Category Archives: Southwest Illinois

Deckview 2/8/24

Ok, definitely not my deck.

A gorgeous view from the Aerie’s Resort deck of the Mississippi and Illinois River confluence in Grafton, Illinois.

Pier Marquette

Feels like the groundhog-promised early spring,

Warm and windy,

WIth sunshine shifting in and out

Among high puffy clouds

In spite of an early Valentine dinner program taking place in the lodge,

The trails are nearly deserted for a Wednesday evening sunset stroll,

And Thursday morning hike.

Pere Marquette State Park

Beautiful, sunny, jacket cool afternoon. We climbed up Dogwood trail to the overlook, then down along Hickory to the Twin Shelter and Hickory South to the Lodge for lunch.

I wasn’t sure how much color to expect. It was forcast to be on the dull side this year, and I hadn’t seen much at home. The River Road was pretty on the way, but without the brilliant reds it often has.

The trees in the park were still thick with leaves, though, and the brilliant sunshine set them aglow like Christmas lights.

There were lots of people, but not really any crowds. Everyone was well spaced out on the trails, enjoying the beautiful day.

The Nature Institute

Godfrey, Illinois

I’ve wanted to come here since I heard about it last year, just as it was about the close for the winter.

A privately owned nature preserve in southwest Illinois, it has multiple trails of varying lengths, winding through woods and streams and along the beautiful Beaver Falls.

It’s just a little cool as we start out, but I’m pretty quickly glad I decided to leave the jacket behind anyway. It warms up quickly, wandering up and down the rolling hills.

The treetops and underbrush glow with spring color, and I can never resist just one more closeup of the cheerfully swaying Sweet Williams.

The stream splashes along a series of stairstep ridges, climbing to the hollow of Beaver Falls.

A sunning turtle and a tired hawk were the only wildlife I could capture, although the woods were full of darting and calling birds. My Merlin app, set to identify birds by sound, captured at least 15 different species. We probably actually saw a little more than half of them.

A definite incentive to come back and try again.

Goat Cliff Trail – Pere Marquette State Park

Crystal skies,

Mild breezes,

Leaves lit from within,

Golden, orange, and red.

I’d never walked this trail before, or even noticed the entrance to it, on the far side of the parking lot from the other trail heads.

I only noticed it this time because we parked in the gravel overflow lot, joining what appeared to be the rest of western Illinois on this gorgeous fall afternoon.

It’s a gently sloping trail for most of the way, scrolling between the edges of the highway and and the towering grey river bluffs.

Slowly climbing above the traffic rumble, it overlooks thickly wooded valleys and peek-a-boo views of the river.

The trail emerges at the top of the bluff, joining the other trails at the overlook shelter, the final glows of summer mingling with the brilliance of fall.

Schoolhouse Trail

Schoolhouse trail is a 15 mile section of the multi trail Madison County transit trail system, in southwestern Illinois.

Early on, it feels more rural than it really has a right to, running in tandem with busy State Highway 203.

It’s bounded on both sides by trumpet flower vines before it flows into thick woodlands.

Birds and insects call and hum, just beneath the roar of the traffic and the thump and rattle of industrial plants.

Four miles in, it winds along beautiful Horseshoe Lake State Park.

Then it crosses the highway and transitions to quiet open farmland and through the bustling outskirts of Collinsville.

Collinsville is busy and crowded, but the trail remains completely off the road, except for quick, well-marked crossings.

It drops past town, into a thickly wooded neighborhood trail, that seems to be more heavily used than the earlier section. Translation: I meet probably 8 -10 people versus 3 -4. 

Threatening clouds merge into drizzly rain. 2.4 miles from Troy and 13 from my car, Troy seems the better bet.

In a beautiful Maryville park, I stop for a quick snack break.

The rain sputters out. The air is clean and muggy and honeysuckle fresh, chasing me on to the end.

Rend Lake Rest Stop

It’s just a rest stop, really. An ordinary highway pull-out with designated parking for trucks and passenger vehicles, a clean and pleasant building with restrooms and tourist brochures, and severl scattered picnic shelters. The walking paths are a little nicer than some stops maybe, with a pretty little bridge over a creek, but it’s the bordering lake that’s turned it in to a destination pause for us for over a decade now.

Pere Marquette

Sunshine trails on a quiet Monday. I’m not sure how long the park has been open again. We haven’t been here since February and the sudden uprooting of the world.

I’m used throngs of friendly hikers here on a beautiful summer morning, but today the parking lot is nearly empty. I’m not sure if it’s only because it’s Monday, or if most people don’t know it’s reopened.

The campground is still closed, so that might explain it too.

We pass a handful of people, with friendly waves and suitable distance.

Everyone is just happy to be outside and moving. The trails is so still that the only sound is the call of birds high in the treetops.

High on the ridge and deep in the woods, I can’t even make out the muffled roar of traffic on the highway below.

It feels like a time apart

In the trees and flowers and rustic CCC structures

Until we pass this tree on the way back down to get lunch,

And all I can think is …

Grooot!