INDIAN CAVES

Natural Cave, maybe 20 feet deep into the rocks

Yesterday I had an appointment to sell fabric at a store in Bourbonnais, Illinois (approximately 50 miles from Chicago)  During my visit I let my customer know that I planned to take hike somewhere nearby before darkness set in)  My customer recommended that I visit the Indian Caves. I parked at Perry Farm Park and set out to see the caves.  I found only one small cave.  I believe that the other cave(s) were accessed by climbing down from the ravine that led to the creek. I did some exploring and after my feet broke through ice and got completely soaked, I lost some of my adventuresome spirit. I did see one cave that was visible from the trail and took a bunch of photos. The temperature seemed warm compared to my 3 mile hike on Sunday morning when it was -2F. Yesterday the temperature was a relative balmy 28°F.  It was plenty cold, and I was wearing 6 layers of clothing and brought better gloves with me. The hike was completed when I had travelled 6 miles.

Recommended parking is located at the Cavalier de LaSalle Park to the North, but is also available at the main parking area for the Perry Farm just off of Kennedy Dr. (Rt. 45) or at Lavesseur Park to the South. 



from geocaching.com

Before this area was settled by pioneers, Native Americans resided here for many centuries along the banks of what is now known as the Kankakee River. The Potawatomi Indians who called this place home actually called the River the "Theatiki", which only through a series of mispronunciations and misspellings became known by the settlers as the "Kankakee" River.

The Bourbonnais Geologic area, locally known as the Indian Caves, is located within the Perry Farm Park along the Kankakee River. The geological area includes the Bourbonnais Creek and ravine and covers approximately 30 acres of land. This area features a dolomite cliff and cave community, rare in the State of Illinois. On September 16, 1996, Governor Jim Edgar authorized the dedication of the Bourbonnais Geologic Area as an Illinois Nature Preserve in an attempt to protect it against vandalism and other destructive activities. It is open year round and its public use is limited to walking, exploring, and observing nature. Please remember to take care when exploring the cliff and creek areas and to take care of this rare natural resource.

The Indian Caves at this site are small, narrow caves that are readily accessible for exploration only to the most daring adventurers. The deepest of the caves is only about 20 feet deep, and requires entry through a very narrow crevice in the rock. Access to the caves can most easily be obtained by venturing back to the trail from the posted coordinates, walking North across the bridge spanning the creek, and following the dirt trail up and over the cliffs to the East. From there it will be evident how to get down into the ravine and ultimately to the caves. You can also follow the trail to the ENE of the posted coordinates, but the trail is not quite as defined and the climb may be a bit steeper..

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This is from inside a small cave that was easy to find.

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Your Food Diary For:

Tuesday, December 20, 2016

BREAKFAST	Calories kcal	Carbs g	Fat g	Protein g	Sodium mg	Sugar g
Omelette - 3-egg Omelette With Cheese, 3 eggs	425	0	21	28	650	2
Essential Everyday - Butter Flavored Grits	500	105	5	10	1,700	5
Quest bar - cinnamon	170	23	7	20	200	1
	1,095	128	33	58	2,550	8
L U N C H
Ham, Turkey, & Cheese on Honey Wheat Bread	620	68	22	44	2,900	16
Fit Crunch - Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Bar	380	27	16	30	320	6
	1,000	95	38	74	3,220	22
D I N N E R
Taco Bell - Hard Shell Taco	850	60	50	40	1,550	5
	850	60	50	40	1,550	5
S N A C K S
DARK COCOA MELTING WAFERS	660	72	39	9	135	63
	660	72	39	9	135	63
Totals	3,605	355	160	181	7,455	98
Your Daily Goal	2,840	355	94	143	2,300	106
Remaining	-765	0	-66	-38	-5,155	8
	Calories kcal	Carbs g	Fat g	Protein g	Sodium mg	Sugar g

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Your Exercise Diary for:

Tuesday, December 20, 2016

Cardiovascular	Minutes	Calories Burned
Bourbonnais Six Mile Hike	102	910
Elliptical Trainer	97	921
Daily Total / Goal	200 / 30	1,532 / 590
Weekly Total / Goal	340 / 210	3,557 / 4,130

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I found this on wikipedia regarding the pronunciation of Bourbonnais.

