Martin and Briana started to have this thought on planning a hiking for the spring break, so I asked Kerry and Joan for some information. Eventually, we decided on going to Starved Rock State Park for a one-day trip. Eight of us showed up and joined the hike yesterday, including people from Economics, Math, and IMC programs; and from a country in Caribbean, China, Denmark, Germany, and Taiwan. Sounds cool? I think so.
We drove for 2.5 hours to get there and directly started our hiking. Frankly, the Starved Rock hiking routes are quite easy for everyone to go. We saw many families go there together, and I felt like "taking a walk" throughout the period instead of "hiking." There were limited hills to challenge hikers, and the stairs there were neither too long nor too steep. Anyone can enjoy this place, truly.
I like the waterfalls and canyons we visited yesterday, but it was a pity that some views would definitely look prettier when it's summer or fall time. However, instead of complaining, I chose to appreciate the desolate beauty of Starved Rock. To be frank, I felt satisfied about going back to Nature already, which was very rare for my current life here. This also brought me back to my sweet Swiss memories when I had a bunch of friends who went hiking together, cheered for the sunrise/sunset together, and celebrated for our achievement together.....
Yes, I missed you all- Andrea, Chris, Julia and Teddi. I miss you all a lot!
Luckily, new friends here gave me some other inspirations as well. I enjoyed talking to Martin, Briana and Soren on our way. I loved their silly jokes and behaviors. I loved our pleasant pace. We were all good company to one another for this beautiful sunny day.
Five of us ended our day with entertaining hot pot in Chinatown in the evening. It was Martin, Soren and Rishi's first time to try it, and they not only enjoyed the food but also enjoyed the way to eat it. They refrained from using the net spoon to get their food and insisted to use chopsticks to pick up tofu, fish balls, pork balls and other ingredients. "We are fishing!" they said, while breaking tofu into pieces and making the fish balls rolling around the pot for still another round.....
Well, since everyone had great fun, we had nothing else to comment~
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| 080329-Sta |
Starved Rock State Park, Utica, Illinois
Driving direction: approx. 2.5 hrs from Evanston to get there(Rte 178 & 71, Utica, IL 61373)
Trail Map is available HERE.
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