Trip Report
for
Starved Rock State Park, Illinois (6/12-15/2009)
Location: Starved Rock State Park, Illinois
Date: June 12 thru June 15, 2009
Days/Nights at location: 4 Days / 3 Nights
Would we go again?: Absolutely!
Weather Forecast: 30% chance of rain on Friday and Saturday night. Turns out it did rain, a lot. When we got there on Friday night I setup a makeshift lean-to using a tarp and some extra poles I picked up at Outdoor World on the way to the park (Survivor Man would be proud)
Research Info:
Cedar Creak Ranch (Horseback riding)
Wild Cat Canyon is the place with the water fall everyone shows to represent the park
Schedule:
Friday – Head to the park and setup camp and visit the Lodge
Saturday – Go fishing with Jay Angel (professional guide)
Sunday – Go horseback riding and hiking
Monday – Go hiking and go home
Narrative:
On Friday we got a late start in the morning (as expected) and headed south toward the park. We stopped at Outdoor World to pick up a tarp and some other equipment just in case it rained. The weather forecasts called for scattered storms. While shopping for camp food the night before Teagan begged to have crab legs. Who am I to deny her crab legs? It did rain friday night but we were prepared and everything stayed dry.
Saturday morning was cold and wet with an overcast sky. We woke up early and headed to the Lodge to meet with Jay Angel (professional fishing guide). We ended up going to Shabbona Lake and fishing for several hours. When we got there it was raining so we hung out for about an hour until the storm passed. Then Jay launched his boat and off we went catching bluegill.
The girls ended up catching 18 or so bluegill. Jay did a great job getting them on the fish. It’s like he knew every piece of the lake. When I was casting for Teagan and not getting bites, he told me to cast a few more feet further. I did and the fish started biting again. I’m looking forward to going with him again on a sunny day. When we got back from fishing Teagan and I took a nap and Melissa and Sierra went for a hike.
Sunday morning we got up and headed over to Cedar Creak Ranch so the girls could go horseback riding. Melissa and I can’t say enough about the owner Paul. The girls got to ride on full sized horses (not ponies). Paul took time out of his day to not only let Sierra ride but to give her a quick lesson. By the time her ride was up Paul had her stopping, turning and getting the horse moving. We will definately be back!
After that we headed over to Matthiessen State Park as we had heard from a local that there was a pond for fishing and some great waterfalls. The fishing was no good due to an algae blum in the pond, but we tried it anyway. After which everyone played in the waterfall. Great fun was had by all.
Monday we did a bit of hiking and ended up at the top of Starved Rock and took a look around and then headed home.
