My latest exploits to see my wonderful darling in Kentucky.
Of course we made a side trip so that I could kick this guys butt! But Nancy has become my kryptonite it seems and we soon will be sharing a domestic relationship until she completes her last year of school.
The area was very cool up in southern Illinois at the Garden of the Gods. A day spent hiking and pushing each others tails up while climbing among the rocks. I also learned that you don't pronounce the S in Illinois.
We call ourselves Calvin and Hobbes. We both love life, nature and finding surprises no matter where we look. She is a big part of a NO KILL animal shelter and has three adopted kittehs. My squirt will learn to get along with them all.
This was in Metropolis at the fund raiser for the shelter.
And in the Garden of the Gods after we parked and were about to begin our day of hiking. Signs, signs, everywhere signs. We ignored this one. Nearly 100 degrees and we took all the water we could carry but the important part is that we also brought out all the plastic to put in the recycle containers later. No all do and that is the reason for the sign. Very sad and I see the litter in my mountains as well.
We got to ride the ferry from Illinois into Kentucky and that was a first for me. Really cool ride.
Enjoy your day today my friends. I'm waiting to ride the bike and park it along our 11th street. We have a soldier returning for his last time because of an IED. I imagine the street will be lined with people showing their respects.
Deral
Glad to see everything is going well!
Hey.... I've been there...
I dunno if you can do it TM, that's a pretty big cape to fill...
I'm faster than an speeding bullet and can leap tall buildings. But only if she asks me to.
But today was for a fallen brother that died in a IED. I have stuff to grill but that could wait. Patriot riders brought him in for the last time and he will never get to grill again with his family nor hold his children in his arms.
Makes you put it all into perspective, at least to me.
Sorry about the fallen brother.
If you have the time, check out Ft. Defiance. It is a park where the Ohio flows into the Mississippi. It is where Lewis and Clark and their contingent of "Corps of Discovery" men, spent five days in 1803 there teaching each other celestial navigation and surveying skills. Using a sextant, octant, artificial horizon, and reference tables, they successfully obtained the first longitude and latitude data that they would use during the Expedition.
Also Cave in the Rock is near the ferry. River pirates and highwaymen used it as a hideout.
We did the Cave in the Rock. Very nice indeed and about 20 degrees cooler than the outside ambient temps. Nancy was taking pictures just at the entrance and got the bird pooh though. I about fell down laughing until I saw the look she gave me.
That is where the ferry is but they have a great cafe in the town just at the edge of the ferry on the Illinois side.
Sounds like you guys are having fun. Keep up the good work.
Who's brilliant idea was the No Disposable Containers sign I wonder?
Sounds like some bureaucrat's idea of trying to reduce litter. The problem is; Anyone who is law-abiding enough to obey the sign would also be the type who would not litter. I guess the other confusion would be that there are essentially no disposable containers anymore because they are recyclable.
That's in Metroplois, IL. Been there.
Actually, I was born not far from there up in Clay county to the NE.
If you happened to run across some folks named Bowen, Palmer or White, you likely ran across some of my kin.
If you want to some good hiking head toward Carbondale and check out Giant City State Park. IL is not known much for any mountains but southern IL has them.
So Deral please vouch for me that folks in S IL are not at all like the Chicago types at all. I've been in the south since 83 and most don't know I'm not from around here. When they hear I'm from IL they assume I'm a Chicago yankee. Far from it!!! Most don't realize how big the state is from N to S.
Lord knows how many arguments I have ended with being accused of being Yankee.
I ask: "is someone from Louisville, KY a yankee?"
A: No
Then I tell them my little birth place town is farther south of Louisville.
Argument over!
Very cool area, and not at all what most folks think of when they think about Illinois....
The cafe at the state park there in Cave in Rock is pretty good too... I recommend the catfish.
If you go again and get up around Carbondale, stop in at Giant City State Park as suggested, and drop down to the little town of Makanda....lots of funky old hippies and an NGS benchmark in downtown on the railroad tracks.
My Kentucky ancestors picked up and moved to the St. Libory area of St. Clair County in the early 1800's. Must be some excellent people in that neighborhood.
Holy, et al. I found the folks in southern Illinois to be much the same as those in Western Kentucky. Very friendly and pretty much just like most folks in SW Oklahoma. I had no problem fitting in instantly with anyone I met. I was careful though to NEVER discuss the North vs the South in some towns. Many are still fighting that war even today, even if just verbally.
Loved the meal at the cafe in Cave in Rock (towns name on the shore of the river by the ferry).
Just a very pretty place on both sides of the river. We have many more places to explore but just did not have enough time. There never is it seems.
