthiessen, a prominent industrialist and philanthropist from LaSalle. He originally purchased the land near the end of the 19th century and operated it as a privately owned park for many years. Mr. Matthiessen employed about 50 people to construct trails, bridges, stairways and check dams. The area was originally referred to as “Deer Park,” in reference to the large deer population. The original 176-acre park consisted primarily of a long, narrow canyon with a small stream flowing through it. At that time these formations were called “dells,” a name that has stayed with the park. After Matthiessen’s death, the park was donated to the state of Illinois, which opened it as a public park. In 1943, the state renamed the park in honor of Matthiessen. Since then, the park has grown to 1,938 acres and includes much of the significant natural areas along the main dell, some former prairie land, and some forest land south of the original park.

It's a favorite picnic spot for the locals, perhaps they are happy to have a place to go to avoid all the tourists flocking to Starved Rock.

There aren't any camping facilities at Matthiesen, but there is a campground that is about equal distance between the two parks.  In September I drove through to check it out and while I was disappointed that it wasn't on Starved Rock's park grounds and would require getting in the car to drive there it was an adequate park though the showers were very outdated.  Illinois state parks do not put a lot of money into their parks trails and campgrounds as a rule, perhaps part of the problem is due to the fact that they do not charge admission or require park stickers.

Cory and I rented a cabin at a nearby KOA this fall and Wayne and I stayed at Hickory Hollow campground in 2013. Both of those parks are in Utica within a 10 minute drive and right where Interstate 39 and Interstate 80 meet.  Not much in Illinois is something I would recommend putting on your "must" outdoor list, but this area is worth a stop for sure!

Day Two - Solo Hiking at the Lawn Lake Trailhead

You may not have noticed, but last night I accidentally pushed "publish" on the wrong post and you got to see what we did on our third day but not our second day!  On our second full day in Estes Park I woke up at dawn and headed up to the Lawn Lake Trailhead.  On the way in I passed some elk grazing near the Beaver Meadows Visitor Center.

And then some deer crossed the road as I made my way up toward Deer Mountain.

The sunflowers didn't impress them as they moved down into the meadows below, but I liked them.

But it was hard to drag my eyes away from the mountain vistas as I drove onward.

After turning at the intersection for Horseshoe Park I descended again and at the bottom found a meadow near Sheep Lake where some young deer were playing.

I parked at the Lawn Lake trailhead, right where it says "you are here".  The question was where would my boots take me from there?

I decided to go left for no other reason than I didn't want to start with vertical hiking and wear myself out before all the morning light was gone.

The path crossed back over the road I drove in on, and cut across the side of the meadow by Sheep Lake.  Far off in the distance some elk were moving down the mountain to enjoy the grassy area too. Today the 1,700 elk that inhabit the park grounds are decendents of the 49 that were brought back to the Rockies from Yellowstone National Park to repopulate the area in 1913.

A few wildflowers were growing, breaking up the monotony of the grass and cheering up the cloudy morning.

Ahead was some fencing, put in place in areas of the park to protect vegetation from overgrazing by the numerous elk that have become a problem due to the lack of predators.  Since the elk roam freely in town introducing wolves into the park has been discarded as a solution and currently about 50 elk a year are culled by expert marksmen instead.

There is a gap large enough at the bottom of the fencing to let other animals in but keep the elk out.  I used the gate on the way in, but slid under the fence on my way back out.

birds plucking the thistle seeds

When I was on the other side again I ran into the remnants of a predator's breakfast so made a wise decision to head back the way I had come on the edge of the open meadow.

What animals are hiding in this thick growth inside and just outside of the fence?

With my wandering in the meadow cut short I headed back to where I started and began heading up the mountain.

I climbed steadily for about a mile before I decided that I had enough exercise for one morning.  On my way back down I ran into a Golden Mantled Ground Squirrel.

They resemble chipmunks but are larger and have a lovely golden brown coloring around their neck and shoulder area.  This one seemed to know how handsome it was and posed freely for me.

I mean, seriously!  Who says rodents aren't adorable?

I'm glad I got my hiking in early, by the time I got back to the camper I had neck pain so bad that when we were driving down to Loveland I considered going to the emergency room because it was radiating up into my face and the top of my head.  Ice and advil eventually reduced my suffering, but I am still babying it days later.  A few cookies from Mary's Mountain Cookies in Loveland helped too.

And a sighting of Peter Toth's Whispering Giant named "Redman" as we sped along Highway 34 back to Estes Park lifted my spirits as well.

Here's a video of my morning hike before the agony set in, enjoy!

And happy birthday to my mother-in-law who celebrated her 95th today!!

Colorful Reno

There was a lot of color in Reno, perhaps its all that desert.  Twice we went to breakfast in downtown at the Blue Bean.  They serve their sandwiches on Truckee sourdough bread or fresh bagels, and have fresh donuts too.  The owners are from South Africa and settled here after deciding Portland was too gloomy after living in London for 12 years.

