Birthday Road Trip!

Oglesby, IL

Us atop the lookout at Starved Rock State Park, IL

More Roadside Meals

Today we did a road trip to collect counties, visit a state park, and have a roadside meal.  Our first stop was at The Root Beer Stand in Oglesby, IL (more than likely not associated with The Root Beer Stand in Cincinnati).  We knew we were going to need food so I tried to search for Route 66 style roadside regional food.  I tried a few searches and didn't have any luck so I searched for "Best Root Beer in Illinois" and this place popped up and it was right next to the state park so I checked it out and it fit the bill.  I really enjoy stopping at quirky food places like here and here.

Drive up and order from your car!

I got the Bar-B-Que.  I didn't really know what it was going to be but I wanted something different.

It turned out to be a lot like a Manwich.  It was good but I liked the Wiz Burger more. I also got a Root Beer which was great.  Donna got a burger that she liked along with a Root Beer Float and then we split a chili cheese fries.  All for $20 including tip.

Starved Rock State Park

After lunch we did the short 15 minute drive to Starved Rock State Park.  It's a VERY popular State Park about an hour and a half away from Chicago.  The parking lot was pretty full but we found a spot and started exploring.  The park is right on the Illinois river so we saw people fishing and quite a few birds.  On our short hike and visit to the visitor's center I noticed that the park had an incredibly diverse group of people, way more diverse than I have seen at a State Park.  It felt more like a National Park crowd, which is good IMHO.  I want people of all types to enjoy nature and state parks.  

The bird feeders were a big draw for people and they had this nice information on the birds that visit often.  More places should do this.

The trails were VERY accessible (compared to most trails that gain altitude) and well kept up.  I was surprised at how nice everything was with no entrance fee.

Another example of a VERY accessible trail.  This one was paved and had a gradual incline and would welcome wheelchairs and other modes of mobility.

We picked up 6 new counties for us Kendall Co, Grundy Co, LaSalle Co, Lee Co, Ogle Co, and DeKalb Co,

The route is interesting because we only pick up Kendall Co the interstate only goes through Kendall Co when traveling westbound.  If we had gone the other way around we would have had to get off the Interstate.

The rest of the drive was nice.  When we got back to Chicago we stopped by a Mexican Grocery Store to pick up some fun birthday food and made a nice dinner.  It was a great birthday.

That's it for today and our time in Chicago is winding down.  Just a couple more days until packing day.  If you missed Surgical Science Museum, check it out.  It's a museum with surgical stuff.