Weekend in the Corn Belt

Shannon and I just returned from Illinois, where we visited the extensive Anderson clan and attended the wedding of Shannon's cousin Ryan. We stayed with her Uncle Al & Aunt Cookie out in farm country, where "flat" is the most appropriate descriptor, and the corn is ubiquitous and delicious! Killdeer and pheasant are among the abundant birds in the area which I am glad to have become more acquainted with. The weather was hot - around 90 each day - but the plains provide enough breeze to abate the swelter. Uncle Al has 100+ acres, including one bass pond which was clouded up from last week's rainstorms, and Aunt Cookie is a superb cook (hence the name, I believe), so needless to say I was quite comfortable and content during my stay.

Sunday morning before the wedding, Shan and I rose early and drove to Starved Rock State Park along the Illinois River. We hiked along the well-worn trails, enjoying the shade of some very rare Illinois evergreen forests and the striking canyons gouged out of the river's rocky edges. Here is a picture of Wildcat Canyon, which was certainly lacking in wildcats, but it had a faint trickling faucet of a stream pouring into it.
On Monday, Shan's dad took me on a chartered fishing excursion on the Illinois River. Despite the very clouded water, we managed around 40-50 fish between the two of us, including 4 species I've never caught before (channel catfish, white bass, sheepshead, and river herring). We brought many white bass and catfish home where I had a filleting marathon, and we all enjoyed the unbeatable deliciousness of fresh fish fried in oil (with hot sauce & lemon...and more corn, of course!).

Monday was humid and in the 90's, so thunderstorms were inevitable, but I don't think I was quite prepared for the abruptness and severity of a genuine midwestern storm. Since the skies are visible in all directions for hundreds of miles, you can easily watch the drama of a turbulent warm air mass unfold, even as its fury rumbles forth in your direction. We had a brief tornado scare when the wind suddenly increased to hurricane-like intensity, causing the house to creak and patio furniture to walk across the deck, accompanied by the train-like roar often associated with tornado onset, and the rain started pelting the house like bullets. This turned out to be one of the tamer storms in the Chicagoland area that day, none of which erupted into tornadoes. As the evening cooled, the storms mellowed, and the skies gave way to a spectacular enduring lightning storm. Before dark, I was able to get this awesome shot of an anvil cloud standing in stark contrast to the innocent blue sky and passive plain.
I'll be posting more pictures from Illinois here, if you're interested.