Well, I thought we were going to be at Wayne Fitzgerrell State Park which I thought included all of the nearby Rend Lake Campgrounds but I was incorrect. . . the first time this trip! Ha Ha!! But we lucked out and ended up with a great campsite. It is Sunday night, we are watching the Billboard Music Awards, and then leaving in the morning for Arkansas and some trout fishin'! We have had a great time time in Illinois with a little fishing, antiqueing, and sightseeing.
Wednesday, May 18
Steve initially wanted to bank fish which is why I wanted some snake boots. So we walked about a quarter of a mile along a bridge, carrying 4 poles, a bucket of fishing supplies, 2 camp chairs which we never used, a cooler, and my bag of necessities, and then we crawled, yes crawled down the rocky bank, they were actually boulders, to the place he had picked out from the last time we were here. Needless to say, from past experience, I was on HIGH ALERT for snakes!! I didn't see any this day but there were some spiders!! YIKS!! We only stayed for an hour because our butts were getting pretty sore from sitting on those darn boulders. We did catch a few small striped bass but we threw them back!
Thursday, May 19
Today we rented a boat to fish. It wasn't our Bass Tracker but it also wasn't sittin' on boulders either!! We started at 9:00 am and returned at 4:30 pm. We had to get our $75.00 worth!!
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| My cat fish!!! |
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| Steve's cat fish!!!! |
I cooked the smaller one. Steve ate some!
I, on the other hand, did not!!
Some of you may have thought I was a little crazy when I said I needed a pair of snake boots. Well take a look at this. It was hanging in the brush that over hung the water nearby where we were fishing from the bank on the previous day. No, I do not have any boots. But you can be darn sure that when we get farther south and out west I will have the best pair of snake boots I can find, even if they are cammo!
This is only the beginning. I will continue to be on a Code Red HIGH ALERT!!!
Friday, May 20
Today we did a little sightseeing and hiking. Yes, the old folks can hike. We just take a lot more breaks than all of you young'uns!
The Garden of the Gods was my idea and I think Steve had his reservations. It was an hour drive but well worth it as you will see by the pictures. Of course, Steve is much braver than I!! The rock formations were absolutely beautiful and the mountain range, the Shawnee Hills, are over 320 million years old and were orginially covered by a giant inland sea.
Steve especially liked this one.
Saturday, May 21
Today was a goof off day. Surely you don't want to hear about this stuff. So on to the GOOD stuff!
Sunday, May 22
Today we are making some plans to head to Arkansas as you can see by the tackle boxes. Trout fishin' is in our near future and we are looking forward to it. Do you think he has enough tackle??
A little more sightseeing was also in our plans. Based on the Illinois liscense plate, it is the "Land of Lincoln". My parents took my brothers and I on a Lincoln history trip when we were small children. I can recall looking at all sorts of log cabins, and historical statues. My mom read every plaque word for word. I love you Mom. :) And look what I am doing now!
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What goes around comes around! |
Holy Gamollies, is that a BIG cross or what!!!??? This is Bald Knob Cross, located near AltoPass, Illinois. It stands 111 feet tall above the 1034 ft. high Bald Knob Mountain.
Additional note. . . . . One night we had a visitor. . . .but we didn't know that night until Steve got up the next morning and noticed all of the minnows were missing from his minnow bucket. So the next night Steve left our little visitor a bucket full of fish guts. As soon as we heard the bucket tip over we both jumped up, Steve with the flashlight in hand and me at the window, to find a big, well-nourished raccoon scampering off into the night. I have always had a soft spot for raccoons ever since dad let us kids keep a baby raccoon whose mother had not survived. My brothers and I named him Racky and had him for several years until he got too big to handle and a little bit mean!! :) It was a sad day when we let him go but he was a wonderful pet while we were growing up in the country.
Well that is about it for now. We will be heading to the White River in Arkansas in the morning and I will be recording the events for chapter 3 of Steve and Kim's BIG Adventure. So long for now. . . .
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