Garden Of The Gods II, Etc. (Photo Heavy)

The Warrior

The Warrior

🇺🇸 INSANE VIKING 🇺🇸
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Went for an over nighter Thursday night in southern Illinois. My mom took the wife and I there. Didn't get as much hiking in as I'd hoped, but we still had fun. We drove from home, straight to Garden of the Gods, about a 4 hour drive. I tried to take some shots different from the last time. Finally getting around to posting them.

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This guy scared the crap outta me. I cropped the photo so you could see it better. The high point, to his left, is where he started to descend. He was doing the crab walk, and got as about as far down as he could. He started to slide over the ledge to the next level. He had to jump a bit, to clear the crevasse, but his foot grabbed, and he fell forward, nearly falling off the side. As you can see, he made it okay:

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Here's the full shot. You can see he would have faced certain death:

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I was watching the guy, wondering how the hell he was gonna get back up. Too big of a jump, obviously. He literally walked on the edge, facing you as you look at the photo. He had to fall forward, and grab the higher layer, and step across the crevasse, then crawl up, with really nothing to grab onto. I don't understand why people take such chances:

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Blue tailed skink I came across:

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Walked down a small valley, to get a shot of Devil's Smokestack from the bottom:

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Devil's Smokestack from the top:

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More random shots:

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Camel Rock:

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Had a good time there, but all good things must come to an end. Drove to the cabin, about 9 miles away. Little cabin we stayed in for the night:

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Did some burgers on the grill:

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The cabins are on 77 acres, and there's a 1.6 mile loop you can walk. About 7:30 or 8 the next morning, I decided to do the hike. About half way through, you leave the woods, and the walk continues around a pasture. I wanted to stay in the woods, so I turned back around:

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To be continued...
 
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Sun coming through the trees in the morning always looks cool:

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We left the cabin, and went to Rim Rock, which was literally right across the street. Didn't take as many photos there:

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Left there, and drove to Cave In Rock. We decided to take the ferry across the Ohio River into Kentucky, just to say we did:

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Had to wait for a barge to go by. They're floating a lot of grain this time of year:

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Looking back at Cave In Rock from the ferry. The bluffs there have the cave itself:

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So, after a visit to an Amish store, and a McDonalds in Marion, we turned around and headed back to Cave In Rock State Park: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cave-In-Rock,_Illinois

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Walked down some stairs to the river. This is looking to the right:

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To the left, where the cave is:

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Entrance:

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Inside:

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Looking back out:

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Turkeys we saw as we were leaving:

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Looking forward to visiting the area again. Southern Illinois is a beautiful area, in the Shawnee National Forest. A nice place to visit, if you ever get the chance. Thanks for looking.
 
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Beautiful photography as always Dubz. Come back in the fall, it's breathtaking.
 
tradewater said:
Beautiful photography as always Dubz. Come back in the fall, it's breathtaking.
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Thanks man, appreciate it. We were there last fall: http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/s...he-Gods-(Photo-Heavy)?p=11447720#post11447720

We talked about possibly going again in October sometime. We had to take it easy, because mom was with us. We wanted to hike more. The wife and I talked about renting the cabin there again in January, our anniversary.

On a side note, have you ever hiked the trails at Pere Marquette State Park? We drove past there yesterday, and it reminded me there are trails there. We drive to the top frequently, but I always forget there's a trail system there.
 
Great pics! I love garden of the gods! Im only about an hour away in evansville. And you always see people doing some stupid stuff lol.
 
DosOne said:
Great pics! I love garden of the gods! Im only about an hour away in evansville. And you always see people doing some stupid stuff lol.
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It freaks me out. I remember last fall when I was there, there were tons of people. I could not believe how parents would let their little kids walk right up to the edge.
 
The Warrior said:
On a side note, have you ever hiked the trails at Pere Marquette State Park? We drove past there yesterday, and it reminded me there are trails there. We drive to the top frequently, but I always forget there's a trail system there.
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We have. I'll get with you on some trail intel when you get ready to go. By the way, people fall at GOG all the time. It's on local TV several times a year. Amazing really.
 
tradewater said:
We have. I'll get with you on some trail intel when you get ready to go. By the way, people fall at GOG all the time. It's on local TV several times a year. Amazing really.
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Is it worth the hike? How long are the trails?

I just can't understand why people think they have to walk all the way to the edge. I get vertigo, so I never do.
 
It's a system of loop trails that can be connected to make something like 10 or 12 miles. Pretty scenic with some good ups and downs.
 
tradewater said:
It's a system of loop trails that can be connected to make something like 10 or 12 miles. Pretty scenic with some good ups and downs.
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Damn, I had no idea the trails were that long there. That's only about an hour and a half drive too, sounds good. Thanks for the info. :thumbsup:
 
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Wow great photos. Thanks for sharing. There's a few spots up here with hoodoos, but the ones at the Garden of the Gods look very impressive. I hear ya about the vertigo though - don't think I'd be getting too close to the edge either.
 
Wow that is beautiful! Great photography btw.

having been in california my whole life ive never seen a forest such as that! I needd to go road trip sometime and visit the gprgeous forests of this country.
 
Thanks guys, appreciate it. It's a beautiful area, no doubt about it.
 
Murphnuge said:
That's one impressive looking place, you say y'all are just next door?
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Yup. You need to come across the border and check it out. I've only done the 1/4 mile hike at the top. All kinds of trails to hike in the bottoms. YouTube "Garden of the Gods Illinois".
 
Amazing pictures of beautiful scenery! :eek:
Thanks for sharing, enjoyed a lot!
 
Superb photography, and beautiful scenery. At first, I was thinking I was developing Alzheimer's or dementia, because back in the 60's, when I was stationed at Ft Carson, I spent a lot of weekends climbing the rocks in the Garden of the God's, and didn't remember anything you had posted, until I realized you weren't in Colorado Springs, but Illinois...you had me going for a while. Anyway, I had no idea Illinois had such beautiful country. Nice job.
 
Alnamvet68 said:
Superb photography, and beautiful scenery. At first, I was thinking I was developing Alzheimer's or dementia, because back in the 60's, when I was stationed at Ft Carson, I spent a lot of weekends climbing the rocks in the Garden of the God's, and didn't remember anything you had posted, until I realized you weren't in Colorado Springs, but Illinois...you had me going for a while. Anyway, I had no idea Illinois had such beautiful country. Nice job.
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Thanks man. It even freaks me out that southern Illinois looks like this. Nothing like where I live in Illinois, for sure.
 
Beautiful pics. Wondering which pack and pouch that is and about the scales on the Becker.
 
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