There is a beautiful hidden gem in central northern Illinois called Starved Rock, if you ever get the chance to visit I would highly recommend it. On our "road trip" we stopped by a nearby waterpark for the kiddos, then went hiking the next day at Starved Rock. This conserved land seems to have been missed by the glaciers that flattened the rest of the midwest, so it's full of cliffs, small canyons and waterfalls. While the kids have been hiking on flat trails before, they really liked the variety of the land and playing in the canyons.
Nate and Elin on the boardwalk on top of the huge "Starved Rock" that once held a militia fort.
Nate found this stump as a perfect place to "pose" as a statue... he thought he was pretty tricky.
"rollin' rollin' rollin'..."
Elin mystified by a creek.
Nate thought it would be cool to do balancing acts by the cliff edges... his Mother almost lost it a few times.
This is one of the canyons with a small waterfall (not much water right now).
Nate, of course, got a kick out of climbing all the big rocks.
Elin wanted to climb like her big bro, but just wasn't quite big enough to do it on her own.
If you squint hard enough, you can see me in the dark crevice of the canyon.
Our gang did a great job hiking, and actually wanted to do more if we had the time. Oh-well, more next time!
On our way to the city, we stopped by the kid's Great-Grandpa Sikich's home to say Hi. Our kids don't get to see him much, so we try to take any chance we can get. We showed them his WWII medals and went through some fun old pictures, and of course the kids had to play on his exercise equipment (he's 95 yrs old and still exercising!).
Great visit- thanks Grandpa!
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