Well, it turned out that I ended up with some time after all so the creek beagle and I went for a short adventure. I selected Kieselberg Forest Preserve in Roscoe, IL. I have been there before, just to drive in and out. Most of the preserve is open fields full of weeds with no vehicle access. The trail map shows a creek though, so I figured the creek beagle might be interested. It's not a big park, but it was not a bad walk. Not exactly a wilderness experience though. Mostly mowed grass paths through the fields of weeds. There are benches conveniently spaced along the trail.
We parked at Red Cedar Ridge and walked up a road maybe 100 feet to the trail head. We basically walked around the perimeter of the park, including the part I accidentally X'ed out and ended up back at the same parking lot.
This is the trail head. Most of the trail is just a mowed grass lane through the weed fields.
This is pretty typical of about half the route we took. Lots of wild flowers, butterflies and birds. Yes, Wilma is squatting here. I flipped the fairly impressive sized poop into the field with my stick.
The grass path continues into a wooded area. Not really a forest. There is no canopy and not all that much shade, even in the wooded areas. It was in the upper 70s with a nice breeze though, so it was not unpleasantly hot.
This is the access to the creek. You could easily walk right by it. It is sort of marked by a couple of metal fence posts and there is a kind of overgrown trail.
View looking south. I think this is what they are calling the sanitary easement on the map. It appears to be a graveled over ditch. It's adjacent to a bunch of houses, but they are not real close right here.
We followed the gravel north a few hundred feet. It empties into the creek where the gravel ends. There was a small amount of water coming from the ditch that Wilma checked out.
There is a sort of a foot path going farther north to this spot where there is a ford of sort to cross the creek. This is Wilma's kind of creek. Flowing water and sandy or rocky bottom. We spent maybe 5 minutes here to let her have some play time.
This is on the other side of the creek from where I was standing. It appears there must be some kind of access to the trail that I walked right by without noticing. I was tempted to walk across but I did not want to get wet feet so we turned back south the way we had come.
This is a view looking back north after we headed south toward where we had exited the trail to check out the creek.
Back on the trail. I think this is where we saw a garter snake sunning himself. Wilma was completely uninterested in him and he slithered off before I could get his picture.
This is an side trail we checked out. It goes back to the same gravel filled ditch. I guess for trail access from the easement for the people who live along the easement.
Looking north along the ditch/easement.
Looking at the trail access point from the easement.
Walking along the south side of the park. To the right as I was walking is all houses maybe 20-50 feet away.
As we continued along the perimeter of the park, there is some more wooded area. Nice shade.
An interesting butterfly. This was just before we left the trail.
The sign at the trail head where we exited the trail back to the Red Cedar Ridge area.
A nicer walk than our normal morning walk around the neighborhood. 62 minutes. Just under 2 miles according to the cell phone pedometer.
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