What is there to see in Illinois?
Historic Nauvoo
There are so many historical sites here. I won’t list them all because…it would take a long time…but we did visit the graves of Joseph, Emma and Hyrum Smith. We then walked and drove all around historic Nauvoo. It is an extremely peaceful and beautiful place.
We then moved on to the Nauvoo Visitor Center. Here you can find more history about the Nauvoo temple and they offer many free tours, including a carriage ride and an oxen cart ride!
Just down the street from the oxen, is the quarry where limestone was cut by hundreds of workers for the construction of the temple.
Nauvoo Temple
In 1846, the original temple was dedicated. Shortly after this, all the members were forced to leave and the temple was vandalized. An arsonist set the temple aflame in 1848 then a tornado took the rest in 1850. The temple was rebuilt and then dedicated in 2002. The outside structure is beautiful and there is a very detailed model of the interior in the Visitor Center.
After exploring, we backtracked a little to go across a bridge into Iowa…mostly so we could add Iowa to our state list for this trip. But we also needed more water, so it worked out.
Starved Rock State Park
This is an extremely popular park in Illinois, and I can see why. We only saw about a third of it, but even that amount left us amazed.
There is quite a bit of litter along the trails, which is sad, but we were able to look past that and still see the beauty. Most of the paths lead into each other, so it can get a little confusing even with the maps that are placed throughout the park. It just becomes apart of the experience to get a little lost and see things you weren’t expecting to.
A few things to be aware of:
- A warning sign at the beginning of the trails, recommends bug spray to protect from ticks.
- The park closes at sunset and they will fine you if your car is still in the parking lot.
Some of the hikes start from the Visitor Center. French canyon is one of them. It’s a really quick walk from the visitor center and there are signs that make it really easy to find. The trickling waterfall at the end is mezmorizing.
From there we headed around to Lovers Leap and Eagle Cliff Overlook and Wildcat Canyon, then got a little lost. Some trails were boardwalk, some were dirt, and there were many stairs. All worth it.
After wandering about, we found the right trail and eventually the car and headed to our hotel in Chicago. I guess it’s time for another big city!