Took some late afternoon photos at Moraine Hills. I wish I had Smell-O-Vision on my camera, because the whole park smelled fabulous! I’ll miss Spring when it’s gone… feel free to click the images for a bigger version.
Bleak Boardwalk
Clouds in the Water
Blue Marsh
Follow the Yellow Lined Road
Moody Sunset
Russ Legear – May 18, 2009
Edge of the oncoming storm – Castle Rock State Park – 6/22/2008
LaSalle Canyon Waterfall – Starved Rock State Park – 9/14/2008
Yes my friends, spring is here. Which means you should get off your butts, stop reading this blog, and go outside.
That’s exactly what I and my friend Aran did yesterday. The park is just outside of Utica, Illinois, and about a two hour drive from where I live. Believe me, Starved Rock was worth the four hours on the road. I was a bit wary when we first got there since the parking lot was packed. It almost felt like an amusement park, there were so many families and kids. Especially at the park entrance. Luckily, the herd thinned quite a bit as we trekked further east.
All together, Aran and I hiked about six miles along the river. This isn’t sissy hiking, either; there are a lot of places where a stupid person can put to proof Darwin’s theories.
It felt really good to be there yesterday. Parts of the park had an air of Tolkien about them. A lot of magic and life.
I’m definitely going again this year.
-Russ
Of course I took pictures :)
View from Starved Rock
Bluff
A very Shire-like scene
The Diving Tree
Pool at the base of La Salle Canyon…
…and the waterfall feeding it.
It’s not the destination that matters…
PS: Many heart-felt thanks to the radiant Mythezza for suggesting I go. Good luck with your finals!
There is just something about walking a trail that I can’t put my finger on. It gives you time to be in your thoughts; but rather than dwell on them, something about the steady movement in a single direction helps to… jumpstart things. For someone with an intensely analytical mind like mine (i.e., I tend to dwell on things far more than I should), this is a great boon.
Yesterday was the most beautiful day yet this year. There wasn’t a cloud in the sky (though I would have welcomed some cumulus nimbus clouds, certainly). The day was warm, but not humid, and there was a relaxing breeze. I walked about six miles total (or so my GPS claims).
I can’t say that I was really digging Chain ‘O Lakes. It’s very pretty, but it had this… dead energy. Almost like a void, a sadness. It could be because none of the plant life has regrown yet; it was a brutal winter. But soemthing about the air smelt of longing, lonliness.
I’ve been toying with the idea of doing a photo journal on Chicago. I usually find myself in the Lincoln Park area about twice a month, and rather than get fat off the spectacular food, I think it’d be far more productive to do something creative.
My problem is coming up with a theme. Maybe the night-life? I’d really like to do something with the colors emitted by store signs and sodium lamps. Something Ken Rockwell-esque. Except with more… grit.
I guess this is where I ask everyone for suggestions… :)
-Russ
