We took a trip to Matthiessen State Park yesterday and went on a different hike than our usual tour of the upper and lower dells. We parked in the Vermilion River end of the park and took the horse trails into the dells area. One turn wasn’t well marked and we ended up taking quite a long circuit, but it was still nice to see more of the park than we usually do.
This photo shows the Queen Anne’s Lace flowers in their closed up state. I love how the flower heads curl into little cages for the seeds.
There were loads of people there, especially in the lower dells area! It was weird–we are wondering if Starved Rock has put up signs directing people to Matthiessen. After years of feeling like it’s our secret, it was an odd situation to have to share the area with other people!
Not sure if this rock carving is new or if we just hadn’t noticed it before:
Lots of yellow stuff growing and lovely farm buildings in the area
I love the Utica Elevators–right in the middle of town.
Another QAL shot 🙂 or two
Looks like a lovely day at Matthiessen State Park~