Starved Rock in the Winter

We've been to this park once in the spring and once in the summer.  It was about time to get here in the winter.    

This first picture is the first canyon that you see from atop of the bridge before you get to the main lodge and the gift shop.  There is a honeycomb type of concrete work that helps in the erosion of the canyon below this, about 50-75 feet below the bridge.

The trails were easy to recognize for the most part, but the entrances to the canyons were any but familiar.  The stairs down to the normal starting trails were iced over which were a good suggestion that we were in need of our Yaktraks, which I put on after we were already down on the bottom by the Illinois river.  We were in search of some Eagles, which we heard had taken up residence along the river.

The spot along the river where the eagles were spotted.  

An adult Eagle in one of the trees.

 One of the Eagles flying above us.

 The trail down to the river.

 One of the leaves from a sycamore tree, one of the largest leaves we've ever seen.

The treacherous trail down the French Canyon.  It was entirely ice covered, to the point that you had to hang onto the rail to get down the stairs.  Scout (our 4 legged family member) slipped down these stairs and had to be helped by mom.

 This is how French Canyon looks in the spring...

This is how it looks in the Winter!!!

 The Trail down to the canyons...

 One of the treacherous trails from French Canyon to Pontiac Canyon that were entirely iced over!

Wildcat Canyon in the spring...

 Wildcat Canyon in the winter...

 A closeup of the Wildcat Canyon waterfall...

 Along the trail atop the Wildcat canyon...

After this hike, we trekked back to the Subaru and had a bite to eat or lunch.. Roast beef, ham, and deep fried turkey sandwiches with Colby-jack cheese and Western salad dressing!  A good meal that was well deserved.  After lunch, we drove to the Eastern part of the park and got out at the Counsel Overhang parking lot.

This is the Counsel Overhang.  It is absolutely huge!!!  Large enough to fit our meager house under it!!! 

 This is Kaskaskia Canyon.  after we ventured back there, we discovered that there were ice climbers in there scaling one of the frozen ice pillars.

 This is one of those men climbing the ice pillar.  It was fun to just sit there and watch.  They didn't seem to mind as long as you gave them some space.

After that, we took the other end of the forked trail to Ottawa Canyon.  This was the view at the end of that very long canyon.  The trail ended at 2 frozen waterfalls.

 Here's the girls, relaxing at the end of a long day hiking on ice.

 Of course, my beautiful wife loves the ice, and get's as close to it as she can!

 Here's a 20 second exposure of the ice waterfall that has water flowing in the middle of it.

 An other view of the waterfall at the end of the canyon.

This is a shot of one of the many overhangs that this canyon offers.  It is unique that this overhang has areas that the earth's water seeps through areas in the ceiling that aren't on the edge, but are in the center of the overhang roof.

Lac Du Flambeau

I have always known my Great Uncle and respected him, but until recently, I never quite knew him.  He is an amazing person who has done so much in life and accomplished so much.  He is a role model to many people, and to me also.  Uncle Dave, my Grandmother's younger brother and big brother to my Uncle Bill.  I knew him long ago when I would occasionally see him and his children: Dave Jr, Douggie, Dale, Donnie, and then there was Mike.  He and I were around the same age and looked somewhat similar.  I guess that was from the Christensen bloodline.  Early in the summer, my mother asked if my family wanted to stay the weekend at Uncle Dave's house.  We said yes but didn't quite know what to expect.  We know some things about him, but not much.  I hadn't seen him in a few years since attending a Torsk dinner (a Danish tradition).  This past weekend is a weekend I'll never forget thanks to his and Sharon's generosity and hospitality.

They live on White Sand Lake near Lac Du Flambeau.  He designed his house and finished it himself.  It's in (s he describes it) God's Country.  There were a lot of Eagles flying around, as common as Turkey Vultures are around my neck of the woods.  I've always been in awe of Eagles; their iconic white head and tail, their huge size, their stiff and bold stature... They are the perfect reason of why they are the patriotic symbol of this great country of ours.

Our trip started on Friday morning.  We packed up the Subaru and headed to our first stop before arriving at Uncle Dave's, the appropriately named Dave's Falls.

