Truth, Justice, the American Way - and Voting

On my recent jaunt to southern Illinois I stopped in the small town of Metropolis near the Kentucky border.  There was a guy I wanted to see.

The town's Superman museum seems more gift shop than anything.  I was content with peeking in the windows and admiring the attention to detail on the outside.

Who doesn't love a guy in tights, am I right?

Speaking of the American Way, Katrina sent me a link for a great election related video.  This one is just funny and I can't help it if I was born in Canada and therefore view it with a smidge of pride.

If you like that one, you'll love John Oliver's take on Voting Laws.  Gotta love when Wisconsin's legislative idiocy makes national news.  It's so embarrassing sometimes to admit it's my home state!

And feel free to ignore this if it offends, but may I suggest that in general people should keep their political opinions to themselves when out and about talking to near strangers?  I have a few very conservative patients who come in to the office and every time I see them they complain about how thanks to "Obamacare" their insurance premiums went up.  One gentleman in particular complained at length about that last year but then came in today to complain about the Democratic presidential candidates (why when he's not going to vote democratic??) going so far as to show me political cartoons on his smartphone.  This guy lives in a neighborhood where he just built a new $350,000 house for his 6 adopted kids and then today bragged about how they all just spent the last month on the beach in St. John.  How does he not realize that the ladies behind the desk probably make a hell of a lot less money than he does and do not feel sorry for him that his insurance rates went up?  Obviously it didn't hurt his lifestyle and other people who never had insurance can now go to the doctor.   Vote how you like, think what you like, but don't rub your privilege in the little guy's face and then expect them to be converted to your agenda, if anything all that is being accomplished is that he is making a good case for the middle class to vote Democrat!

Rant over, peace to all, even the privileged!!

Tent Season for Kitties?

Tent season really hasn't begun in southern Wisconsin.  Maybe this is why.

But I ordered a new larger tent from Backcountry  to take with me on our upcoming trip to North Carolina and had to make sure it was the right one so I set it up in the kitchen.  The kittens seem to like the idea of becoming outdoors enthusiasts.

The kittens even get their own "tent" which has room for a portable litter box and dishes.  I plan on putting it in the back seat of my car for the drive and doing no more than 5 hours per day.  I'll leave a few days earlier than Wayne and Cory to make the drive less stressful for me and for them.  Here's the link for the One For Pets Cat Carrier/Show House.

Celia thought it made a nice ledge to help her explore the outside of the tent.

Jewel and I were impressed with the roominess of the inside of the tent.

I brought their favorite cat toy inside and propped it behind the cat carrier much to their delight.

If you're interested in the tent here a link for the ALPS Mountaineering Lynx 4 which is at a great price right now.  Lots of room for 2 adults...and feline companions.  Of course I'll review it more later after it gets some actual use.  But it seems to be plenty durable, their claws didn't seem to do any damage.  Check out the video and see for yourself!

Marquette Building - Into Strange Lands

The Marquette Building is located at 140 South Dearborn Street and is full of so many treasures it's like visiting a museum.  It was built in the year of the World Fair, that event that is such a cornerstone of Chicago's history and development.

Named after Jesuit explorer Pere Jacques Marquette, the building showcases a lot of history related to the exploration of the New World by Marquette on his famous trip through the region with Louis Joliet.  Can you imagine exploring the wilderness by canoe armed with a peace pipe given to you by a Native American Chief, hoping it will be enough to protect you from potentially hostile tribes who don't speak your language?

The bronze panels over the entry feature scenes and quotes from Marquette's diary and the peace pipe called a Calumet was showcased in one of the panels over the door and on the kickplates.

The building was designed as commercial space for a variety of tenants and the descendants of the original architectural firm occupy space in the Marquette building today.  Over the years the building has undergone structural changes including the removal of the granite Ionic columns at the entrance.

But the lobby is like no other and remains much the same as it did when the building opened in 1895.  From the marble to the Tiffany mosaics and bronze sculptures over the elevators there is so much to examine.  It's hard to believe this ground floor was designed for stores and restaurants.

The six mosaic panels depict scenes from Marquette's life and I climbed the stairs to the second story to get a closer look at them.

There is an interpretive display just off the lobby on the history of the building and the fabulous art it contains, and I'm glad that this gem was restored and not razed decades ago.

Another of Chicago's many lion heads on the door's pushplate

Going out into the wind and cold in Chicago is never pleasant, but having places like this to duck in to make up for it.  Our region experienced another wintry event today...by this time every year I'm wondering will it ever be spring in the Midwest??

Burdens Falling Away

Where have I been for the past week?  Besides going to the dentist to get a crown mostly just lying on the couch fighting a nasty cold.  I woke up last Saturday morning in my tent full of congestion and headed home a day early.  But have you seen these anti-viral commercials?  They shorten the flu symptom time by 1.5 days and the side effects include seizures, confusion, abnormal behavior, nauseau and vomiting.  Really?  I'll just sit at home with my box of tissues and muddle through.

Before I had to leave the Shawnee National Forest I did see that waterfall just down the road from Bell Smith Springs though.  The night before we'd had a lot of wind, so traveling the Burden Falls Road including stopping and clearing fallen trees.

The turnout for the falls is right on the road, impossible to miss.  As a matter of fact, I had to drive my car right through Burden Creek where it crossed the road.

The drop-off right next to the parking lot is short, but pretty. A real trail veered off to the left, but I chose the less traveled path to the right.

Views down into the ravine were plentiful with all the leaves off the trees.

