Western Shawnee driving tour with Mom


We convinced my mom to come up from cozy Florida to Southern Illinois in February of all times to meet baby Lucy.  She was welcomed at STL by snow and temps in the teens.  Needless to say, we didn't venture out much for a few days.  But by Sunday, I was getting cabin fever and the forecast was calling for temps in the 50s, so I planned a driving tour for the four of us.

We started out at Kinkaid Spillway.  Mom was very impressed by the volume and force of the water pouring out of the lake and over the falls.  We couldn't cross at the beach because it was under water, but she was daring enough to walk the muddy path in from the dam to get right up next to the falls.



I had forced myself to leave my tripod and filters behind, knowing that I would spend too much time taking pictures if I had them, but I still managed to take a few shots without them.





  


Next, we drove to the top of Fountain Bluff to watch eagles soar, pushboats chug, and floodwaters run.


Driving south on Route 3, we spotted this armored piglet grubbing in a field and plenty of ducks in the Big Muddy Wetlands.







Then we drove up to the top of LaRue Pine Hills to look out over the valley.  The water staining was neat to see; when your eyes got on the same level, it was like an optical illusion in the forest of the Scatters.





I saw this one scamper across the road and Laura spotted it down in a dry creek bed looking back at us.  I had the settings all wrong on the camera, but fired off a few shots thinking correctly that I would only get a few seconds.  I got luck and got 1 out of 8 to come out fairly crisp, even after cropping it way down.


Next, we headed over to Alto Pass.  Ever heard of it?!  And then a quick stop at Cedar Lake Dam to kill some time before meeting friends at Midland's for dinner.  We capped the day of wildlife viewing with a barred owl on a powerline over top of the truck. Unfortunately, it was too dark for my cheap lens, but it was fun to see it anyway.









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