 Looking at the bridge

 One of the upper falls

Evelyn lost in the moment

After a few hours of hiking, climbing and shooting pictures, we were back on our way.  We said we'd be there around 3, but when we showed up at 3:15, Uncle Dave opened the door, said "Your late!" and closed the door on us!  That set the mood right away.  It's always been fun hanging out with them, their very witty!  We went out for a very tasty fish fry and kinda settled down for the evening.  Of course, Uncle Dave and I finished off the evening having a few drinks and shooting a few games of pool, which he won 2 out of 3.

We woke every morning early to take pictures of the sunrise overlooking the lake from their dock.  Here is the first morning's sunrise.

 We saw a lot of eagles every morning passing right over us and landing in trees across the lake from us.  This was also on the first morning, like he was welcoming us to this area.

 We got a chance to kayak on the lake

 Manda was very happy to kayak, she loves to paddle around without a care in the world

 Even Grace got to paddle a bit, although she did like the paddle board better

 In the afternoon, after a Badger football win, we toured the lake in the pontoon boat, captained by Uncle Dave.

 Funny Uncle Bill told stories, jokes, and shared memories of days past.  Apparently, he likes shopping at "nice" stores...

 Guess who got to drive the boat around for a little while?

 Even Granny was having a really good time, or was that the wine talking...?

 After a great beef tip dinner, we went outside to enjoy the cool night air around a warm fire.

Mom was the evening DJ, like she has done so many nights before, taking requests

 And I got out the camera... "How come there's more stars that show up on your camera than I can see?" asks Uncle Bill.  I said "The camera's younger and has better eyes!"

 Sunrise on Sunday morning.

There weren't many eagles, but an otter did make an appearance and talked to us a bit.

 A red squirrel that we saw while driving around town on Sunday.

 Later, we took a walk.  Look at the colors starting to turn!  It won't be long now before the rest of the state is glowing with fall colors!

 I cooked dinner later that evening before the Packer game (WIN).  We had grilled Salmon, grilled Italian chicken, Italian spiced red potatoes, and grilled green beans and asparagus.  We teamed that up with a red wine which I don't normally drink, but went well with the dinner.  SKOAL!!!

 Sunrise on Monday morning

And about 15 minutes later, the sky is really starting to glow!

I really loved staying here and would really like to thank Uncle Dave and Sharon for opening up their home to us and being such great hosts.  I hope to come back again, sometime maybe a little warmer to take full advantage of the water.

Fun with Outhouses?

Yes.  You read the title right.  Fun.  They sure can be.  Not many people have them anymore.  It's a pain in the um... nose to even get close to public pit toilets.  But to those who still have the pleasure to have an outhouse, it's not just an extra bathroom, it so much more than that.  It's peace of mind to know you'll never have a plumbing problem there.  You'll never have a clogged toilet that won't flush, and you'll always have an excellent backdrop for a photo shoot!

It all started one day last year when we were goofing around and took a picture...

We went for a hike and when we came back, this is what happened.  Manda still has her backpack on!  Ev picked up the BB gun and we quickly choreographed a shot.

The key is in the details.  That's why it's fun, just plain goofy.  We went to a thrift store before this and picked up a martini glass and an assortment of costume ideas.

Even Grace got into the spirit (reluctantly).  I told her to pretend that there was someone chasing her!

Bail!!!

These two just make for the best partnering, mostly because they're both free willing.

Cheers with Charlie!  (Val Ewing and Charlie the adorable puppy are the models in this one.  After all, it is her outhouse, she's had a lot of practice sitting on it!)

That damn Clog!  Note the clothes pin on my nose as an added prop.

CHARGE!!!

Shootin' a turd burgler!

I like that the kid is driving and the adult is shooting.

I couldn't figure out which one of these I liked better.  Of course, both of these pictures, the boat is firmly on the trailer and on the land.  I think that's what makes it work well.  The outhouse isn't in some of these pictures, but it's the humor tat we're sticking with here.

It appears that the kid is catching a big one and the adult could care less while she's taking a pull off the ol' bottle.

Of  course, these are all staged, but we thought they'd be really fun.  They were fun to shoot.  We'll be adding to these as the  seasons change, which will make these more challenging, but equally as fun.  I've got a lot of ideas to play around with!