They had live music on Sunday morning, and we enjoyed their colorful art display as well.

Every time I visit a new state I check Wikipedia's list of Peter Toth's Whispering Giants.  Reno is home to Nevada's wood carving donated by Peter Toth, so of course I had to drive over to Idlewild Park and check it out.

Wa-Pai-Shone is a tribute to the Washoe, Paiute, and Shoshone of Nevada and the 17 foot wooden statue was given to the state in 1986.  He had a little more color than the other Whispering Giants I've seen.

But the real color explosion is in the neon, of course.  You'll recognize this landmark image, I'm sure.

I was digging the reflections at the El Dorado.

And apparently, according to the sign, Reno art kicks ass.  Having been to their art museum, not to mention seeing their murals and local art displayed everywhere I would have to agree!

Chief Walks With the Wind

Thanks for all the well wishes last night, it sure made me smile to see folks wishing us happy travels!  We made it to Starved Rock at sunset, and got all set up just before it was too dark to see.  Spent most of the night just trying to figure out where we had put stuff during the transfer or figuring out how to work stuff.  Half the kitchen items are going to end up in the living area I think because while it looks like there is lots of cupboard space in the kitchen we soon found out that wasn't quite true.  We have to build a shelf across the under sink area, and another one in the space for the washer/dryer setup, but besides that the only other modifications we've come up with are a robe hook and dryer caddy for the bath. 

We're staying at Hickory Hollow Campground in Utica, Illinois.  I stayed here before with my mother for Mother's Day a few years back.  Service is friendly, we paid $37 for FHU, no cable, free wifi.  I know you boondockers are having a heart attack right now.  Someday we'll be wheeling the West with solar panels on our roof, but for now this is the way of the Midwest.  We'll pay more when we get to Tennessee next week....I mean if we go to Tennessee next week.  Sharon, feel free to comment with an update on the situation for hiking the Smokies!

But this morning's hike was in Starved Rock, our destination: Chief Walks With the Wind.  Check out time is an ungodly noon, so we had to be up early and get on the go.

Chief Walks With the Wind of the Winnebago Nation was associated with Starved Rock State Park for almost 50 years.  The Chief taught archery, was scoutmaster and performed ritual dances at the park.  The carving was done by Peter Toth in 1989 specifically for Starved Rock and is the 62nd in his series.

From the statue at the Lodge we walked down the steps to the Illinois River to hook up to the hiking trails. 

We just did the small Starved Rock loop because on Thursday Wayne had a cortisone epidural in his lower back and we have to take it easy and keep the inflammation down. He enjoyed the view of the Illinois River.

There's a big festival in downtown Utica this weekend.  The big attraction is supposed to be the Burgoo Stew, but all we saw as we drove through was hordes of booths trying to selling everything from garage sale junk to tie-dye t-shirts and bird houses.  Twenty five thousand people usually show up from all over for that?  Not our style at all.  I told Wayne that if it were a community celebration like they had in Little House on the Prairie days then everyone would gather for food, music and dancing.  Laura Ingalls described a lovely gathering for when the syrup ran in the trees.  I could deal with buckets of syrup and fiddle music while everyone danced, couldn't you?  If you know of any festivals that actually are like that anymore, let me know!
 

Peter Toth and the Trail of the Whispering Giants

From Create Space's website on the subject:

 Inspired by the stunning California landscape, Peter Toth, a young sculptor, began a project that became his life's work. Toth, who escaped the Soviet invasion of Hungary with his family, noted similarities between the plight of the Magyar people and the struggle of Native Americans. As a gift to his adopted country, he carved a giant log into a sculpted head in every single state to honor our Native American past. Collectively these are known as the "Trail of the Whispering Giants." Beginning in 1971, Toth traveled the nation erecting his monuments to the American Indian. Today his work is recognized by the Smithsonian Institution art inventories as a significant body of work by a living artist.

There are 74 Whispering Giants, at least one in every of the 50 United States.  I finally tracked down my first of these sculptures while we were staying in the Porkies. Michigan has 2, and one of them is in the little town of Wakefield, just minutes from the southwestern border of the park.  The carving is 27 feet tall and was raised on September 29, 1988.   Nee-Gaw-Nee-Gaw-Bow was carved from a 350 year old white pine.

For those passing through Florida,  Peter Wolf Toth's art gallery is reportedly on the SW corner of Arther Avenue and US 1 in Edgewater, Florida.  Please feel free to correct me if this information has changed!

I didn't plan on starting my "collection" in Michigan, it was just a happy accident...a very happy one! Now that I've started, the hunt will be on for the rest of them. Apparently there is one in Cherokee, North Carolina that I somehow missed on our visit there last April....good thing we plan to visit the Smokies again!  Wikipedia has a list of their locations for anyone else who is interested in joining me on my hunt!