Many moons ago, I boarded a jet plane and flew west. We landed in California and expeditiously hopped in our rental car. I was so excited to see the sequoia trees that I only allowed our car to eat rest area snacks for dinner because I couldn’t wait any longer. It was a bad choice to force on my companions, because to this day, they only remember their hunger. Not their first glimpse of the trees. On the other hand, I wasn’t disappointed. Eventually our car began to climb into the Sierras. We wound through the pine forest past ancient trees. I was astounded by the big trees and I hadn’t even seen a sequoia. And then…. There. They. Were. I’m pretty sure I stopped the car at each sequoia on the way to the major grove. They weren’t really trees. They couldn’t be. They were too different. Too big. I just can’t describe what they were like in person. Even with all that I had seen and all that I had read, I was still surprised by their glory.
I remember having this same “surpising” experience at Ferne Clyffe State. I had seen photos of the park. I had googled images of the waterfall. But I was not prepared to partake in the beauty of this place. Maybe I was just in a good mood on that particular day? Maybe I had just been in a car too long? Maybe we just need big nature scenery to remind us of our own smallness? Maybe oversized beauty produces childlike wonder? Actually, I know what it was. I didn’t expect so many soaring cliffs because the spelling threw me off. At any rate, I was definitely joyfully surprised.
Southern Illinois has so many magical places to visit, especially in the Shawnee National Forest. But I’d suggest that you completely forget that I even told you about this park. Completely forget. Someday, you’ll be heading down 57 or 24. Everyone in the car will be starving. You’ll scan signs for food, but the square that will catch your eye will be the Ferne Clyffe attractions sign. Somewhere in the recesses of your mind you’ll recall that you need to go there, but you won’t be able to remember why. Despite the mutinous cries of your passengers, you’ll reroute to the state park. A winding road will lead you through a pine forest to a parking lot lined with rocky cliffs. I guarantee its beauty will surprise you, just like it surprised me.
Visit: Ferne Clyffe State Park | Goreville, IL
https://www.dnr.illinois.gov/parks/pages/ferneclyffe.aspx
Consider: Shawnee Bluffs Canopy tours. You’d be surprised, but there aren’t many long zip line courses in Illinois. 😉
