A long-planned hike to Starved Rock today nearly came to naught because I, unlike Ronnie, am not the Great Communicator. However, we made it to the park and hiked, which consisted mostly of walking up and down stairs and along boardwalks. There are normal trails also, but the area is underlain by a layer of soft sandstone that erodes VERY easily, so the high-traffic areas are boarded.
We met up with Steve and drove down to Starved Rock to join Jill and her friend Gina. I screwed up by not checking directly with Steve to be clear on a change of plans that I had emailed, but we got there eventually. As it turned out, Jill had gotten a later start than she’d intended, so they didn’t wait SO very long for us.
The visitor’s center at Starved Rock was heavily air-conditioned, a fact that we noted in passing. We walked up toward the rock itself.
At the bottom of the trail to the rock, we had a choice – up the to the rock, or along another trail to various places along the ridge. We chose “up” to the rock.
Very soon, I was panting and trailing far behind. Damn sedentary lifestyle. Damn blog. Panting and sweating, I went up the stairs. Finally reached the top, but didn’t take any pictures. I thought it would be cooler up there, but it was muggy and getting muggier. We returned to the trail junction, and decided we really did need the bug spray David had seen, so we went back down to the visitor’s center.
“Ahhh!” we all said as we stepped back into the air-conditioning.
We sprayed bug juice all over ourselves just outside (“Yuck!” we all said as we exited the air-conditioning) and went back to the junction. I bought a bandana and soaked it with water to wrap around my neck. It helped.
When we went up the side trail to the base of the waterfalls in Wildcat Canyon, we found a family already there – the father was trying to get a rather scared girl to join him and another daughter out on a rickety little board where the mom could take their picture in front of the falls. Right in the middle of the shots we wanted to take. So we waited and looked around. Presently, they backed off and we took our shots, but had to aim carefully to avoid getting the junky looking board and log construct that somebody had put out in the pool. David’s shots came out better, mine are just, well, pictorial records.
As we were getting ready to leave, the dad and the little girls took off and climbed up the side of the canyon along a ledge – totally off trail, totally against park rules owing to the damage and erosion it causes. I griped loudly to David within the mom’s earshot – “Is that off-trail? Yep, I think that’s off-trail.” The mom ignored me, my passive-aggresive comment apparently fell on deaf ears. The line “Teach… your children well” popped into my head and the song stayed there for the rest of the day.
The temperature continued to climb and the mugginess increased until finally we decided we’d had it for the day (we had always planned to quit by 1 or so to avoid the worst heat) and headed into Utica for lunch.
First, though, we went to the visitor’s center for a quick pit stop. “AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!” we all said as we stepped through the store.
We had already decided to eat there rather than at the lodge because the town had been hit by a devastating tornado, and there was still plenty of evidence that they were repairing and clearing away wreckage. Again, we took no pictures, but I found a website that has a series of storm and aftermath pictures that really tell the story.
Several of them look like they’d be award winners to me – they really tell the story. I think the best of the bunch is the one that’s got the lamppost with the “Utica” banner and US flag on the right of the viewer, and the brick wall close along the left hand. Good shot, that one.
We had lunch at Duffy’s Tavern – it’s the little Irish bar at the tip of the old triangular building with the round Victorian tower. The front windows were still boarded up and the fallen bricks from the facade on either side have been stacked up ready for re-use. But as the sign out front says, “Stop! You’ve just passed Duffy’s! We’re OPEN for lunch,” so in we went.
It’s a GREAT little place, full of funky things stuck on the walls. Great food and good beers, too. I’d like to go back again sometime if we ever overnight in the area.
If you’re ever going through Utica, stop and shop somewhere and leave some much-needed tourist dollars behind. The folks there will be grateful – they’re tough and they’re putting their lives back together, and they’d probably appreciate it more than a government handout.