Pronunciation

The original French pronunciation of Bourbonnais came to be Anglicized over time to /bɜːrˈboʊnᵻs/ bər-boh-nəs. In 1974 a state representative from Bourbonnais introduced a resolution "correcting" the pronunciation of the town's name to /bɜːrbəˈneɪ/ burr-bə-nay, closer to the French.

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Although it was cold hiking through the ice and snow on the trails, I kept warm as I was wearing six different layers of clothing.

TURKEY RUN STATE PARK

Yesterday I found the best closest state park to my home city of Chicago - Turkey Run State Park.  Who knew that Indiana which is basically as flat as Illinois over much of the state was hiding this treasure. Until I 'discovered' this park on the internet on Thursday evening - I certainly did not know about it.

Turkey Run State Park is an Indiana state park located in Parke County, Indiana, in the west-central part of the state on State Road 47 2 miles (3.2 km) east of U.S. 41. It was Indiana's second state park, with the first parcel of land being purchased in 1916 at the cost of $40,200 when the State Park system was first established during the Indiana state centennial. It hosts the Turkey Run Inn, built in 1919. The origin of the name "Turkey Run" is unknown but the most accepted theory is that wild turkeys would congregate in the gorges (or "runs") for warmth where early settlers in the area would trap them in dead-end gorges and hunt them with ease.

A system of trails offers hikers plenty of outing opportunities during the summer months when the drainage is relatively free of water, and the suspension footbridge across Sugar Creek, the main drainage provides access to trails on the far side. Trail 3 is particularly noted for its ruggedness, including ladders and narrow but deep gorges. Floating down Sugar Creek through the park in either inner tubes, canoes, or kayaks is very popular in the summer months. There are 3-mile (4.8 km), 8-mile (13 km), or even 11-to-15-mile (18 to 24 km) trips down Sugar Creek. Also, in the spring when heavy rains and snow melt flood the narrow gorges, many more adventurous hikers will go "creek stomping" through the narrow gorges. However, the fast moving current, steep gorge walls, and unpredictable contours of the creek beds make this activity dangerous if the water level is high.

The hikes start by crossing a very beautiful suspension bridge.

The suspension bridge from Sugar Creek

This is me in the far distance on the suspension bridge that leads to the best trails

suspension bridge photo taken by a fellow hiker at the end of the day.

This was a 'selfie' taken when no one else was around to snap a photo for me at the start of the hike.

I had no major troubles traversing the water-starved creeks and wet rocks as my visit yesterday was  in late summer. Let me amend that. Twice I took a step and my left foot was completely engulfed in water. This is particularly funny to me. Last year when I purchased these hiking shoes for my hike up and down Half Dome in Yosemite - I purposefully did NOT buy shoes with water resistance.  I figured California was in drought and water resistance would have just added an unnecessary expense to the shoes. Two Things. First, although California was in a drought, we did managed to catch rain on our way down the mountain on that October day last year. Second, I apparently was unaware that hiking was about to become my favorite pastime. I believe my next pair of hiking shoes will be water resistant!

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TURKEY RUN STATE PARK TRAIL MAP

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This rock formation is called 'THE PUNCH BOWL'

During my twelve mile hike at Turkey Run, I climbed up and down a lot of wooden and stone stairs. In this photo I am standing in front of one of four LADDERS that needed to be climbed. They were much easier to climb up than to climb down.

This photo does not quite capture how narrow this passage nor how steep the steps were. You will just have to take my word for it.

Covered Bridge that dates back to 1882.

SUGAR CREEK

My twelve mile hike included walking on Trail 3 & 9 which are listed as 'VERY RUGGED' (No argument from me - These trails were not your basic 'Sunday walk in the park.'  I spent nearly five hours at the park and I did not see everything. I will definitely return to this park in the future. There is another park nearby which is said to be just as nice - SHADES STATE PARK.  Surely I will need to check out that park as well..

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SATURDAY IS WEIGH DAY.

223.3 lbs
I lost another 1.1 lbs this week.
That was 'easy.'
All I had to do was walk/hike 100 miles!
(Perhaps if I ate a bit less, my success would be more rapid.)  What's the hurry? This is a never-ending marathon. 

