Peggy Garner and I went to Turkey Run and Shades State Park with some friends from Missouri. I have hiked in Missouri with them before. A couple of them even came to Isle Royale with me a couple of times. I am posting a little late, so hope I can remember some of the details.
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| Pre planning, some were going to do the ladder trails specifically and the others are heading out for the suggested trails that are not flooded or closed. |
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| Gathering again outside of the Lodge to make sure everyone is here that was coming. |
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| Going down, at the end of the hike we will also be coming back up. |
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| We will be putting a couple of benches on the Interpretive Trail at Starved Rock, looking for ideas for the plaques that we want to put on them. |
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| Spring Wildflowers were just starting. Hepatica |
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| These tiny flowers are hard to photograph with my Cool pix camera. Harbinger of Spring |
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| We walked along the Sugar Creek for quite a while. This creek was high, but as far as creeks go, this is one of the widest creeks I have ever seen. They go rafting here in the Spring/Summer time. |
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| Loved seeing this waterfall |
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| Virginia Bluebells were peeking out of the duff. |
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| I love big trees. Oh the stories they could tell..... |
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| Narrows Covered Bridge in the distance |
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| Trail markings, as long as you knew which way you came from you were ok. |
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| There were waterfalls everywhere. |
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| The trails weren't as slippery as I thought they would be. |
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| A view one direction from the bridge, looking out on Sugar Creek |
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| Looking the other way out of the bridge towards Narrows Road bridge |
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| The map had us crossing this stream a few times, but it was more like 10 or so. Good thing Peggy and I wore our knee high rubber boots. |
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| Grave marker by the Lusk Home |
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| They do have tours here as I understand, however I have been here twice and it was not open. |
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| We were a few days early for the Prairie Trillium |
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| I think this is a remnant of the Indian Pipe. This is a totally white flower that blooms late summer. This plant has no chlorophyl |
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| Bloodwort, If it was a sunny day, we would have caught a few open. It rained most of the day. |
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| So glad I had my rubber boots on. |
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| If you missed the stairs.... |
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| We all stayed off the closed trails |
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| This WAS the trail. Again, I was glad that I had my rubber boots on. It made for a very pleasant hike through the water. |
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| One of our group members is a very talented photographer. We met him coming the opposite direction |
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| A strange to me white nodding trillillum |
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| Yes this is the trail. Turkey Run has ladders. I was a little leary at first, but I just went slow. Peggy and Bruce also wanted to do the ladders, so off we went. |
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| Bruce coming down. yes we did get a little spray from the waterfall. But it was worth it! |
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| There were a series of ladders on this trail 3-4 I think. |
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| The rest of the group continued on the trail |
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| Peggy coming down into Bear Hollow |
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| We were then walking in the creek where we saw a series of waterfalls |
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| This area was called the Ice Box. We did not go down into it as it started to rain harder. |
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| Once we saw the Suspension Bridge we knew we were close to warmth. |
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| I really wanted to see the Visitor Center. Although the Lodge was not built by the Civilian Conservation Corps there was some influence here in the shelters and area. |
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| The Lodge was preparing for the Easter Brunch |
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| Nice idea to bring back to Starved Rock |
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| Peggy and I stayed in a cabin, and on our way to dinner at the Lodge that evening, it was SNOWING! |
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| Day 2, going to Shades State Park. |
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| Day 2 Shades State Park. The photos in this section may be in the wrong order, when downloading them they got all mixed up. Sorry. |
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| The stairways were snow covered. But fortunately they were crunchy and not slippery |
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| In the punch bowl |
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| Punch Bowl falls up close |
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| We then walked down in the ravine, this meant walking in the streams. Again I was thankful I had my knee high rubber boots. |
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| It was a bit chilly today, but no rain or snow. |
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| We walked on this trail for a while and then it just disappeared. We think it was in the creek. We then took another route and tried to find it from the other side. That trail was even more rugged. |
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| Rock hopping AND creek hopping |
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| More rock and creek hopping. Going and going. |
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| The trail WAS in the Sugar Creek, so this is how we came down to connect to the trail. Yes it was steep. |
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| Almost all down the hill. |
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