On our way back to Missouri, my wife and I decided to make a detour to a couple of interesting parks in Southern Illinois. Leaving Interstate 24 in northwestern Kentucky, we crossed the Ohio River via the Cave in Rock ferry. The small town of Cave in Rock, Illinois, is the home of Cave in Rock State Park, which sits above bluffs on the north shore of the river. Named for a large, natural cave in the bluffs, the Park commands fabulous views of the Ohio River Valley.
Following lunch at the Park, we drove to the Garden of the Gods National Recreation Area in the hills of Shawnee National Forest. There, a short loop trail leads visitors past spectacular formations of Pennsylvanian sandstone and mudstone; deposited in a sea some 320 million years ago, these sediments were later uplifted and sculpted by streams. From the pinnacles themselves, one enjoys a sweeping view of the forested hills of the Garden of the Gods Wilderness.
Our last minute detour, partly prompted by threatening weather, will surely be the highlight of our three day journey. Now back in the chilly, damp weather of this year's Midwestern spring, we will return to Missouri tomorrow.
