Shawnee National Forest, Illinois

October 15, 2024

Back to our original home state of Illinois we went, this time to a destination near the southern tip of the state in the Shawnee National Forest.

One last view of the Arch. (Not sure exactly what the snow drill was all about.)

Back in Illinois

Guess horses need dentists too!

Pretty rolling hills of southern Illinois

Our home for the next six days was Dixon Springs State park, conveniently located in the middle of all the sights we wanted to see. We had already been to most of these places during our camping years many moons ago, but it was fun to revisit them again.

An attractive campground that was mostly empty (except for the weekend)

Friday was a gorgeously warm and sunny day, and we chose the Garden of the Gods as our first stop. We have been there several times over the years, but it never gets old.

We always get a kick out of the graphics used in warning signs

Even though it was a weekday (Friday), there were still quite a few people climbing all over the rocks

The iconic Camel Rock

Afterward, we walked the nearby Golden Circle trail that had an interesting natural bridge rock formation.

And further down the road, we walked the Rim Rock trail which had a fun mini-labyrinth through the rocks.

The first part of the trail was on top of the bluff, but it was kind of boring

The lower part of the trail was far more interesting

Kids would have fun running around in here!

On Saturday afternoon, we headed to the thriving metropolis of Metropolis to go to Mass and to check out the "Super City".

In case you were wondering where the largest Superman statue in the world was--wonder no more

Not much else in town besides the Superman statue and museum

...and Lois Lane

...and Big John

Our gorgeous warm and sunny weather continued through Sunday, and we visited Heron Pond and went on a ride along the Tunnel Hill State Trail.

Heron Pond boardwalk

According to the Illinois DNR website, the Heron Pond swampland is dominated by water tupelo and bald cypress, some of which are among the oldest trees in Illinois. This is also one of the northernmost swamps of its kind in the country.

Unfortunately, no water today in the swamp

The largest Cherrybark Oak tree in Illinois

The Vienna trailhead of the Tunnel Hill State Trail

Hints of fall color

Crossing an old railroad trestle

Fun--an old tunnel to ride through!

The weather cooled considerably by Monday, just barely reaching 60 degrees. The sunny skies provided a nice setting for a pleasant autumnal walk along the Ghost Dance Canyon trail at Dixon Springs State park, not too far from our campsite.

Should be an interesting trail!

Being old farts, we really had to watch where we stepped on this rocky trail

We had fun climbing on this boulder field

Julie put the kibosh on going this way (she's such a party pooper 😉)

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