Another Visit To Starved Rock State Park

We awoke to a rainy, chilly and windy morning on Saturday.  We have been turning on the heat in the RV at night because it has been in the upper 30's and low 40's. During the day, we open all the blinds and if it is sunny out, the RV heats up nicely and then we have to run the AC.  LOL  Mama is wearing sweatshirts and in the morning and at night she adds her flannel jacket for our walks. The cold doesn't bother us. Scout loves cold weather.

The folks decided to go back to Starved Rock State Park. We stayed behind. Mama didn't know they were going there until that morning and didn't have enough time to research the trails to see which ones had steps.  The ones they chose on Saturday had steps, so it must be the ones on the far end of the park without steps.  The next time we are in this area, we will go and walk those trails.

The folks decided to eat at the lodge again since Mama wanted to try the pork tenderloin sandwich.  She said many years ago, McDonalds had them for a short time and she loved them.

Jumbo Pork Tenderloin Sandwich with fries

Mama said the sandwich was really good and it solved her craving.

The Chief Pontiac - Shaved prime rib and smoked Cheddar on herbed Focaccia bread with BBQ
Cilantro sauce.

Dad said The Chief Pontiac was good.  That's all he said.

The fireplace had a fire in it and Mama said the warmth of it felt nice.

The outside of the restaurant is now decorated for fall.

 After lunch the folks started hiking.  Mama said the walking wasn't bad, but there were a lot of steps.  She heard a lot of people complaining. Several people asked her for directions which she thought was funny because reading a map is not something she does well. 

View from Starved Rock. It is much higher up than this photo indicates.

 

Another view from Starved Rock.

Some of the steps going up to Starved Rock.  Yep, Scout wouldn't like this.

French Canyon

French Canyon - too bad there wasn't a waterfall.

Kids climbing on tree to get to next level.

Mama is not a climber, but this was a scout troop with lots of wild kids.  They were climbing on everything.

Looking down Wildcat Canyon.  Those are people at the bottom.

Looking across Wildcat Canyon

Yep, that is a long fall.  More people at the bottom.

More of Wildcat Canyon

 Mama said it was a fun day.  She said her back started hurting from all the steps, but it seems to be okay.  She has had a few twinges in it lately which worries her because it does act up from time to time, but maybe all the walking we are doing is helping it. 

Does anyone do Geocaching? Geocaching is a is a treasure hunting game where you use a GPS to hide and seek containers with other participants in the activity.  Mama is thinking about trying it soon.    

Joey,
The Greyhound Who Thinks Geocaching Sounds Fun

Starved Rock State Park

Bunny and her family love going to Starved Rock State Park.  She has mentioned it in her blog a few times. Mama and Dad visited there after their boat trip on the canal.  Mama said the place is HUGE!  She said it reminds her of Yellowstone with the visitor center, cafes, restaurants, lodge, etc. It seems more like a national park than a state park.  She said it is definitely not a place for Scout, so that means it is not a place for me. They went on one trail and it had a lot of steps.  Mama said there is no way that Scout would have walked those steps.

The folks were shocked at how crowded the parking lot was.  It is a large parking lot and it was almost full. There is a restaurant there and the website said reservations were recommended.  Dad didn't think it was necessary, but when they arrived at the park, Mama decided to see if they could get reservations.  She called and made reservations for 5 p.m. which is when the restaurant opened for dinner.  While they waited for 5 p.m. to arrive, they visited the visitor's center and the gift shop.  They purchased two sweatshirts for $30.  Mama said that was a good deal.  They then walked on a trail and took some photos.

A turkey crossed in front of them.

The canyons are pretty but hard to see in these photos.

This would be fun to see in the fall or winter.

Carved eagle and her babies - babies have white heads here which is not accurate - just saying.  LOL

The lodge and cabins were built from 1933 to 1939 by the Depression-Era Civilian Conservation Corps. The lodge and cabins originally cost between $200,000 and $300,000 to build. Dad said he read that the original furniture is still in the lodge.

Fireplace in lodge

Furniture in lodge

Fireplace in the restaurant.

Restaurant

Mama decided to splurge and ordered a ribeye.  She says splurge because it was a little pricey to her.  It didn't come with a salad and she refused to pay $2.95 for a salad when spending so much on a meal.  She said it was very good.  She is glad that she ordered it.

Ribeye with baked potato and veggies-$22.95

 Dad ordered Forest Mushroom Farfalle with Smoked Pheasant.  It is Portobello, Shiitake, and porcini mushrooms, yellow peppers, sun-dried tomatoes, garlic, Asiago cheese, smoked pheasant and farfalle pasta in a rich cream sauce.  He said he couldn't really taste the pheasant but loved the Asaigo cheese.  He did order a side salad.

Forest Mushroom Farfalle with Smoked Pheasant - $22.95

Inside the hotel lobby.

Another view of the hotel lobby.

 This park is so big and has so many things to see.  The folks barely scratched the surface.  They would love to camp in this area for a week or two because there are three state parks that are close to each other.

Joey,
The Greyhound Who Wishes His Sister Would Learn To Go Up Steps