Eli and I Explore Route 66 Trails in Litchfield, Illinois

I've made it a point to take Eli to as many different mountain bike venues as possible.  He's very good technically and loves a challenge.  Lately, I've been seeing posts about Litchfield, Illinois having a nice little trail system.  Perfect timing.  I looked it up on the map and there they are, nestled right next to Lake Lou Yaeger.  Well...forgive me, but I've never even heard of the lake.  But off we went!

And boy, were we surprised.  It's obvious that a LOT of work went into transforming this little plot of land into a fantastic network of single-track trails. Swoopy, tight, with features and...elevation!  Lots of elevation.  It's always up or down on the Route 66 trails. Never very long, the climbs are punchy and over quickly, only to be followed by a cool downhill.  Rinse and repeat!  Eli's favorite part of riding trails these days are the features.  Jumps, bridges, logs, etc., and Route 66 has quite a few.  And someone has recently blown the leaves.  It was buffed!

We stopped at the southern edge of the system to pose for a selfie.  The view of the lake was spectacular.  It's a super-clean looking place, and although there was hardly anyone on the lake, there were quite a few riders on the trails. If one just rode the trail from north to south, there are only 4 miles or so.  However, you must trust me when I say that it's a different animal in the opposite direction, and most things you'll want to hit again and again.  Especially the Galena Loop.

Once done with riding (Eli was knackered from all the punchy climbs!), I thought it best to check out the lake.  Blue skies and powerful sunlight made 52 degrees feel downright balmy.

My last view was from the boat dock.  This looks like it would be a fabulous place to be in the summer. I want to bring the Beautiful Mrs. K back soon, as I think she'd love the twists and turns as well.

Thanksgiving Day Adventure - Rockwoods Reservation

We've tried over the last dozen years to make some Thanksgiving traditions of our own.  Sure, we have normally gone to Thanksgiving dinner with family, but we wanted to have more of "our thing" too.  We have hiked and biked, and that gives us the feeling of really taking advantage of a day off.  This time around, we wanted to try hiking at Rockwoods Reservation.  As many times as we've ridden past on our bikes, we've never checked out the trails.  First up was the ancient Lime Kiln at the trailhead.

Just a hundred yards into the walk, Remi got into a staring contest with the Llamas across the road.

Being a true Water Hound Dog (like there is such a thing) he really enjoyed the rapid little stream next to the trail, fed by the previous day's rain.

We had no idea that the rapid little stream came from under the rock bluff.  Such a cool sight.

The easy-going trail soon gave way to a very rugged and steep climb.  It went up and up and up. Remi pulled the Beautiful Mrs. K up the jagged rocks with his all-wheel drive.

Now that all the leaves are gone, there are sights to behold.

Once we were done with the climbing, we walked along the ridge, seemingly at the top of the world. In total, 373 feet of climbing over 2.91 miles.

The Hound Dog was still full of energy and eventually, the smooth ridge began to tilt downward and along with that came more rugged rocks.

Ledges galore.

Almost at the bottom, this hearty tree found a nice niche between the rocks.

When we started the hike, we had no idea where the trail went.  We were just going to walk until we figured we had enough.  To our surprise, there was this handy map, right about where we parked our car and started our hike.  That might have been helpful to notice before we started, but we figured it out anyway.

 Finally tired and thirsty, Remi drank a bottle of water and slept all the way home.    

Hating Gutters Doesn't Make them Go Away

We have so many trees around our house that cleaning the gutters has been a 4-time-a-year chore.  Our own yard has three big trees.  Getting some type of gutter guard system would put an end to the torture, but that costs $$$ and there are other things to buy.  In reality, the gutters on the front of the house are much worse, and need cleaning constantly.  The Beuatiful Mrs K took this photo from our bedroom window as I ascended the ladder to do the back of the house.  I may look happy....

 ...but ladders never make me happy.  The gutters on the back of the house are almost 25 feet up. My man Eli is holding the ladder for me, just in case.  Surprisingly, the fall was not unkind to these gutters and they only needed a mild clean out.  However, lugging this behemoth of a ladder around is back breaking.  That's it, these won't get cleaned again for a while.

Don Robinson in the Rain with the Hound Dog

Since our first real hike of the year back in May at Pickle Springs, we knew that we had to visit more trails in the rain, hopefully in the fall.  The crazy waterfalls and all the beauty they add to a scene was something we knew would make other places more magical.  This weekend's forecast for rain got us thinking about more places to hike, and Don Robinson came up first.  It's got some pretty dramatic terrain that we knew would be great for viewing with the leaves gone from the trees and water everywhere. And Remi the Hound Dog needed the exercise, so he came along.

