Starved Rock

Today Georgia Lee took us to Starved Rock State Park in Utica, IL. The history behind the place is very interesting. This information is taken from the Illinois Department of Natural Resources website:

"Starved Rock State Park derives its name from a Native American legend of injustice and retribution. In the 1760s, Pontiac, chief of the Ottawa tribe upriver from here, was slain by an Illiniwek while attending a tribal council in southern Illinois. According to the legend, during one of the battles that subsequently occurred to avenge his killing, a band of Illiniwek, under attack by a band of Potawatomi (allies of the Ottawa), sought refuge atop a 125-foot sandstone butte. The Ottawa and Potawatomi surrounded the bluff and held their ground until the hapless Illiniwek died of starvation- giving rise to the name 'Starved Rock.'”

This is Lover's Leap. We didn't walk over there, as it looked like rain. And our legs were cramping!!!

The park was beautiful. But because it was FULL of poison ivy, I stayed well to the center of all walkways! Be in shape before visiting, though! We walked down many, many stairs to get from the lodge to the walkways that led to the steep incline and MORE stairs going UP this time before arriving at Starved Rock. Of course, we had to do this in reverse to return to the lodge. My calves were aching by the time we finished.

There were also locks across the Illinois River. That was interesting as well. We could view it from the top of Starved Rock.