SPELUNKER

It might be a bit of a reach for me to call myself a spelunker, as the cave that I explored yesterday during a hike at Perry Farm Park after my appointment in Bourbonnais, Illinois was only about 20 feet deep, but is's the only cave that I know of within many miles of Chicago, so for me, this is spelunking.

I hiked Perry Farm Park once before and saw this same cave. For yesterday's visit I was prepared with my flashlight and walking stick.  With the illumination from my flashlight I was able to take a proper selfie by balancing the phone on a ledge and using the automatic timer. 

from Merriam-Webster.com

SPELUNKER: one who makes a hobby of exploring, studying caves. 

Spelunker sounds like the noise a pebble makes when you drop it down a deep hole and into dark, hidden water far below. But there's nothing dark or obscure about the etymology of the term. We borrowed "spelunker" from Latin spelunca, which in turn derives from Greek spelynx. When you get to the bottom of things, you find that both the Latin and Greek words mean "cave." Although "spelunker" might sound neat, be careful: some cave-exploring enthusiasts prefer the term "caver."

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Your Food Diary For:

Tuesday, October 10, 2017

BREAKFAST	Calories kcal	Carbs g	Fat g	Protein g	Sodium mg	Sugar g
Eggs - Poached, 4	300	2	20	26	599	2
C2o - Coconut Water With Pulp	200	52	0	0	300	48
	500	54	20	26	899	50
L U N C H
Baby Spinach	50	8	0	5	0	0
Trader Joe's Water Crackers, 12	180	36	3	6	120	0
	230	44	3	11	930	0
D I N N E R
Weight Watcher's  Cabbage Soup	300	31	1	7	235	17
Pork Italian Style Meatball,  3	320	4	25	19	840	1
	620	35	26	26	1,075	18
S N A C K S
Colby & Monterey Jack cheese	160	0	14	10	260	0
Trader Joe's - Mango O's	250	50	3	6	198	15
	410	50	17	16	458	15
Totals	1,760	183	66	79	3,362	83
Your Daily Goal	3,150	394	105	158	2,300	118
Remaining	1,390	211	39	79	-1,062	35
	Calories kcal	Carbs g	Fat g	Protein g	Sodium mg	Sugar g
	*You've earned 1,220 extra calories from exercise today

If every day were like today...   You'd weigh 218.8 lbs in 5 weeks     

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December 20, 2016 was my first visit to this same  cave.  It was a bit colder that day!

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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.