June 2025 Ilinois Vacation - A Wedding, Hiking and More!

 Gerry and I had a wonderful six-day vacation in Illinois in June!

Main purpose of the trip was the wedding ceremony.  Gerry's youngest brother Phil and his girlfriend Penny got married on Saturday, June 14th.  It was the second marriage for both of them; 63-year-olds who had been divorced for several years. They met four years ago and fell in love.  Very sweet.  I met Penny a few years ago and when I saw her and Phil together, it was obvious they were enamored and in love.

We flew into St. Louis on Friday the 13th. There was a family gathering with his siblings and nieces and nephews at the Global Brew Barrel Room in Edwardsville at 6:00 pm.  We didn't arrive until 7:00 pm, due to our flight schedule.  No problem.  We stayed and mingled with Phil and Penny and others until 9:00 pm.  Great company, conversations, and delicious beer and food!   

 We stayed at the Country Hearth Inn in Edwardsville Friday and Saturday night.  It was a convenient location to the wedding in nearby Troy, Il. It was also convenient to SIUE (Southern Illinois University Edwardsville).  

 Late Saturday morning we went to SIUE and hiked 3.75  miles on the Nature Preserve Loop.  Lovely, and we had the trail all to ourselves. Pleasantly surprised to see this box turtle:

a gorgeous box turtle 

The wedding gathering began at 3:00 pm at the Tri-Township Park Community Center in Troy with cocktails and appetizers. 

The very short wedding ceremony was at 4:30 pm (when I say short, I mean short - like 10 minutes, or 12 minutes tops).  Gerry's brother Don was the best man.

After they say "I Do"  (with Don in the background)

 a little celebration dance!

All of Gerry's siblings attended, which was extra-special.  Gerry's older sister Ginny was diagnosed with small-cell lung cancer several months before the wedding.  We were very fortunate she was able to attend the wedding. (She died several weeks later on July 24th)  

I took a photo of the four older Hans siblings. Dave is the oldest, then Ginny, then Gerry and then Jane.

from left to right: Ginny, Jane, Gerry and Dave

 And I love this photo that Gerry took of Jane's family with her son and two daughters and all of their children. So much fun when we are together with them!

Quite the wonderful family we don't see very often

 The wedding get-together was fantastic!

Then we moved onward to the second part of our Illinois trip - a hiking / nature experience in southern Illinois, including Giant City State Park, Shawnee National Forest, and other excursions.

 We headed toward Giant City State Park, about a 2 1/2 hour drive from Edwardsville. We stopped off at Harbaugh's Cafe for  lunch, a nice local restaurant in Carbondale, a small college town.

Plenty of short hiking options in Giant City State Park. Nestled in the Shawnee National Forest, Giant City State Park was named for the unique impressions made by its massive sandstone structures and a landscape like none other, with lush garments of fern, moss, hundreds of species of wild flowers and more than 75 varieties of towering trees.

Our first hike was the Giant City Nature Trail, a scenic 1.65 mile hike, with lovely scenery and not too many people. 

Here's Gerry as we begin hike number one. 

We especially enjoy looking at the amazing rock formations.

This is quite the boulder!

 We walked along the trail which was clearly marked and also had some wooden walkways.

Up a short flight of steps into more greenery

 We finish the hike and celebrate with a selfie of the two of us.

First hike done!

 We drive 10 minutes and arrive at the trailhead of our second hike. It is Indian Creek Nature Trail hike, a scenic, short and easy 1.1 mile hike. Once again, not too many other people here. 

Gerry on the bridge over the creek

 Even though the temperatures are in the low to mid 80s, we stay cool and comfortable, thanks to all of the trees.

magnificent rock formations on this hike, too

 Our third and final hike in Giant City State Park is the 1.8 mile hike on the Trillium Trail. We've heard plenty of birds on the previous two hikes. On the Trillium Trail we hear more birds, and even spot a few overhead.

Gerry points out a bird in the distance

We're done with hiking by around 4:00 pm and exit Giant City State Park and drive to Walker's Bluff Casino Resort, located about 8 miles north of Carbondale, (well worth the drive to be here, vs a hotel in Carbondale.) It's quite a nice place, and we're in a very spacious, quiet and comfortable room on the fourth floor, the top floor of the Casino Resort.

The Casino Resort is very empty.  I think there are more cars in the employees parking lot than there are in the guest parking lot. We're staying here three nights - Sunday, Monday and Tuesday night.  I don't think I ever saw more than 30 cars in the parking lot and the hotel has 120 rooms.  

There's a nice outdoor pool on the premises. We changed into our bathing suits went down to the pool to rest and relax for a while before going out to dinner at Quatro's Pizza in Carbondale, which was highly recommended by Gerry's brother, Phil. 

Quatro's Deep Dish Pizza was delicious! And we had leftovers for lunch the next two days.

A large thick crust vegetarian pizza w spinach, tomatoes and ricotta cheese

 Monday we drove 75 minutes to hike the Garden of the Gods loop in Shawnee National Forest. Unfortunately, it rained hard on Sunday night and the trail was extremely muddy. 

