At the end of May I went camping down in Southern Illinois. Its pretty amazing that after a six hour drive the country can change so dramatically. Southern Illinois is home to the only national forest in the state, Shawnee National Forest. Besides trees the forest is full of giant sandstone cliffs with water features and moss. Some of the best hiking and climbing is found in Shawnee. Most of our time was spent around Giant City State park which has a fantastic exhibit on the Civilian Conservation Corp that was part of President Roosevelt's New Deal. Giant City, with all of its sandstone cliffs and caverns was key during the Civil War as it was on the border of the North and South. The walls literally show their history. Generations have been carving their initials and dates into the sandstone since mid 1800's (earliest I saw). I have some mixed feelings on this. I like seeing the earliest accounts but the later and most recent etchings I could do without. Also the first etchings were certainly left for posterity, made with nice typography the graffiti I saw from this year was 5 min chicken scratch. Lets leave no trace out there and remember to tread lightly. Leave it to our imaginations as to who might have been here before.
This was the beginning of an extremely wet June.
Shawnee from a high point.
A damp foggy passage with my kid sister for scale.
Cave art or graffiti.
Andy in the cavern.
A dripping waterfall for serenity's sake.
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