Today we left the Lodge and carpooled to the Ottawa / Kaskaskia Canyon parking area off of Rt. 71. We first enjoyed Council Overhang, then walked into Kaskaskia and the Ottawa Canyon. To finish off our hike we delighted in the excellent display of the Virginia Bluebells there.
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| Beautiful day for 27 hikers and 1 dog to go hiking |
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| Rosanne and Mandy (Mandy is the dog) |
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| Nodding Trillium |
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| "The Boot" |
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| All of us going up into Council Overhang |
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| Looking up into the sky in Council Overhang |
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| Yellow Bellwort with Squirrel Corn |
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| Bishop's Cap / Miter wort |
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| Ottawa Canyon |
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| Ottawa Canyon close up |
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| Jack in the Pulpit (these are just now coming up |
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| Jack in the Pulpit |
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| Virginia Bluebells with a little bit of horse tails sprinkled in. This photo was taken at the Ottawa and Kaskaskia intersection. |
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| Prairie Trillium |
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| Prairie Trillium, this flower just started blooming, so it is hard for me not to take photos of it. Yes there are more to come. |
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| Picturesque Kaskaskia Canyon |
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| Looking back out of Kaskaskia Canyon |
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| Blue Cohosh, later in the year it will have little blue berries (hence the reference to blue) |
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| Trout Lily - Just about the last blooming one, until next year |
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| Wild Ginger- Notice the hidden maroon flower underneath |
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| The highlight for me today was going to be the Bluebells in Illinois Canyon. I saved it for last on purpose. And I wasn't disappointed. |
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| Virginia Bluebells |
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| More Bluebells |
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| Swamp Marigolds or Buttercups |
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| Swamp Marigolds or Buttercups |
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| State flower of Illinois - Blue Violet |
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| Walking along the trail, we saw this little egg |
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| Crossing one of the 3 stream crossings |
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| Yes! 3 of the 27 hikers crossed this stream on the log. Would I do it again???? Maybe, we'll see. |
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| Illinois Canyon |
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| Illinois Canyon - Close up |
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| All of us in Illinois Canyon - What a great group!!! |
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| False Rue Anemone |
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| Coming out of Illinois Canyon |
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| Single file.... |
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| All trying to get the perfect photo of the Bluebells |
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| Bluebells upclose |
I will leave you with this: Breathe the Wind, Drink the Rain.
Thanks for all the beautiful pictures and updates! My family hopes to go there in mid-May.
ReplyDeleteMichael