Just got back from Illinois.

This was a lot different than my experience in Massachusetts a couple weeks ago. The forests had plenty of space between trees, making cross country travel easy. Meadows, river and stream banks mostly had tall grasses and were not hiking obstacles, other than keeping an eye out for ticks (I assume they exist here). The forests were darkish and shady. Many trees of the maple family, so I’ll have to check my tree guide for exact identification.

Fire flies in abundance at night, although I couldn’t figure out how to set up my camera (it was pitch dark) for a time exposure. I’ll have to work on that. It was really cool to sit on logs and just watch all the fire flies around me.

Had some good rains early in the week, and although hiking was accompanied with high humidity the few mosquitoes didn’t bother me. I will point out that the little buggers rarely inconvenience me, even when others are suffering. Perhaps it is my state of mind.

Travel was in suburban areas where there are many large forest preserves connected by suburban trails. Not sure if camping is allowed, but stealth camping is easy and private.