Illinois Beach State Park

http://dnr.state.il.us/lands/Landmgt/parks/r2/ilbeach.htmI’m veering away from national parks today as I’m promoting our state and county parks.  I know, I know, everyone is tired of snow, low temperatures, and WINTER!  Hear me out-it is still time to enjoy the out of doors even now.  We’ve been snow shoeing up at the Zion Dunes—Illinois Beach State Park.  There is the nature trail side and the ecosystem there is always interesting.  In the summer,  one can see Waukegan juniper, wild flowers and cactus (prickly pears) and  careful, poison ivy.   In the winter, you can walk along the beach and see the frozen unique drifts that form ice sculptures from the waves, snow and sand.  On Sunday, when we were there, the sky and lake merged into one color, so that you couldn’t distinguish between the two.  You can then go on the nature trail and believe it or not,  :-] you hardly see a soul.  We did see the tracks of some athletic person who walked part of the trail without snowshoes.  It had to be a challenge because the snow was up to their knees.

You can pretend that you’re up in Canada and then go home to your comfy house.  The secret to winter hiking is dress in layers.  You may want to invest in some good quality mittens, hat, jacket, and boots.  Who cares what you look like as it’s difficult to be "styling" and warm at the same time.  With snow over a certain level, snow shoes will make the experience much more fun!

Great Smoky Mountains-Blue Ridge Parkway

Smoky Mountains-The Blue Ridge Parkway

This is the most visited National Park in the United States, but actually it doesn’t feel that crowded.  It was 1977 and two crazy twenty some year olds head east on one motorcycle with camping gear on the back.  The Smoky Mountains are hilly and lush with vegetation.  They have the most beautiful vistas with waterfalls and streams that are just so tranquil.  The problem on a motorcycle is that it rained a lot.  So if you’re tent camping, you stay in your tent a lot, but you do find shelters to hang out in.  You also meet nice people who invite you into their RVs.  for conversation so that you’re dry for a spell.  There were no mosquitoes which is always a plus.  This was my first experience worrying about black bears messing with your food.  We didn’t have a car to lock it in so we had to hang a pack between two trees so they couldn’t reach it.

The Blue Ridge Parkway starts in North Carolina and ends in Virginia, about 470 miles.  There are several National Forests that are near there. You can backpack, bicycle, or travel in a car.  It’s all good!  Flowers bloom throughout the year, starting in Feb.

Now what makes me sad is the mining of coal in the Appalachia these days.  They actually blow the tops of the mountains to get to the coal more efficiently.  The coal companies say they put all of the rock and refuse back to reform the mountain and in a few years it will be the same as before after a couple of years.  Who are they kidding?  How many years will it take?   Watch the film, “Burning the future : coal in America”, and see how it affects the people that still live there.  There are chemical pollutants and their water is contaminated.  I can’t believe our government is letting them do this.  It all comes down to our needing more fossil fuels to sustain our demand for energy.  We’ve sold our soul for a comfort level that is beyond  logic.

www.nps.gov/blri/

National forests or parks that I love

Over the years, I have camped at a few places that are very special.  I will just share some of those and a few memories from these places.