Starved Rock State Park 8-13-09

Stef, Karen,Maddie, Stevie, Lily & myself drove to the Starved Rock Park on Thursday. We spent the entire day walking and walking. I tell you that Lily was a real trooper, unlike me, who was tired and cranky by days end.

We left in the morning for the park. We hiked down to see waterfalls in the canyons, the paths that lead us to these were long. There were a LOT of stairs to maneuver and walkways from gravel and dirt. But it was all worth it in the end. The best time was when we finally came to one of the waterfalls and Stef's whole family walked into the waterfall. Maddie stood right under the waterfall and got soaked as did Stevie. Getting wet is part of the fun. I am glad that is was pretty warm on the way back to another path. This helped dry out the clothes on all.

Looking at all the Lifevests up on the celing.
Our boarding passes.

At the main lodge deck eating area.

Inside the lobby at the Lodge.

Ice cream break time and time to cool off and have fun.

Trying out goofy glasses during ice cream break time.
Family picture time again and again.

Stef liked this carving a lot.

Our final last path and it took it's toll on Stevie and Lily.

By this time Maddie was wet and dried, muddy and tired and bugs were starting to bite and she wanted to go to the pool.

This is a beautiful park to visit for hikes and nature sights. The carved Totem Poles were a delight to find and check out also. We also got to see wild turkeys on one of our walks. We counted the stairs and then lost count after 2oo.......

We had a nice easy boat ride up and down the river to see Starved Rock from different angles. There were about 8-10 eagles soaring above head while we were on the boat ride. This park is a must see in the early spring whne the waterfalls are abundantly flowing, not like this time barely a trickle here and there, but enough to get wet.

P.S. Just a quick laugh that we got......Lily had to go to the potty, Karen took her to the Port-a-potty..... she took one look inside and she said ..."What IS THIS????" No way I go inside mommy. Needless to say she did NOT and she used nature's outdoors to take care of her problem. We laughed all the way back to the path.