In the distance I could hear more water falling, so I struck off to find a way down into the ravine.

No obstacles were getting in the way of my getting a waterfall shot.  I felt like one of Mark's gang, scrambling over boulder piles to get to my destination.

I finally made it to the bottom, patience and persistence paying off.

I set up the camera and tripod in a few different locations with different lenses to see what angle I liked best.

My new Dolica tripod weighs only 3.5 pounds but even something that light gets heavy after an hour as you pick your way over rocks.

Still, I'm glad I'm brought it. And maybe next time I'll try the well defined trail instead...

Who am I kidding?  I just can't resist poking around, there's nothing that will cure what ails you like an off-trail adventure.  I wonder where my wandering will take me next?

Bell Smith Springs Recreation Area

Well, that's what I get for talking smack about the Shawnee National Forest not being as good as Red River Gorge in Kentucky.  The next day I went over to Bell Smith Springs Recreation Area and discovered a section that looks incredibly like it!

Just down the road from the trailhead is the Red Bud Campground, which doesn't open until March 15th.  Some research leads me to conclude that spring wildflowers start in Shawnee National Forest at that time, so pack up your tent and head out this way!  I have other plans for this spring, but if I get a chance to come down this way again I will want to camp there.  I found a list of wildflower hikes for spring and summer that will be helpful when I'm ready to come down this way again.  Sites at Red Bud are primitive with no showers or dump station, but what do you expect for $10?

Well, you know I couldn't peer down into that ravine and not go have a closer look.  Luckily there were stairs.

At the bottom of the stairs was a large rock shelter that probably kept native cool in the summer and dry when it rained.

 Wandering around on the sandy paths I saw a lot of interesting things, including the sign for Natural Arch.  But something prevented me from getting to it.

I guess the first thing I'll have to pack on my return trip is a pair of water sandals to make that crossing!  Toward the other shore the water looked like it would be at least knee deep and a test with my fingertips ascertained that even though the air temperature was climbing the stream was still icy.

Unable to cross, I settled for taking a few moments to enjoy the serenity instead.

However, the point of this trip was to get exercise so back up out of the little canyon I went, legs quivering in protest.  I wandered around above for a bit and then returned to my car because I wanted to save further exploration of this spot for another day.

Bell Smith Springs Road is in need of some new gravel, watch out for the potholes and mud!  Near the beginning of the road is Griffin Cemetery where about 2 dozen Griffins are buried going back to the 1800's.  Perhaps not interesting to most folks, but a curiosity to me since my mother's maiden name is Griffin.  I doubt these pioneers came from Newfoundland though!

Before I ended up at Bell Smith Springs I explored a waterfall 3 miles away which I'll share in my next post.  

Garden of the Gods Getaway

No, I did not drive or fly to Colorado.  Illinois has its own Garden of the Gods in the southern part of the state and I've been meaning to check it out for a few years now.

see the tiny people on the wooden walkway?

After 367 miles of Illinois driving yesterday (If you like flat, farms, and more flat as far as the eye can see should be their state motto) I was more than ready to arrive at Shawnee National Forest.  I drove another hour to get to the Pharaoh Campground and started out my mid-week getaway by heading to the Observation Trail which has the best concentration of sandstone formations along with interpretive signs.

Millions of years ago the area used to be an inland sea.  Unlike most of Illinois (85%!) this area was not affected by glaciers later on, they stopped just north of the Garden of the Gods.

It was  really interesting to see the different colors in the rock as I walked around.

Of course some of the color was due to lichen growth, like the yellow in the picture below.  The circular shapes are called "Liesegang Bands".  I looked it up and tried to come up with an understandable translation of the process but since I'm no geologist I am at a loss.  Maybe someone else will favor us with an explanation in the comments section.

My main goal on this little trip is to try to reset my metabolism and get back my motivation to move.  I literally haven't left the couch in a month and now I'm up to 8 pounds gained this winter.  I had to stop at the outlet on my way down and buy two pairs of pants in a bigger size in case I don't lose any of it.  Stretch pants have become my friend.

With that in mind I lugged almost twenty pounds of equipment around the forest after checking out nature's artwork.  I tried to keep up a good pace and figure I put in a little over 4 miles today.  I'm sure the family of deer I spotted walked a little more than I did.

Even though southern Illinois is experiencing a warm-up for the next few days spring has not arrived and nothing is growing under the cover of fall's leaves.  But I did spot a few fungi and lichen on the trees.

But really, the sandstone sprinkled with crustose lichen was much more appealing to photograph.

It's not as impressive as Red River Gorge in Kentucky, but it got the job done of keeping me curious and off the couch.  It felt great to be outside.  My poor legs and back will likely be seized up tomorrow after suddenly being thrust back into vigorous use.

Toward the end of my 3 hours wandering around the wind picked up, but who cares?  The temps are going to keep rising, the snow is almost all melted, so bring it on!

Natural Bridge Mural

Last picture from my recent outing to Natural Bridge down in Kentucky is a mural I spied from the parking lot of the grocery store in Stanton.

I also found a great visual explanation of how the "bridge" was formed.

It's going to warm up a little later this week (finally) and since I'm not needed at the office I think I'm heading for southern Illinois on Wednesday for a few days of hiking.  I've been wanting to check out Garden of the Gods and the Shawnee National Forest down there for a few years and it's less than a 7 hour drive.  And I'll probably gain 10 degrees which is huge this time of year.  Don't know if I'll see any arches, but rock formations are the big attraction of the area.

Linking up to Monday Mural.