Buffalo Rock State Park March 07-2019

Going up the back of the Catfish

We met in the Lobby of the Starved Rock Lodge and some of us carpooled to Buffalo Rock State Park.  We had no precipitation, but it was chilly.  No wind.  It was a great hike with about 47 people.

I never noticed before that the horns are not the same on both sides.  Interesting.

Taking another look.

Sign on the "buffalo" pen.

Someone does feed them, just not us. 

And off we go..... 

We were pleasantly surprised to see that we did not need our yak-trax at today at Buffalo Rock. 

At Buffalo Rock there are mounds similar to Indian Burial Mounds.  They are in shapes of water creatures, Water Strider, Frog, Catfish, Turtle and Snake.  All of the signs telling about them are now gone. (now there is a plain brown post).  I think this one is the Water Strider. The best way to see these are from the air. A good imagination is a must.!

We were bundled up and ready to for the weather.  

We were going up the back of the "Catfish" and coming down the front of the fish. 

Going down. Illinois River in the distance.

View looking West at the West end of the park, by the "Snake"

Phragmites

The non-native Phragmites is a perennial grass that can reach over 15 feet in height. It is often found in dense clonal stands made up of living stems and standing dead stems. ... Phragmites forms a ticket of roots and rhizomes that can spread 10 or more feet and several feet deep in one growing season.

Sign at the Look out point on the trail

View of the Illinois River from the look out point

This section opened a few months ago after being closed for almost 2 years.  There was a tornado that came through here and did quite a bit of damage to the trees and overlook areas. This is the first time I have been here since it opened. 

This overlook is still closed.  You can see the damage to the fencing.
We didn't go past the Do Not Enter sign. 

The second overlook is open.  Very nice viewing deck of the Illinois River.

River is still frozen

We saw lots of eagles on the way going to and coming from Buffalo Rock.  This eagle was on a tree near the Starved Rock Marina. 

I will leave you with this: Never let success go to your head and never let failure go to your heart.