Burden Falls – The Best Waterfall in Southern Illinois ?
Burden Falls – The Best Waterfall in Southern Illinois? - by Gary Marks If you could visit only one waterfall in Southern Illinois would this be the one to go to? Ask several different people and you will get several different answers, but can one Waterfall be called the BEST in Southern Illinois? This article delves head-long into a debate that will rage long after you read this article. The Stage The sound of rushing water fills your head... Read More
Guest Writer – Steven Johnson – Giant City, Huge Possibilities!
Guest Writer – Steven Johnson – Giant City State Park: Giant City, Huge Possibilities - by Steven Johnson – stevenjphotoart.com Living Near a Marvel I live within 15 minutes of one of the best state parks in Illinois. It is known as Giant City. The park is large enough to have a thousand people in it and still have room to feel like you have space around you and allows you to relax and soak in this beautiful place. When... Read More
Cache River State Natural Area – Tupelo Trail
Cache River State Natural Area – Tupelo Trail - by Gary Marks When you think of a wetland what does your mind conjure up? Is it the deep green duckweed that is laid out like a natural carpet over the still shallow water? Maybe, the giant cypress trees that have made their home here for hundreds of years, with their gnarly knees poking out from around their exaggerated buttresses. Alligators! Oh wait a minute, scratch that one off the... Read More
Morel Mushrooms in Southern Illinois – Shawnee National Forest
Searching for the Elusive Morel Mushroom in Southern Illinois - by Gary Marks “You’ve lived in Southern Illinois how long and have never been morel hunting?” That is usually the first reaction I receive when I tell someone I’ve always wanted to search for morel mushrooms. I have in the past looked on the side of the trails while hiking, but never knew what I was truly looking for. Sure I knew what they looked like, but... Read More
Heron Pond Trail – Cache River State Natural Area
Heron Pond Trail – Cache River State Natural Area - by Gary Marks Giant cypresses some over 1,000 years old, brilliant green swamps, an ancient long ago abandoned riverbed, and over 100 endangered or threanted species, these are just a few things that make the Cache River Wetlands well worth a visit. Wetlands are not what one usually envisions when thinking about the Land of Lincoln, but as much as skyscrapers and prairie land dominate our... Read More
Ghost Dance Canyon – Dixon Springs State Park – Best Cascade in Southern Illinois ?
Ghost Dance Canyon – Dixon Springs State Park – Best Cascade in Southern Illinois ? If you could see only one cascade in Southern Illinois, would this be the one to visit? This article presents one of the best, located in a great Illinois State Park – Dixon Springs. In a previous article we visited Burden Falls – The Best Waterfall in Southern Illinois? You may be asking yourself, what is exactly the difference? Cascade: ... Read More
7 More Easy Spring Wildflowers You Can Identify on Your Next Hike in Southern Illinois
7 More Easy Spring Wildflowers You Can Identify on Your Next Hike - by Gary Marks Have you went through the last list of 8 Easy Wildflowers You can Identify and find yourself discovering wildflowers that were not on the list? This article expands upon on the 8 and brings you 7 More Easy Wildflowers to Identify. As our last article on wildflowers was two weeks ago, some of the them are hard-to-find now, like Bloodroot and Trout Lilies, but this group... Read More
How You Can Take Awesome Spring Photos this Season in the Shawnee National Forest & Illinois State Parks
How To Take Awesome Spring Photos this Season - by Gary Marks Have you ever went for a Great Spring Hike and snapped a bizillion photos only to be disappointed when you get home and viewed them? Do you end up showing people these photos and saying something like, “You had to be there.” You’re not alone, but over the years I’ve learned a few simple tricks to turn those “had to be there” photos into ones that will... Read More
Cedar Creek – Winter Series
February 7 - by Gary Marks A Dream What I see before me is a masterpiece, created by a great unseen artist. I look around trying to take in every single detail, but I am soon overwhelmed. I feel as though I am walking through a dream and will soon wake up and all of this will be gone, but it is not a dream. The temperatures hover around the 30′s and I know that within a matter of time this great piece of canvas will be wiped clean. ... Read More
Cedar Creek – Winter Series – Part Two – Finale
February 7 - by Gary Marks Missed Part 1 of the Cedar Creek – Winter Series? Click here to read. White Forest The forest feels full, again. Snow slowly accumulates on branches outstretched like nets waiting to catch a trapeze artist. The forest without snow seems bare and devoid of something essential. The closeness and protection of a green forest is a sensation I have forgotten in the short time that it has been away. That feeling... Read More
