A trip to Southern Illinois Part 4 of 4

We headed north to Springfield Illinois. On the way we stopped at the Sugar Creek Covered Bridge near Chatham, IL. 

After we arrived in Springfield, we went to Scheels, a large sporting goods store. We just wanted to move around and thought this would be a good place. When we walked in, there was a small crowd at the large fish tank. (Yes, they have a LARGE fishtank and a ferris wheel in this place!) Then we noticed the 'mermaid'. She was wearing scuba gear and was cleaning the tank! It was interesting to watch.

We were in Springfield for 2 nights so we had a full day to enjoy the area. We began that day at Peace and Applique, a quilt shop in Rochester, IL. I haven't been there in years but always liked this shop. It's now more than twice as big as the last time I was there!

Color wall in first room

Floor in bathroom - yardsticks!

I found the last thing on my list - navy fabric for a binding! I think a striped binding will be interesting on this quilt.

Then I shopped and found some blenders that I know I will use.

The lady working made these shoes. They had kits and it was tempting but I have quilts to make!

The second stop was at Sew Sweet Quilt Shop in Springfield. This is a relatively new shop (4 years in Springfield) and I thought small so I didn't think I'd find much. Ha! The owner is great and has a gorgeous shop which has lots of fabric. 

just one aisle of many

I'll definitely stop the next time I'm in the area. I found more blenders and a red wide back that I know I will need in the near future. 

We asked for lunch recommendations at Sew Sweet and were sent two minutes away to Charlie Parker's Diner, a longtime fixture in Springfield. Ray had the Breakfast Shoe.

Ray's Breakfast Shoe

I had the special - a Sloppy Joe and it was wonderful!

In the afternoon, we visited the Washington Park Botanical Gardens. There weren't a lot of flowers blooming in the conservatory but the orchids were gorgeous. 

The grounds were beautiful and we did find some pretty flowers.

The rose garden surrounds the trellis

Next stop was the Illinois State Fairgrounds. I didn't realize Ray had never been there so that made the stop more fun. We checked out the Illinois Product Farmers Market and found produce, baked goods, hand crafted goods, .... We left with two fried pies since we wouldn't be doing any cooking and couldn't use any of the great looking produce.

While at the fairgrounds, we saw the Illinois Route 66 Experience. It was fun to walk through. We talked to a young man who was traveling in the VW van that I thought was part of the exhibit. He and his wife began in California and were following Route 66. 

Almost everything brought back good memories.

I really want a pecan log.

There were a few Burma-Shave signs. One group read:

                                GET YOUR KICKS

                                IS WHAT THEY SAY

                                THE MOTHER ROAD

                                IS THE ONLY WAY

                                ~The Illinois Route 66 Experience

And another:

                                BIG MISTAKE

                                MANY MAKE

                                RELY ON THE HORN

                                INSTEAD OF THE BRAKE

                                ~Burma-Shave

  

To end the day, we went back to Washington Park to the 

International Carillon Festival. It was opening night of the 64th festival! We enjoyed sitting in the park with many others and listening to some beautiful music.

And just like that, it was the last day of our trip. Our drive home. staying off the interstates, was uneventful. We decided that ChatGPT did a great job suggesting and helping to plan this trip. The trip was very relaxing and enjoyable.

A trip to Southern Illinois Part 3 of 4

I loved going to Cave-in-Rock. I read that a pirate ship was once hidden in the cave but I can't find confirmation. I found the history fascinating and will leave you with just a little information.

From AI on Yahoo, "Cave-In-Rock, Illinois is an imposing geological formation on the banks of the Ohio River.... The cave gained infamy in the late 1700s and early 1800s as a notorious hideout for river pirates, counterfeiters, and outlaws who preyed on passing flatboats...Worn into the white limestone bluffs by Ohio River flooding, the cave was extensively carved out during the melting period following the Wisconsin Ice Age. It measures roughly 55 feet wide at the opening and extends 120 feet deep. A unique 100-foot vertical fissure in the ceiling acts as a natural chimney, allowing smoke to escape and making the space perfect for human habitation.... " 

After descending some steps, we walked down a paved path.

The entrance.

Entering the cave.

Looking back towards the opening.

Further in, looking back.

Inside the cave. There is natural light because of the fissure.

The Cave-in-Rock car ferry can be seen from the high cliffs near Cave-in-Rock.

The ferry goes straight across the Ohio River to Marion, Kentucky, and back. It makes about 3 trips each way every hour. This free ferry fascinated me because the boat swung the barge part when approaching the dock. The 'hinge' is the red part in the photo below. 

We took the ferry to Kentucky and supposedly the largest Amish settlement in Kentucky but we learned that in recent years, at least half of the families have move to other places. It sounds like the new bishop might have been a little too modern for some families and they wanted to live more conservatively. I'm sure there were many other reasons also. 

There weren't a lot of Amish places to see but we did find the  bakery, Hidden Valley Kitchen. After eating a free blueberry donut hole, we had to have their specialty, the  blueberry donuts. I think we also had a couple of fried pies and some oatmeal whoopee pies. Enough treats for more than a week! We also found some ripe tomatoes at the bakery and some fresh lettuce at an Amish roadside stand, so we enjoyed eating BLTs a couple of times.

One day we went to Bell Smith Springs to hike to the natural bridge. We met a Boy Scout troop going the opposite way. They all said hello except one young man - he said something like "Are you having a great day?". The conversation with him just made me smile as we kept hiking and hiking. 

Eventually we decided we weren't on our way to the bridge because we had hiked far too long. Right after we decided to turn around, we met a backpacker. He said we would eventually reach the bridge if we kept going but it was a loooong ways ahead. Going back the way we came was the shortest way! When we got back to the trailhead, we decided that we'd had a nice hike and we'd just call that a good day or maybe a great day! 

It was an interesting day - we didn't get lost, we didn't find our destination, I slipped and fell while ascending a big rock - I was pretty dirty but not hurt badly, and Ray's allergies seemed worse.

We drove to High Knob to see how it would be for sunset shots. 

It was pretty but sunset shots weren't going to work because of trees. If I looked a different direction, I could see the layers in the hills. 

Sunday morning Ray's allergies were much worse so we visited Urgent Care in Harrisburg. He got some meds and was told the pollens are really bad right now. We spent the rest of Sunday at  'home' resting. I needed the rest too. I also spent time sewing a binding on a quilt I brought along.

We took a second day of rest even though Ray felt some better as did I. I did take a short walk around the farm, ran into host Kathy and ended up in the barn holding a baby peacock! I also spent some time with their Great Pyrenees, Sam, and the 2 goats. 

That evening we got some much needed rain. The deep ravine behind our outside seating area had LOTS of runoff from the 3" of rain.

With the runoff 

No runoff

On our last full day, we went to Burden Falls. We met a "ranger-type" person that was working there. She said the rain quickly floods the area and then quickly runs off. The only trace of last nights rain (1" there) was a wet ground and wet rocks. The falls is pretty and was probably really crazy during the rainfalls.

We drove to Rim Rock and decided to only hike upper trail because it was getting late. We found this interesting tree.

Of course, we stopped for wild flowers.

There were lots of trees so it was hard to see much of the scenery.

When it began to rain, we decided to turn around and head back to the parking lot but stopped to take a selfie first.

On our way 'home' we drove through Pounds Hollow Recreation Area. It was a pretty drive and Pounds Hollow Lake is quite long with boating, fishing, and swimming. Since we didn't stop and go down the steps, I couldn't get photos of the lake but I did grab this picture of the area thru the windshield. 

More to come ....