Daisy State Park, Arkansas

2022-05-20

Here are just a few random photos from my trip. It seems that there is good cell service until I decide to post.

I absolutely loved my time at the North Fork Campground. It was $5, and only one other camper. I had a great site right on the rushing river. What a view! A short 1/2 mile hike was the natural spring which bubbled up with enough force to give a great massage I do wish the water had been a tad warmer, as it was a little hard to relax and enjoy the massage in the 50 degree temperature!

I will take away a lot of memories from that place as it is kinda hard to forget the good case of chiggers that I also brought away with me. Still it is on my bucket list of places to return to. Maybe next time I’ll bring a wet suit and use some repellent when hiking in the forest.

Brazil Creek Campground,

Mark Twain Forest

2022-05-16

Interesting fact about Sand Ridge State Forest. When I was talking to the superintendent and he was telling me that his campground had NEVER be full, he slowly added that, “What with the ticks, and poison ivy and humidity, some people just don’t know how to survive an environment like this.” I thought, “My goodness, it’s a state park!” I am not sure that that “survival” is the first word that comes to mind when they think about camping.

Still I was happy for the quiet seclusion. Oh, I did have to be careful for the poison ivy. It was literally everywhere! Tics- there certainly was a lot of them too, but I am a seasoned camper—or so I thought. In the end it was the nats that drove me screaming for the exit. They landed in your ears and mouth. I often swallowed them.

So it was a pleasure to move 2 hours south, to the family friendly campground called Beaver Dam State Park. As you can imagine it has a nice lake that was formed when the beavers damed up the stream. I looked forward to photographing the little fellows until I found out that for all their hard work they were driven from the park.

Still it was a Sunday and so except for a few campers I once again had the place to myself.

Sand Ridge State Forest, Illinois

2022-05-14

So I had to move from the most visited state park in Illinois (Starved Rock State Park with over 2 million visitors annually) to Sand Ridge State Forest. I don’t know how many visitors this park gets, but when I called to try and make reservations the park superintendentt answered on the first ring. He said to his knowledge the campsites have never been completely full, and even though it was the weekend, it was not necessary to make a reservation.

But before I left I had to take one more hike to see and photograph another canyon/waterfall. Leaving very early, I once again had the place all to myself. LaSalle Canyon wound up being one of my favorites.

The 2 1/2 hour drive was relaxing and uneventful. I set my GPS to avoid highways so it took me through all of the rural parts of Illinois.

When I arrived I had the pick of the campsites as there was only one other camper. Still I picked the most secluded one just in case.

It’s so quiet I might just stay another day.

Starved Rock State Park , Illinois

2022-05-12

So the secret to having a better day is to get up early and start early, and that’s just what I did. I was on the trail by 6:30 am and there wasn’t a soul in site. In fact I pretty much had the trail and the canyons and the waterfalls to myself.

The first one was Aurora Canyon and Waterfall. I think that I would have enjoyed it even more if I hadn’t fallen on my ass on the slippery rocks. Ouch! No bruising except to my pride.

In the early morning I couldn’t find the trail to St. Louis Canyon so I just drove to the other side and started hiking again. It worked out pretty well as so far I hadn’t seen but one woman on the trail.

This one was spectacular, and I walked around and and photographed it from all sides. First with my normal lens and then with my wide angle. To celebrate I sat on the sandy bank and ate my yogurt, banana and breakfast bar meal.

By then, it was after eleven, and the crowds started to show up, so I made my way to the lodge and celebrated again with an over priced $25 burger.

Another good day!