Starved Rock

Not far from our house is a national park called Starved Rock. I'm ashamed to admit that it has taken us 8 years to visit. Unfortunately, we decided to go on one of the hottest days of the summer thus far. We were so hot, but it was beautiful and we've vowed to return in the fall. In fact, when it gets cold enough, the bald eagles come down from Wisconsin to fish, so hopefully we'll see some eagles.

This is a tree stump that is outside of the visitor's center. Part of the stump is inside and it is HUGE. The bisection of the stump shows part of a bullet that was lodged in the trunk some time after the Civil War. Unfortunately the tree died and they had to cut it down, but the kids were fascinated by how big a tree can become.

There are miles of trails that have been planked over which makes the walking very easy (except when you are hiking with a 1 year old who wants to walk every singles step on her own). It was gorgeous and so worth the trip. I wish we had gotten to go further before the first bathroom emergency hit and we had to return to the visitor's center. By the way, I love Alyssa's face. She's figured out how to smile on command and does those goofy smiles.

This is at the top of Starved Rock where the Illinois Indian tribe was starved to death by a rival tribe. There was also a military fort built on top of the rock in the 1600's. Lots of history and a wonderful place.