None of today's 46 SR Walkers were tested so none were positive. We walked out to St. Louis & Aurora Canyons without seeing any covid-19. Not sure about next week.

 We left the Lodge without attaching traction as we were expecting mud not ice.

 A trail view of the upper Aurora Canyon waterfall.

 Climbing the rim trail above Aurora Canyon.

 A trail bridge view down the Sac Canyon waterfall to water splashing over a ledge thirty feet below before falling another thirty-five feet to the creek on the canyon floor.

 Our footwear determines whether we walk through the mud or around it.

 Trekking poles take 50% of the weight off your knees. Most don't walk without them.

 Some trees appear to be prepping for St. Patrick's Day.

 Looking down the trail stairs beside "yellow rock".

 My favotite piece of the Bluff Trail winds along the narrowest part of the bluff.

 St. Louis Canyon off the left side of the trail, the Illinois River Valley off the right.

 A view from the Bluff Trail down to the Walkers on the canyon trail.

 A turkey tail "fun guy" party on a trailside log.

 A view up St. Louis Creek to the Walkers massed below the canyon headwall.

 St. Louis Canyon always dwarfs its visitors...

 ...and doesn't miss the dwarves when they are gone.

 Walkers headed back down canyon.

 A trail bridge view of the white St. Peter sand moving down the bottom of St. Louis Creek.

 The Walkers don't notice but others say the canyon trail could use some maintenance.

 Trail stairs curving across the top of "yellow rock".

 A bluff Trail view of some Walker "ants" on the floor of Aurora Canyon.

A trail bridge view up Aurora Creek.

We will end our first pandemic hike with a quote from Sarah Louise Arnold,

 "Wholesome exercise in the free air, under the wide sky, is the best medicine for body and spirit."

Forty five Starved Rock Walkers (0 dogs) left the Lodge lobby and drove to Buffalo Rock State Park to hike the Effigy Tumuli and River Trails there. A sunny, windy March day for a walk!

 The bison Pebbles came out to see us off.

 Tailgates open and gearing up for the hike.

 We took the accessible trail (sidewalk) from the parking lot to the first overlook platform. In summer this is one of the nicest wheelchair walks in the county.

 The Effigy Tumuli Trail winds through five different effigies constructed from old strip mine piles that used to be here.

 Edna agreed to lead most of the group to the summit of the catfish.

 This is the summit team descending the head of the catfish.

 This is truly one of the best strip mine reclamations you will ever see.

 Leaving the frog effigy I noticed one walker thought today is the perfect day to wear his bison hat!

 Some of us also chose to summit the snake effigy.

 Signs seen from atop the snake encouraged us to turn around so we did.

 This was our first traction-free walk of 2020. No one missed the ice & snow!

 The River Trail funnels walkers into single file along the edge of Buffalo Rock. 

 Walkers on the stairs down to the river overlook.

 A downriver view from the overlook at the wind driven rollers and whitecaps moving up river.

 Only the geologist was impressed by the limestone stairs at the end of the River Trail.

 The right half of the "wedding oak" in the Park's picnic area went down in the 28 February 2017 tornado. The left half is still doing fine. No, you cannot call it the "divorce oak"!

Cocoa, right, joined Pebbles to watch us leave.

As we "Think Spring", a quote from George Santayanya reminds us,

"To be interested in the changing seasons is a happier state of mind than to be hopelessly in love with spring."