 |
| Starved Rock (Morning) |
It has been over a year since we moved from our little city of Salt Lake to the metropolis of Chicago. With that, many thing have changed and some things have stayed the same.
Erin has quickly adjusted to the area and seems to fit in. She has also excelled in her new job and has made many new friends.
As for myself, I have become lost here. It’s hard enough to find your place when you are comfortable but, if you are like me, that stress becomes ten-fold when you are in a place of unfamiliarity.
In the last few months the stress and frustration has been building. I haven't been myself. I’ve become more of a hermit than I usually am not wanting to talk or associate with anyone or even to leave the house to do anything. Needless to say, I was not a pleasant person to be around.
It finally reached its breaking point and I decide that I had to do something about it. I remembered that one of the things that I really enjoyed and helped me to refocus, was to get out in to the wild. My family has always been big on the outdoors. We like to go camping, ride atv’s, hiking and exploring our National Parks. And, of course one of my unspoken favorites, rock crawling in the red rocks of Moab, Utah. Sometimes all it would take would be to drive around town with the top off my jeep, the wind blowing through my hair, to calm me down. Unfortunately the jeep did not make it out to Chicagoland with us. So I had to find an alternative method.
 |
| Something out of a Horror Film |
Lucky for me, about an hour drive from my house lies Starved Rock State Park. The park lies upon the banks of the Illinois River and has a variety of hiking trails and overlooks. I figured that I would take this time to check out the fall colors. Not to take away from my home state, but the fall colors out here are suppose to be unreal in variety. I was definitely in for a surprise, but not the surprise that you are thinking.
On Friday morning I woke up, packed a lunch and grabbed my gear and headed down the road. The traffic was fairly light for a week day morning. Of course, I was moving away from the city so of course it was light. Not much was happening, so I cranked up the radio and jammed out to the songs that were playing. I am not the best singer out there, but nobody else in the car was complaining. If you have ever carved through Illinois you are aware that you crossover several rivers. This is where things started to get interesting. Before I left my house I had turned on the news on as background noise as I had got my things together. The news had mentioned something about fog around the river valleys. I didn't pay much mind to it.
As the news had said, the closer I got to the river the heavier the fog got. I have driven through fog before but nothing quite has thick as this wall of precipitation. You could barely see what was going on around you. I decided to take it safe and easy down the road, I didn't want to tempt fate, and moved over to the far lane and cruised down the road.
 |
| Wildcat Canyon |
I finally reached my destination and slowly rolled into a parking stall and sat there for a moment and pondered. When I finally removed myself from the car and looked around. The fog was still relentless in blocking virtually everything. I thought to myself that this trip was going to be a bust. You couldn’t see anything. I might as well go home. I went back and forth for a few minutes and decided, well I'm here, I might as well make the most of it.
There is something eerie about walking through the woods in a deep fog. I kept expecting Jason or some other horror creature to jump out and start chasing me down. Luckily for me that did not happen. I hit the main areas of the park. Unfortunately all you could see was a few muted leaves, not the vibrant color that I has hoping to see. So I found a map board and picked out a trail for me to explore. I would exchange a few pleasantries to the other hiker foolish enough to brave to frog.
I found myself heading toward Wildcat Canyon. I use the word “canyon” lightly here. I’m not trying to take away anything from them. They are just smaller than what I'm used to seeing back in Utah. I walked into small canyon and I was actually taken back by what I was seeing. A small waterfall was pouring off the rock walls into a small pound and the base. This was actually a turning point of the day and for me.
After taking it all in I decided that it was getting close to lunch time so I should head back to the car. Its probably in my head, but with each step that I took out of the canyon the fog lifted until the sun had completely burned it away. With that, the colors had finally reached its peak of exuberance.
 |
| Starved Rock ( Afternoon) |
I made my way back to the car taking in everything that I saw. Watching as the forest critters were running around in the leaf litter and playing in the trees. It was quite a different mood than it was earlier that day. I reached the parking lot and retrieved my lunch and headed to find a place to eat. I found a nice little spot down on the banks of the river. This gave me time to reflect on the day.
I came to the conclusion that this day was a perfect allegory for what I have been going through. My sense of purpose had become clouded and hard to see. Much like the vibrance of the leaves that were muted and dulled by the fog. But all you have to do is find that light that will help you burn through the fog.
I may not be out of my fog yet, but at least I can see the sun burning through. I am so grateful for my wife and the love that she gives me everyday. I know that my bright day is close at hand. I guess my advice for those out there. Things may be bleak, but do not give up hope. For the fog may cloud your vision, but there is always a ray of light trying to get in. Only you decide on how fast it can break through. Find the things that make you happy and share your light with others.
We are excited about our new home that we have created here in Chicago. We have new adventures on the horizon for us. And we are excited to share them with you.
Thanks for stopping by! We hope to see you again.
Josh
