I can let you in on a secret if you promise not to tell any one else. There is this place just south of Wisconsin outside of the city of Chicago called Illinois. It's pretty big and admittedly mostly flat and uninspiring but in and among the corn and soybean fields are hidden places of real beauty and spectacular scenery. Now for the real big secret. This place called Illinois has some wonderful state parks and in the busy seasons when everyone thinks they have to go to a Wisconsin state park you can come down here and enjoy scenery just as nice as Wisconsin. An added bonus is: no fees to get into the parks and a lower per night camping charge. Now promise me you'll keep the secret because right now not too many people camp in their parks and I like the un-crowded atmosphere.
Fran and I had a baptism to attend on the south side of Chicago on Sunday. This was a can not miss occasion since I had officiated at the parents's wedding and the baby was a great niece. We decided to take advantage of the occasion and camp beforehand then drive Chummy to the church. We chose an area around Oregon, Illinois which both Fran and I had been to before we had met and while we were dating. This was also peak fall color time and all the Wisconsin parks were filled so there was no choice but to head south into Illinois and we were happy we did.
We left early on Thursday afternoon and had a nice relaxing drive to the southwest. There was little traffic and the only city we had to drive past was Rockford. Soon we were able to leave the interstate or tollway, in Illinois they do make you pay to drive. We picked up Illinois Route 2 which follows the Rock River. This winding road was lined with a beautifully colored tree covered bluff on one side and the river on the other. The ride was very pretty and the colors were at their peak. There were Maples, Oaks, Sycamores and Elms all lending their special shades with the evergreens and even a few birch trees. I was happy the road wound as much as it did so I could drive slowly and enjoy the scenery. Our destination was Lowden State Park which is home to the giant Indian statue which stands on a high bluff overlooking the Rock River. We sighted the statue from across the opposite bank and knew the park could not be far away.
We had to drive through he small town of Oregon to get to the park and then across the river. There are many nice restaurants and shops for those who are interested in that kind of thing in this town. I also noticed that it would be easy to park Chummy at one of the many large municipal lots. We had a pot of ribs cooking in the crock pot so we went on to the park for supper. Lowden State Park is named after Gov. Frank Lowden who served Illinois during world war I. It was purchased by the state and designated as a state park in 1945. Prior to that time the land was known as "Eagle's Nest" owned by a Chicago attorney, Wallace Hickman and became a retreat for artists from the Chicago area. Two of those artists, Lorado Taft and a young sculpture named John Prashuhn created the statue of the Indian overlooking the Rock River Valley. This statues is 50 feet high made out of re-enforced concrete and is thought to be the second largest monolithic statue in the world. The statue today is commonly believed to be Chief Black Hawk who fought his final battle in this area, however; it was meant as a tribute to all Native American people. The
statue is within walking distance of the camping grounds and offers grand views of the Rock River Valley.
On Friday we took Chummy for a field trip to White Pines Forest State Park. This park was about 10 miles away and again on some very picturesque roads. When I was a little boy our family would travel out here from Chicago for a day of picnicking. My best memory of the park was the "Texas cattle bridges" or fords built through the creeks instead of bridges over them. I loved to drive through the water and was hoping they would still be there. We arrived at the park just in time for a picnic and traveled up to the lodge built by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930's for a place to park. After lunch we took a walk through the cabin area on a lovely well marked path. Then it was off to find the fords and we did! How exciting to drive Chummy through the water just like I traveled when I was a little boy. I let Fran out to walk over a foot bridge so she could get a picture of me driving through. White Pines has very nice campgrounds
but it is for tents only, probably due to the water fords if they become flooded the campgrounds would need to close. Afterwards we took a slow drive back to Lowden and enjoyed more of the NW Illinois scenery.
The campground at Lowden had several friendly people who were eager to tour Chummy, what a
surprise. We were happy to accommodate them and it was nice to visit with them all. That night I cooked steak over the wood stove to celebrate my birthday.
On Saturday Fran's brother Howie and his wife Jenny came to visit. They brought their dog Tess to visit with our dog Spot so no one was left out. After lunch we took a walk around the Loredo Taft Field Campus of the Northern Illinois University at DeKalb. These are the actual buildings of the Eagle's Nest artist colony and are now used by the university for natural science classes. We then walked over to the "Black Hawk" statue and sat on the bluff and talked. The setting was beautiful and the company was perfect. The night was topped off by a crisp fall campfire and a White Sox's World series victory.
Sunday was pack up and drive into Chicago day. The baptism was the perfect conclusion to a fall trip. Chummy affords us the versatility to combine events like a family get together and a camping trip. There was no problem driving through the neighborhoods and parking in the church parking lot. We remain impressed with the Illinois State Parks and plan on returning to visit more of them next year.
