A couple of weeks ago Dane surprised me with a trip that he had planned! I have been wanting to go to Starved Rock State Park for a few years, and we never got around to it. So, I was thrilled to find out that we would finally be going!

We left right after work on Tuesday, and made the three hour drive north. When we arrived at the lodge, we noticed that the parking lot was very empty! Other than the staff we may have been the only people there. Creepy? Maybe, but the hotel staff was super friendly...and our room was very nice. Grizzly Jack's Grand Bear Resort has a lot of summer attractions that families would really enjoy, and I am sure they are very busy all through the summer. The water park doesn't open until this weekend, so we didn't get to visit that part of the resort.

I was a little worried about whether or not we were going to be able to hike the next day. There were severe storms predicted and 100% chance of rain.

When we woke up Wednsday morning, the parking lot was covered with puddles and it was misting out. A little mist wasn't going to stop us! It was actually the perfect day for hiking through the park. It was a cool 65 degrees, and the waterfalls were flowing! We did get rained on a little bit, but we really could not have asked for a better day!













We walked a little over 4 miles (mostly stairs), and got to see some really beautiful scenes. It was such an enjoyable trip. Dane and I had a really great time hiking, and it was great to spend some time together. I really hope that we can make that trip again soon!