12-6-2018 Margery Carlson Nature Preserve

A couple of times a year the Walker's Club walks into an area Nature Preserve.  Today we chose to go to the Margery Carlson Nature Preserve.  This area is south on Rt. 178 about 6 miles.  Some people stayed in the park today and hiked with Joe Jakupcak to Wildcat, Lover's Leap and Eagles Cliff. We had 38 walkers go to the Nature Preserve.

About the Margery Carlson Nature Preserve

234.34 Acres, purchased in June 1976 with an addition in June 1978.

This nature preserve contains young forest, bluffs and streams typical of sites near the Vermilion River in the Grand Prairie Section. Some excellent examples of eroding bluff plant communities may be seen here. Over seventy-five species of flowering herbaceous plants have been identified in the preserve including forked aster and bottle gentian. Deer, beaver and red fox are also known to inhabit the area.

This preserve is named in memory of Margery Carlson, who was instrumental in protecting the area, formerly known as Big Bend Nature Preserve. Carlson was a founder of the Illinois chapter of The Nature Conservancy, serving the chapter as its first secretary and later as trustee.

Minimal parking at the Nature Preserve.  Only has room for about 8 cars.  Some had to park on the side of the rode.

Leaving the parking lot you follow a "trail" down a ravine.  There are no trails in the Nature Preserve, you are just picking your way through.  Once getting to the bottom we worked our way
Westward.  Should have gone a bit further, but it worked out ok.

Cool looking shelf fungi

The Nature Preserve is also used for hunting.  We were scheduled to come here last week but hunting was scheduled.  We swapped the hike for last week.  

Found a kind of fresh skull bone.  Think it was a deer. 

This was a metal walk way to an island in the middle of a lake.  I have never seen this before in all the times I have been here.

We all made it to the Vermillion River

This looked man made to me.

Walked a bit East and came upon this open to the Vermillion River again.

I'm glad today is Dec. 6th.

I will leave you with this: A single act of kindness throws out roots in all directions and the roots spring up and make new trees. The greatest work that kindness does to others is that it makes them kind themselves.