WATERFALL GLENN TRAIL

On Thursday I headed home from southern Illinois in order to visit a new custom in the Chicago area on Friday. On the way home, I stopped at the Waterfall Glenn Forest Preserve to hike along its ten mile trail. I had been here once before.  The high point of the hike is stopping to enjoy the small waterfall towards the end of the trail, before it loops back to the parking area. It was approaching sundown by the time I got to the waterfall, but I was successful in squeezing in a ten mile hike. 

Your Food Diary For:

Thursday, October 5, 2017

BREAKFAST	Calories kcal	Carbs g	Fat g	Protein g	Sodium mg	Sugar g
Quaker - Oatmeal	300	48	6	9	0	0
Granola	250	39	9	5	135	9
	550	87	15	14	135	9
L U N C H
Pineapple	100	26	0	1	2	20
Hy-Vee Salad Bar: Roast Beef, crab, ham, etc	401	0	0	0	0	0
Hy-vee Homestyle Chicken Noodle Soup	250	33	10	12	1,574	4
	751	59	10	13	1,576	24
D I N N E R
Popeyes - Chicken Strips	500	26	24	45	2,001	0
Macaroni Salad	300	29	18	4	566	9
	800	55	42	49	2,567	9
S N A C K S
Nature Valley - Oats 'n Honey	190	29	7	3	180	11
	190	29	7	3	180	11
Totals	2,291	230	74	79	4,458	53
Your Daily Goal	3,352	419	111	168	2,300	125
Remaining	1,061	189	37	89	-2,158	72
	Calories kcal	Carbs g	Fat g	Protein g	Sodium mg	Sugar g
	*You've earned 1,422 extra calories from exercise today

If every day were like today...   You'd weigh 226.5 lbs in 5 weeks     

COLUMBUS PARK

My travels took me to the west side of Chicago in the afternoon, which allowed time for ten mile hike  mostly through Columbus Park.

After hiking 25 miles on Monday, a ten mile hike just felt like a 'walk in the park.' (which is precisely what it was)

I tried to hike every road and path that I could find in the park.  The nine hole golf course was off limits. I had walked nearly seven miles before I accidentally 'discovered' the manmade waterfalls.

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from wikipedia...

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Columbus Park is a 135-acre (55 ha) park on the far West Side of Chicago, Illinois in the Austin neighborhood. It is considered the finest work by landscape architect Jens Jensen and was consequently named a National Historic Landmark in 2003. 

The concept of Columbus Park was first pitched in 1912 by the West Park Commission as a way to develop recreational facilities for densely populated neighborhoods. At the time, the West Side of Chicago had a population of nearly 900,000, but only two small playgrounds. The commission had acquired the property a year earlier from the Catholic church for $560,000; the church had recently abandoned plans to build a seminary on the site. It was the first large park conceived by the commission since 1869. Jens Jensen was a Danish immigrant who joined the commission in the 1880s as a laborer and rose to the rank of chief landscape artist and general superintendent of the system by 1905. Columbus Park was Jensen's first large park, and he began designing it in 1915. 

The 135-acre (55 ha) park reflected Jensen's Prairie School approach to landscape design. This method emphasized the natural beauty of the area and was inspired by the horizontality of the prairie landscape. Jensen preferred to use native plants in his designs, a technique that was rare at the time. Jensen's stonework, inspired by natural rock outcroppings in the Midwest, is exemplified by his waterfalls, council ring, and stone paths. Buildings in the part constructed prior to 1920 also reflect Jensen's Prairie approach. 

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Your Food Diary For:

Tuesday, September 27, 2016

BREAKFAST	Calories kcal	Carbs g	Fat g	Protein g	Sodium mg	Sugar g
Roundy's - Maple & Brown Sugar Oatmeal	600	120	10	20	1,300	20
	600	120	10	20	1,300	20
L U N C H
Barbacoa- Beef	400	5	17	58	1,285	0
Chef Salad	200	4	3	7	182	0
Pulp-free Coconut Water, 16 ounces	100	28	0	0	120	22
Apple - Apple Gala, Med (2)	160	44	0	0	0	34
Dark Chocolate Almonds	200	16	13	3	0	11
	1,060	97	33	68	1,587	67
D I N N E R
Spaghetti - Spaghetti Noodles	400	78	2	14	2	1
Eggplant Parmigian	600	51	38	16	1,359	21
	1,000	129	40	30	1,361	22
S N A C K S
Oreo Cookies	320	50	14	2	280	28
	320	50	14	2	280	28
Totals	2,980	396	97	120	4,528	137
Your Daily Goal	3,779	472	126	189	2,300	141
Remaining	799	76	29	69	-2,228	4
	Calories kcal	Carbs g	Fat g	Protein g	Sodium mg	Sugar g
	*You've earned 1,849 extra calories from exercise today

If every day were like today...   You'd weigh 201.3 lbs in 5 weeks     

Your Exercise Diary for:

Tuesday, September 27, 2016

Cardiovascular	Minutes	Calories Burned
10 MILE HIKE	139	1,856
Daily Total / Goal	139 / 30	1,856 / 590
Weekly Total / Goal	455 / 210	7,372 / 4,130

I used the 10 second timer to take the photos at on of the Columbus Park waterfalls. My camera caught me moving to the spot where I was to stand for the picture.  That photo looked like this...

