Starved Rock State Park

May 27, 2015:  We spent two days in this area.  Starved Rock is located on the Illinois River in LaSalle. Starved Rock got its name from a legend about a battle between two tribes.  It was told that one tribe was trapped on the rock and rather than surrender, they stayed there until they starved.

                                                              Campsite

                            There were many goose couples with goslings.

                                      This tree was alive before the Civil War. 

                              White pelicans were swimming in the river near the dam.

                 There were hundreds of white pelicans on the shore of this island.

      While hiking, we came upon this woodchuck gobbling the leaves on the tree branch.

                                     A model of the fort built on Starved Rock.

Michigan: Our Visit Back Home

May 2015:  We were greatly blessed during our visit back home.  We loved our visits and cookouts with family and friends and worship and Bible study at our church.  If not for our June 1st appointment at Winnebago, we could have stayed longer.  Here are a few pictures from our stay. (I forgot to take pictures at some of the gatherings.)

                   Silver Beach and the St. Joseph pier walk with friends before lunch.

              The dogwoods bloomed just as we arrived!  Warren Dunes State Park

                 We watched two bluebirds eating dandelion seeds one rainy afternoon.

               Bluebird picture Shirley took while they camped with us at Warren Dunes.

A milkweed growing in the sand dunes.  According to Sharen, the monarch butterflies love them!

                              These flowers were blooming in the sand dunes.

        May Apple: On our walk, Monica pointed out flowering plants throughout the dune walk.

                                                              Columbine 

        Windy walk through the wooded dunes to the beach, then back across the dune ridge.

                        We chose to go down this steep dune to the campground!

                             Chuck, Dennis, and Bill at our campfire cookout.

                                      Just a silly picture at the top of the dunes!

                               Lunch at Clementine's with fellow retired teachers.

   Asparagus was in season in Michigan!  We ate as much as we could, even grilled!  Delicious!

                                                    Lake Michigan Shoreline

                                                   Lake Michgian Sunset

Trek to Michigan

We drove from northern Georgia to Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington.  While here we took a 17 mile bike ride on the Legacy Trail.  Love was in the air for this swan couple!

Our next stop was at Winton Woods Campground on the north side of Cincinnati.  We enjoyed walks and bike rides around the lake.  It was great to be able to meet with friends, Paul and Dao Noi, for dinner.  I rescued a small red eared slider turtle trying to cross the path to the lake.  Skip was excited watching the ducks and geese on the lake.

After Cincinnati, we drove to Sterling State Park on Lake Erie in Monroe, Michigan, for one night.  While there we had dinner and a visit with Chuck's friend, Chester and his wife, Carol.  What a blessing to spend time with friends!

The next day we met our daughter, Leeah, in Frankenmuth, where she showed her dogs.  It was a fun weekend!  And.....we stayed in a motel!

After a weekend of dog showing, shopping, and touring Frankenmuth, we drove to Leeah's in Lenox, Michigan.  We had a fun week visiting with Leeah and playing with the dogs.  Skip enjoyed finally being able to run off leash.

On May 4, 2015, we arrived back in Southwest Michigan, our home.  We will be camping at Warren Dunes State Park, on Lake Michigan, for the next two weeks.

Woodring Branch Campground

April 5-10, 2015: Woodring Branch Campground is located on Carters Lake at the southern end of the Blue Ridge Mountains in Northern Georgia.  We camped along the peaceful shoreline.   

      Skipper was excited to hear the water splashing along the shore just below our campsite.

  

                                        We loved listening to the loons every day.

                        The dogwood trees starting blooming right after we arrived.

                         The honk of this goose couple announced their daily arrival.

                                                  The red buds were in bloom.

Our ride on this 3.5 mile bike trail turned out to be more challenging than we expected.  This is the easy part!  The difficult portion was rocky and steep with many tree roots......and it was 86 degrees!

                                                         The rocky shoreline.

Providence Canyon State Park

April 1-5, 2015: We stayed at Florence Marina State Park near Omaha, Georgia, so we visit Providence Canyon State Park.  The canyon was created due to poor farming during the 1800's.  It was a warm, breezy day for our canyon hike.  The hike around the canyon rim is 3.5 miles.  We also hiked into nine different canyons on the canyon floor.

                                       These are views from the canyon rim.

            These are views from the canyon floor.

Along the rim hike we came upon a few old cars and trucks that were left behind.  When the park was developed they weren't removed since their removal would cause too much damage to the area.  Chuck is busy attempting to identify each vehicle.  This one is a 1956 Chevy Station Wagon....he was hoping that it was a Chevy Nomad.