January 16, 2020
As I headed into the Wisconsin Wilderness, I didn’t stop until I hit Peru, IL. If any of you have found been there, it’s a quaint little town with Starved Rock State Park nearby and some decent eats. Personally, I like Uptown Grill (if you are singing “Uptown Girl” right now by Billy Joel, your welcome!) for their salad creations. I had a stunningly presented salad of thinly sliced Brussel sprouts, pickled onions, bacon, goat cheese, dried cranberries, squash and sprouts with a perfectly light balsamic dressing. It was garnished with some sort of palm-sized, thinly sliced radishes, which were the bomb. No leaving hungry from this place, I was stuffed by the time I finished my monster salad. Alas, this is not my food blog, but you can check out my food and other reviews, here as minnetraveler31.
Starved Rock State Park (WI)
The next morning, I left early to Carterville, IL to pick up another photographer friend before we head into the Bachelorette Party capital of the world, Nashville. I stopped only to eat, pee and gas up. While on my pit stop, I nearly ended the road trip in a Target parking lot when I experienced a near miss from a T-bone. I guess people outside of Chicago don’t use their horn much because I judiciously used mine and was met with surprised looks.
Safely, I made it to Carterville, IL where the temps had climbed to near 60 degrees (above zero) and I saw something that I still remember, something that I look for every time I leave Minnesota in the winter. Something that I recall the very first time I see it as it is so vivid and literally brings butterflies of joy to my stomach. Are you ready for it? Bright green, growing grass.
When I saw this huge patch, it was right before I turned into my friend’s neighborhood and I immediately wanted to stop the car, take a picture and then roll around in it for 5-10 minutes solid. My adult Sarah took over and thought it would be best if I made it to Nashville without being admitted into an institute along the way.
All joking aside, the sun was out, the sunroof was open and I could feel the warm sun heating my body, well, at least the top of my hairy head.
The next morning, when we left, the near 60 degrees left to better climates and we briefly followed the paths around stone formations at Garden of the Goods in Herrod, IL. The wind had picked up and the temps were hovering right below 30. I only had two layers on the bottom, but three on top. As we hiked and my body began to freeze in place, I again wondered, “why do those below freezing temps follow me around like a shadow?”
The views were vast at the peaks and I could imagine how much more interesting the scene would’ve been had there been life in the trees as opposed to bareback branches. We did find some fascinating natural art designs in the flow and striation of the sandstone. While we walked just a very small area, I would certainly return to hike some longer trails and gaze (maybe on warmer days) at more lookouts.
Once on the road, we continued on to one of my favorite states, Kentucky. I always remember the trip the hubby and I made to North Carolina to look at a boat, we ended up naming “Dingy” and not buying, but the breathtaking winery we visited on the way there and the organic garden food they served us blew our minds.
