Hiking the Lists: Snake Road

Photo by Erin

Hike: #11
Title: Snake Road 
Location: LaRue-Pine Bluffs Natural Research Area, Shawnee National Forest
Hike List: Illinois
Difficulty: Mostly easy, although during spring and fall venomous snakes abound so be careful.
Duration of Hike: No more than a couple hours, depending on how many pictures you take.

Most of the geology of Illinois is dominated by glaciers. The expansive flatness of central Illinois is due to the work of ancient glaciers, as are the occasional ridges which are the remnants of terminal moraines from the glaciers. From Marengo Ridge and Volo Bog in the north, to the ridge that gave my hometown its name (Ridge Farm), the evidence is all around us.

(Belated) Adventures in Camping - Elephant Rocks, Taum Sauk, and Johnson's Shut-Ins

Note: This post is a joint post by Andrew and Erin. Andrew will introduce the post and give his impression of some of the places we visited on our camping trip, and Erin will join in the middle to talk about her hike at Taum Sauk State Park..

[Andrew]
For me, the second weekend in August was a chance to do something different. After several weekends spent in Wisconsin's glacially molded terrain and the beautiful north woods, bogs, and rock formations of the UP of Michigan. However, this weekend he'd be going the other direction, south to the St. Francois Mountains in the Ozarks of Missouri. The rocks, animals, and plants would be different. Unfortunately, so would the climate.

However, the most important thing about this trip was that I would not be doing it alone. Although I was curious to check out Elephant Rocks, Johnson's Shut-Ins, and the views atop the St. Francois Mountains, my main reason for the trip was to visit with my sister. The last time we had camped out did not go so well, so I was hoping this time would be better.