Right away, we were greeted with some cool water scenes.  Just a few hundred yards from the parking lot we came upon the first waterfall.

Another was just a short walk from there.

Water was everywhere!  We had to jump across multiple streams that had swollen with the rains.  The viewing was enhanced because we could see things that were hidden in the summer trees.

The old rock dam was just an amazing sight.  Water flowed everywhere around it, as well as through cracks and holes in it.  We could see a lot more of the cave, too.  We'd have to wait for another time to explore that, though.  We were not waterproof today for sure.

Oddly enough, Remi is a water Hound Dog.  He splashed through every puddle, stream, and creek with impunity. He dragged the beautiful Mrs K up hill and down dale.  Her arm will no doubt be sore tomorrow, as he is one strong dog.

Hound Dog was decidedly in his element today.

The scenes we fell in love with during the summer were even better with a sheet of water flowing over them all.

Movies would be a much better way to see all of the rock formations, but panoramic photos will have to do.

The long sheets of rock were surprisingly grippy, no doubt made mostly of sandstone.  But as a caution, lots of slime covers the sheets of rock so it's never a good idea to go dancing around on them.

Turns out there are rules for dogs (even Hound Dogs!) but we didn't see them until we finished.  No matter, as our tough little dude was a model park guest...and we didn't see a single soul while we were hiking so it wasn't like we bothered anyone.

Each trip to Don Robinson begs the question as we pass:  What exactly goes on here??

Once home, Hound Dog found a familiar spot rest his weary, long-ass legs.

 And because I had reorganized the garage the day before, I drove the Focus in for an oil change.  And no, I didn't spill a drop!  Adventures Managed!

Revisiting Pickle Springs with More Team Kakouris

The Beautiful Mrs K and I visited Pickle Springs back in May during a rain storm.  It was an amazing adventure and we swore we'd come back in the winter.  Since it has been raining and the trails were too wet for us to mountain bike, we dragged Eli and the Hound Dog with us for a pre-winter revisit of the magical trail.

Although Eli hasn't loved every hike we've been on over the past few years, he loved this one.  He and his faithful Hound Dog were really impressed with the crazy rocks and roots and bluffs and boulders that Pickle had to offer.

This time around, we went counter-clockwise.  That put us in Rockpile Canyon right away.  One benefit of this late fall trip:  the leaves have fallen from the trees so there are even more amazing views.

Shelf upon shelf upon shelf of cool rocks.

We were anxious for Eli to fall in love with the place (which he did) but the real hero of the day was our own 4-wheel-drive Hound Dog.  He performed feats of strength and agility that we had no idea he possessed. 

Plus, having just rained, Hound Dog pulled Eli into many wet and wonderful situations.  Eli was not complaining.  Lucky for Eli, he had on waterproof shoes.

The bright sunshine and lack of leaves gave us plenty to ooh and ahh over.

Once we got into the large rock formations, Eli became a rock climber.  We saw a little of this while in Elephant Rocks over the summer, but....

....there was not a high rock that this boy didn't get atop today.

Last time Mrs K and I were here, we didn't venture too far off the beaten path.  Now that we were being dragged along by the Rock Climber and the Hound Dog, we saw a LOT more of the formations and the views that came along with them.

Eli and I tried to sit in every hollow that we could.  Remi looks like he is cut in half in this panoramic photo, but he moved while I was taking it.

Yes, Eli, I see that you have climbed yet another scary rock formation!                                                        

Someone had a laugh by putting a little plastic skull inside one of the thousands of holes that dot the boulders and formations.

Somehow we got the Hound Dog to sprint through this little hole and he was super excited about it.

The sun was dazzling and the wind was howling in some spots.

Spectacular overhangs and colors.

I was wishing that I could get all of the beauty and awe of the sights in one photo, but the best I can come up with is Team Kakouris in a panorama.

And yes, there are boulders right over your head when you hike this trail.

And here our exquisite male model is showing off the new fall line of sweat shirts while posing next to boulders.

This was really neat and very cold when standing under the streams of water.

Another panoramic shot from inside one of the hollows.  Perhaps my favorite.

At some point we had to wonder who was enjoying the water and waterfalls more...Eli or the Hound Dog?

This one was high and scary.  Nope, not coming up with you.

If you look hard, you can see the beautiful Mrs K in between those boulders.

Eli was really impressed with the key holes.  Of course after he stood under the shelf.......

...he had to stand on top of it.

On the way out, just a few hundred yards from the end of the trail is a long crevice that is full of tiny caves.  I had to lighten this photo up a bit so you can see the details.  I asked Eli to check it out.

And THIS is actually my favorite photo.  A pic of the kid who hates to hike with us having such a great time.  And now both he AND the Hound Dog are worn out and snoozing.