Day 6
22 June (Starved Rock State Park, IL)
We woke up this morning to find raccoon scat on our fireplace grate. We think it retaliation for using wash water to put out our fire. It clearly sought revenge for us tricking him with the delicious smell of food; annoyed at finding just smell, no substance...
I got right to work with AP institute and was tuned in the whole time. While I'd obviously love to spend my time doing lots of other things, this course hasn't been mindless and useless - I've taken lots of notes and prepared all kinds of resources for future use. Fortunately, the time difference means the course finished an hour earlier in the day, so after AP class this morning, we went for a hike to Starved Rock and French Canyon. The history behind Starved Rock is fascinating (as well as the colonial critique of the oral narrative) - in short, the name describes what happened to the side of feuding-tribes that was at the top of this beautiful rock overlooking the Illinois River.
We saw a large group of pelicans hanging out in the water, occasionally getting into formation and flying around - it was an impressive and graceful sight.
Even more amazing and stunning was French Canyon - I imagined myself many years ago hiding in the caves, seeking shelter, waiting for rain to bring the gentle waterfall. It was an oasis (even though the waterfall is dry this time of the year). Evelyn and Tilda found that the pool was full of tadpoles and I yearned to return in a few weeks to see and hear thousands of frogs echoing through the canyon.
Beat from the heat and hikes, we hunkered down at our campsite for the rest of the evening and prepared to get on the road tomorrow. For dinner, we roasted a whole butterflied-chicken over the fire for the first time, and it was a revelation. It took some time to get it cooked all the way through, but it was so tasty and effective; we will definitively do it again, but next time with the Dutch oven! We packed camp early so that we could leave first thing in the morning (we'd like to be on the road by 7:30, when my class starts). We are feeling more and more settled into our travel groove.
As I wrote this journal entry, I realized I had forgotten to pay the tolls in Illinois and I was curious if the tolls were paid with my EZ-Pass. The real question is: will I follow-up? (to date, I haven't...)
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