Our 6.5 mile scheduled 3-hour-hike ended up being a 7.4 mile 4 1/2 hour hike! Quite the adventure, and it took us much longer due to the muddy trail and the thundershowers we experienced on the hike. I was a bit anxious on the hike - worried about slipping and falling, so I didn't enjoy this hike as much as I had anticipated.  Cest la vie.

On the muddy trail at Garden of the Gods

 We did see some interesting mushrooms, and also wisely ate our leftover pizza lunch before the thunderstorms.

mushrooms along the trail

 Gerry's a few feet in front of me as we walk along slowly, careful not to slip.

Gerry leading the way, as usual

A surprising, unexpected find! - what a lovely green snake!

Tuesday was another fun day, with drier weather and a marvelous time outdoors.  We loved the pleasant hiking with scenic views, seeing and hearing so many birds.  We spent a lot of time outdoors on Tuesday.

Our first (and longest) hike was in the Shawnee National Forest at the LaRue Ecological Reserve Area. Less than an hour drive from our hotel. We arrive at the trailhead around 10:30 am. 

We walked 5.6 miles along a very flat out-and-back trail, and stopped often to look at the flowers, listen to the frogs, keep an eye out for snakes, and listen to a variety of birds!  We're the only people on this trail today, and we appreciated the solitude.  It's along Snake Road.  Just the two of us. 

the trail sign at the entry as we embark on the hike

 A great hike for birding! We heard 30 different species of birds, saw many frogs in the wetlands, and even spotted a black rat snake toward the end of this hike.

one of many beautiful vistas along the trail

We hear frogs as we walk by here

Near the end of the trail, we finally encounter the black rat snake!  

It's a big one!  

 The next hike was the short mile hike along the Inspiration Point Trail, in Shawnee National Forest. The trail offered a panoramic view of the Mississippi River valley and the Big Muddy bottom lands and was well worth the short climb, steep in sections. Incredible view on the trail, though lots of poison ivy, which we avoided.

One of many scenic overlooks on Inspiration Point Trail

I am at the highest point on the Inspiration Point Trail

Just like "The Who" sang in 1967, "I can see for miles" 

Our third and final hike of the day (and of this amazing trip) was the very short, less than a mile hike on the Pomona Natural Bridge Trail. Very scenic, as all of the hikes have been, and mostly easy, though some steep rocky, muddy sections. Highlights included stunning bridge views and the unique rock formations.

the Pomona Natural Bridge 

 It was worth the twenty minute drive to the trail head to explore the Pomona Natural Bridge

Gerry is having fun exploring the area below the bridge 

 Then it was back to Walker's Bluff Casino Resort and time to change into our bathing suits and head downstairs and outside to the pool area for a short dip before going out to dinner on our final night here.

We drove 15 minutes to St. Nicholas Brewing, located 15 minutes away for a delicious final dinner. Mahi tacos (3) for Mary and pork tacos (3) for Gerry, which  we shared, along with their special $5 Tuesday margaritas and chips and salsa.

scrumptious tacos have been delivered, soon to be devoured

Our final day in Illinois, Wednesday, June 18th, was an interesting historical adventure and a step back in time. We drove south, a little more than an hour to the town of Cairo, IL. Cairo is at the confluence of the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers at the southern tip of Illinois. 

 A once-booming town with a history of racial violence, Cairo is currently mostly abandoned. The historical downtown are is now filled with crumbling brick and plywood-covered windows.

One of several decrepit and dilapidated buildings we see

 Uptown Cairo still has impressive preserved mansions and buildings such as the Magnolia Manor, a postbellum mansion built in 1869 (a four-story 14-room house). It has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since December 17, 1969

In front of the historic Magnolium Manor

Too bad it was closed. Would have liked to view the interior! Another historic mansion we viewed was the the Riverlore Mansion, built in 1865, in what was then called "Millionaires Row"

The Riverlore - another elegant mansion

My favorite building in Cairo is the Cairo Public Library, a two-story red brick building opened to the public in 1872. It was presented to the Cairo citizens by Anna Eliza Safford on July 19, 1884. 

Cairo Public Library

 There are lovely stained-glass windows throughout and beautiful furnishings.

On the first floor of the library 

 The second floor of the library includes a two-hundred seat auditorium with three pianos and a chandelier that once illuminated the Cairo Opera House.

On the stage in the auditorium with the lovely chandelier and the pianos 

gazing up at the brilliant chandelier!

After we exit the Cairo Public Library we make one final stop before lunch at Fort Defiance Park, which is at the confluence of the rivers. It is an interesting stop, with its concrete observation tower. For Defiance is a former military fortification that dates to the Civil War.

A view from the observation tower as the weather turns cloudy

We ate lunch at Shemwell's Barbecue, a family-owned business that's been around since the 1930s.

Gerry at Shemwell's BBQ

We each had the BBQ Pork sandwich ($5.50 each) and share an order of baked beans ($2.50) and fried Okra (a splurge, at $4.75). A delicious Southern lunch in Cairo.

lunch time! 

Then it was time to drive north three hours; off to the St. Louis airport for our evening flight back home to Los Angeles.