For the past three months, at the high-water mark of 241.9 lbs right in the middle of my recovery from a hernia, I have consistently been losing weight, virtually every week. 

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Your Food Diary For:

Friday, August 5, 2016

BREAKFAST	Calories kcal	Carbs g	Fat g	Protein g	Sodium mg	Sugar g
Essential Everyday - Butter Flavored Grits	700	147	7	14	2,380	7
	700	147	7	14	2,380	7
L U N C H
Subway - Footlong Turkey Breast on Wheat	560	92	17	36	1,890	11
Cashews - Dry Roasted & Unsalted	400	23	33	10	0	3
	960	115	50	46	1,890	14
D I N N E R
Landshire Sandwiches - Ham & Cheese	520	64	16	36	2,480	14
Soft-baked Oatmeal Bar - Cinnamon	230	35	8	4	190	13
	750	99	24	40	2,670	27
S N A C K S
Homemade - White Chocolate Chip Cookie	400	52	21	0	276	0
Nature Valley - Crunchy Oats & Honey	190	29	6	4	160	12
	590	81	27	4	436	12
Totals	3,000	442	108	104	7,376	60
Your Daily Goal	3,881	485	129	195	2,300	145
Remaining	881	43	21	91	-5,076	85
	Calories kcal	Carbs g	Fat g	Protein g	Sodium mg	Sugar g
	*You've earned 1,951 extra calories from exercise today

If every day were like today...   You'd weigh 205 lbs in 5 weeks.

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       Your Exercise Diary for:

Friday, August 5, 2016

Cardiovascular	Minutes	Calories Burned
HIKING 12 miles	283	1,951
Daily Total / Goal	283 / 30	1,951 / 590
Weekly Total / Goal	1059 / 210	13,105 / 4,130

	Turkey Run State park
Location	Parke County, Indiana, USA
Nearest city	Marshall, Indiana
Coordinates	39°53.1′N 87°12.2′W
Area	2,382 acres (964 ha)
Created	1916
Operated by	Indiana Department of Natural Resources

I have always thought that a 'creek' by definition is a minor tiny place where water flows perhaps just a few miles long. My idea of what qualifies as a 'creek' apparently needs to be reassessed.

Sugar Creek is an 82.4-mile-long (132.6 km) tributary of the Driftwood River in east-central Indiana in the United States. Via the Driftwood, White, Wabash and Ohio rivers, it is part of the watershed of the Mississippi River. Sugar Creek was likely so named from the sugar trees growing along its banks

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2 h 41 min (155.0 mi) via US-41 S

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Sugar Creek is apparently a very popular name. I have hiked near a Sugar Creek in Ohio, Illinois and Indiana. They have nothing in common other than their name.

SUGAR CREEK WATERWAYS LIST FROM wikipedia.com

• Sugar Creek (Driftwood River), a tributary of the Driftwood River in Indiana
• Sugar Creek (Duck River), a river in Tennessee
• Sugar Creek (French Creek), a tributary of the Allegheny River in Pennsylvania
• Sugar Creek (Georgia), a tributary of the Ocmulgee River
• Sugar Creek (Middle Island Creek), a tributary of Middle Island Creek in West Virginia
• Sugar Creek (Minnesota), a stream in Fillmore County
• Sugar Creek (New South Wales), a tributary of the Wallingat River in Australia
• Sugar Creek (North Carolina), in Charlotte, NC
• Sugar Creek (Little Miami River), a tributary of the Little Miami River in Ohio
• Sugar Creek (Ottawa River), a tributary of the Ottawa River in Ohio
• Sugar Creek (Tuscarawas River), a tributary of the Tuscarawas River in Ohio
• Sugar Creek (Susquehanna River), a tributary of the North Branch Susquehanna River in Pennsylvania
• Sugar Creek (Sangamon River tributary), in Illinois
• Sugar Creek (Wabash River), a tributary of the Wabash River in Indiana
• Big Sugar Creek, in Missouri
• Sugar Run Creek, a tributary of the Susquehanna River in Pennsylvania