(Click on collage to enlarge)
We had been wanting to go to Starved Rock State Park, so we packed up a couple weekends ago and made the trip. We had a great time! The drive there was nice and relaxing (Reese slept!) and it was a warm fall weekend. We stayed in Ottawa, IL at a brand new Fairfield Inn courtesy of my former life as a traveling business lady (ha ha ha). We called ahead to see if they had a fridge in the room so we could keep milk around for Reese and they upgraded our room for free! Something about our hotel room really appealed to Reese...she loved it and was very happy whenever we were there.
The park itself was fantastic! I was not expecting this place to be as crowded as it was, but it was packed! Tons and tons of people. There were a lot of hiking trails and once you got away from the main lodge and visitor center, the crowd thinned out significantly. The other unexpected thing? Ladybugs. TONS of them. They were mostly on the wooden elevated pathways, I thought they were really annoying (I swear they were biting me), but Reese liked when they would land on her.
All in all, we had a fun, quick getaway. Reese enjoyed hiking and even FELL ASLEEP in the backpack. If you know our child, you know that is not to be expected. Unfortunately we had to wake her up because her head was flopping around.
It is definitely somewhere I'd go back to check out in all the different seasons. In the spring and late fall, the waterfalls are going in the canyons and in the winter they get icefalls (?not sure if that is a word).
Reese dressed up as a dog this year. She loves dogs, and will tell you what the dog says (sometimes...but of course not when she's in her costume). We took pictures of Reese in her costume at the park the day before. It went pretty well other than eating flowers and rocks. We took Reese out on Halloween mostly to just walk around and visit a couple friends. She had fun watching all the people and would point and say "kids" when a big group of kids would go by. She got a few pieces of candy, but true to her nature, instead of putting it in her pumpkin she insisted on carrying as much of it in her hands as she would manage.