When the I magnified myself in the photo, it looked like this...

That photo reminded me of a very famous photo of 'BIGFOOT'...

and finally, I put the two photos together...

BIGFOOT & Marc Jacobs (separated at birth?)

a final note...

On the last two days, I visited two 'landmarks'  On Monday, I visited CHESS RECORDS at 2120 South Michigan Avenue which is a Chicago Landmark (apparently it is not significant enough to be on the list of National Historic Landmarks.  On Tuesday, I visited COLUMBUS PARK which is a National Historic Landmark... This made me wonder.... Just how many historic landmarks are there?

from www.nps.gov (National Park Service)

National Historic Landmarks (NHLs) are nationally significant historic places designated by the Secretary of the Interior because they possess exceptional value or quality in illustrating or interpreting the heritage of the United States. Today, just over 2,500 historic places bear this national distinction. Working with citizens throughout the nation, the National Historic Landmarks Program draws upon the expertise of National Park Service staff who guide the nomination process for new Landmarks and provide assistance to existing Landmarks.

After learning that the United States had 2500+ National Historic Landmarks, I wondered how many were in Chicago...

from wikipedia...

There are more than 350 places listed on the United States National Register of Historic Places in Chicago, Illinois, including 83 historic districts that may include numerous historic buildings, structures, objects and sites. 

WATERFALL GLEN TRAIL

My appointment today brought me to LaGrange, Illinois. After I was finished with my customer, I headed to nearby Darien, Illinois to Waterfall Glen Forest Preserve for a loop hike which included a little side trip to a small yet beautiful waterfall.  Once again, I was dazzled by the ancient glacial hills that I never knew existed in this part of my state. The trail had a total elevation of 393 feet. I am aware that that is not very much, but for Illinois it qualifies at mountainous.

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Considering how flat Illinois is - This small waterfall was exciting to see for the first time.

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I hiked a total of 12 miles (189 minutes) allegedly burning 1959 calories.

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Right before the hike ended, and just sixteen days prior to 'fitbit anniversary.' I was received notification that I had earned the 'Russian Railway' badge for the accomplishment of achieving a distance of 5772 lifetime miles (since September 3, 2015)

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After a relatively high calorie yet delicious dinner of homemade enchilladas, I took a long evening walk with my daughter. While we were out I decided to check out Lou Mitchell's Restaurant which I had 'discovered' just two days ago. Apparently I forgot to discover that their hours of operation are from 5:30AM until 4:00PM.  Lou Mitchell's will have to wait until another day. Sara and I walked all over town and by the time we returned home, we had logged 10 miles.

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Your Food Diary For:

Thursday, August 18, 2016

BREAKFAST	Calories kcal	Carbs g	Fat g	Protein g	Sodium mg	Sugar g
Quaker - Grits	300	66	0	6	930	0
Fiber One - Fiber One, Oats & Chocolate	140	29	4	2	95	7
	440	95	4	8	1,025	7
L U N C H
Chick Fill A - Chicken Sandwich	440	42	16	30	1,400	6
	440	42	16	30	1,400	6
D I N N E R
Homemade - Beef and Cheese Enchilladas	900	56	45	61	1,547	0
	900	56	45	61	1,547	0
S N A C K S
Luna Bar - White Chocolate Macadamia	200	25	7	9	190	8
C2o - Coconut Water, 16 fl oz	100	26	0	0	150	24
GIN GINS ORIGINAL CHEWY GINGER	80	20	0	0	0	20
CHOCOLATE COCONUT CHEWS	134	13	9	1	17	9
MILK CHOCOLATE CHERRIES	180	25	10	2	10	21
	694	109	26	12	367	82
Totals	2,474	302	91	111	4,339	95
Your Daily Goal	5,273	659	175	264	2,300	197
Remaining	2,799	357	84	153	-2,039	102
	Calories kcal	Carbs g	Fat g	Protein g	Sodium mg	Sugar g
	*You've earned 3,343 extra calories from exercise today

If every day were like today...   You'd weigh 182.4 lbs in 5 weeks

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       Your Exercise Diary for:

Thursday, August 18, 2016

Cardiovascular	Minutes	Calories Burned
Walking	189	1,959
Walking	146	1,771
Daily Total / Goal	335 / 30	3,730 / 590
Weekly Total / Goal	1402 / 210	15,465 / 4,130

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a brief description of Waterfall Glen Forest Preserve from wikipedia

The 2,492-acre Waterfall Glen Forest Preserve in Darien is one of the most ecologically impressive parcels of open space within the Forest Preserve District of DuPage County, if not northern Illinois.

The ridges and scattered potholes that make up the topography of Waterfall Glen — and most of the county — are the result of one geological event, the Wisconsin Glacier. In fact, the entire Des Plaines River Valley was formed by glacial meltwaters and drainage from a postglacial lake that covered most of the Chicagoland area.

Today, Waterfall Glen’s prairies, savannas, and oak-maple woodlands contain 740 native plant species, 75 percent of all the plants known to grow naturally in DuPage County. As a result of this rich variety, over 300 species of mammals, birds, fish, amphibians, and reptiles and another 300 of invertebrates use the forest preserve either year-round or during their migrations.

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