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Family of Canadian Geese
We spotted this family two days in a row at East Harbor State Park. The parents were very good at guarding their young. Well, I now know where to go if I ever need a "Payday Loan" or want to exchange my car title for some fast cash. It's too bad that the name Joliet doesn't start with a T, since with only slight manipulation of its spelling you'd end up with Toilet, a more suitable name for this Chicago suburb on the Des Planes river. Instead of immediately listing the negatives of our Joliet experience I choose to begin by listing the positive. We did manage to score a pound of ham for only $1.98.
The day began well enough. We did some birding in the morning (check out the sweet shots of the gosling and heron) and left the Greater Sandusky area around noon for the flat farm lands of western Ohio and Indiana. Nothing really remarkable occurred until we hopped on to the I-94 towards Chicago. We were seriously flirting with the idea of diverting our route all the way into the Windy City when we were given a sign from up above that would change our course forever. I knew the seriousness of this vision, in this case a billboard reading "Bass Pro Shops - Outdoor World: Exit
Blue Heron
At East Harbor State Park 13", should not be ignored.
{As an aside, an ancillary saga had been unfolding prior and during VisionQuest2007. After making backcountry camping reservations in Glacier I did some research and discovered that Desiree's Vasque trailrunning kicks would not be sufficient for the mid-June mush that was the Glacier trail system. Desiree needed 100% waterproof hiking boots. To date, our quest for women's hiking boots had led us to outlet malls, contemporary shoe stores, various sporting goods palaces, and even inner-city back alley swap meets. We had come close on more than one occasion: A boot that was a half size off; A junior pair that chaffed a bit too much on the back heel; And a set of boots that didn't quite meet the style criteria befitting my soon to be backcountry queen.}
Extensive pretrip internet research taught me one thing, if we were ever going to find an affordable and decent-looking size 7 and 1/2 womens hiking boot it would be at Bass Pro Shops. Gleefully, I made a beeline for exit 13 and worked on pumping up Desiree, who undoubtedly was picturing this as ten wasted minutes in an overgrown bait shop. Heading into the jaw-droppingly
massive "Outdoor World", we were greeted by a contemporary country western song trumpeting rural Americans' tolerance and acceptance of all people (even Muslims), and a father in camo and an caution orange hunting hat placing his four year old on the family's soon-to-be new ATV for a quick test drive. I won't go into all the details of the store's interior, but it contained a giant waterfall, full-size stuffed bears and moose, gigantic fish mailboxes, and camouflage massaging recliners. I'm not much of an outdoors guy, but I could have spent the better portion of a day wandering this place. It's quite simply the mecca of outdoor stores. BTW, we did find the boots we had been hunting for. Only $49.99, 100% waterproof, size 7 and 1/2, and cool-looking enough for Desiree to ok.
Now behind schedule after Outdoor World, we decided to skip the hassle of finding a place in Chicago and headed straight for Toliet. As we rolled through town we passed numerous payday loan, cheap insurance and bail bonds outfits. But it wasn't until we pulled up to our hotel that we fully realized how bad Jolietto could get. It was comforting to know, per a
sign at the check in counter, that the Budget Inn Express worked with the Joliet Police Department to curb prostitution and drug dealing at the hotel. Apparently, they weren't working hard enough. Heading down the hall we encountered rail thin junkies and other questionable-looking characters making quick exits down the backside fire escape. The room itself reeked of smoke and vomit and our pillows were covered in cigarette ash. We were exhausted, so despite our better judgment, we decided to make the best of it by sitting on the windowsill and watching as single visitors rolled in and out every thirty minutes or so. Desiree even concocted a defense and escape plan consisting of a pocket knife and a can of bearspray. The smell was getting to us so we called it an early night and crawled into our mummy bags while trying our best not to make direct contact with anything in the room.
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Andree
non-member comment
funny! :)
This has been so humorously written. I chuckle inside.