(Part 5)
In Shawnee National Forest we visited two locations- one to the east and one to the west. In the east we visited the Garden of the Gods. I had never hear of this place but Deer wanted to visit he had found a web site with a few picture or maybe it was a magazine article (I cannot recall). In my mind’s eye I envisioned a place like Devil’s Den near Gettysburg PA but what I saw when I arrived was on a much larger scale. Those of you that have been reading this blog for awhile know we visit Starved Rock SP a few times year so you know I can make far comparison. Well, this place was like you took the one big rock at Starved Rock multiplied it by a zillion. The terrain was like Devil’s Den only the rocks seem much bigger. There were these huge boulders and all these little nooks and crannies where a long time ago all these gigantic rocks were under water. I freely admit that I know nothing about rocks I could not tell you what sort rocks these were or what kinds you find at Starved Rock or Devils Den they all seemed to be different sort of rocks. The ones at Garden of the Gods were all stained with iron oxide and the colors changed with the light. It was like they were alive. The view from the top was amazing. You could see for miles. I don’t have any idea how long the trail was or if you could hike into al the valleys around we were worn our just climbing to where we went. I didn’t feel like I was in Illinois at all. It was an alien land or a Garden of the Gods.
On the West side of the forest we visited the Little Grand Canyon. I wish I could say the same wonderful things about it as the Garden of the Gods, but the fact is there had been a huge storm in February and another in May so we could not hike down very far. I don’t think summer was best time to visit for views either. I could tell the canyon was deep but the trees were so dense I couldn’t see very far. I would guess late fall would be best time to see the views. I am sure the drive would be amazing in the fall there are so many trees and little winding roads that you could spend days marveling the fall colors. Maybe by fall a few crews will be able to clear the trails a little more. In the mean time, unless you have some time to donate to the forest cleanup, I would chose a different location in the forest like the Garden of the Gods.
In Shawnee National Forest we visited two locations- one to the east and one to the west. In the east we visited the Garden of the Gods. I had never hear of this place but Deer wanted to visit he had found a web site with a few picture or maybe it was a magazine article (I cannot recall). In my mind’s eye I envisioned a place like Devil’s Den near Gettysburg PA but what I saw when I arrived was on a much larger scale. Those of you that have been reading this blog for awhile know we visit Starved Rock SP a few times year so you know I can make far comparison. Well, this place was like you took the one big rock at Starved Rock multiplied it by a zillion. The terrain was like Devil’s Den only the rocks seem much bigger. There were these huge boulders and all these little nooks and crannies where a long time ago all these gigantic rocks were under water. I freely admit that I know nothing about rocks I could not tell you what sort rocks these were or what kinds you find at Starved Rock or Devils Den they all seemed to be different sort of rocks. The ones at Garden of the Gods were all stained with iron oxide and the colors changed with the light. It was like they were alive. The view from the top was amazing. You could see for miles. I don’t have any idea how long the trail was or if you could hike into al the valleys around we were worn our just climbing to where we went. I didn’t feel like I was in Illinois at all. It was an alien land or a Garden of the Gods.
On the West side of the forest we visited the Little Grand Canyon. I wish I could say the same wonderful things about it as the Garden of the Gods, but the fact is there had been a huge storm in February and another in May so we could not hike down very far. I don’t think summer was best time to visit for views either. I could tell the canyon was deep but the trees were so dense I couldn’t see very far. I would guess late fall would be best time to see the views. I am sure the drive would be amazing in the fall there are so many trees and little winding roads that you could spend days marveling the fall colors. Maybe by fall a few crews will be able to clear the trails a little more. In the mean time, unless you have some time to donate to the forest cleanup, I would chose a different location in the forest like the Garden of the Gods.
Storm damage on Little Grand Canyon trial
More storm damage
Little Grand Canyon- The view is better than the camera can capture
PUSH!
Garden of the Gods
More Garden of the Gods
Even More Garden of the Gods 
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