Grant Woods Forest Preserve
We live in Lake County, Illinois. Aptly named because within a few miles of us we have, Deep Lake, Cedar Lake, Sand Lake, Grass Lake, Crooked Lake, Painted Lake, Third Lake, Fourth Lake, Fox Lake, Chain of Lakes, - you get the idea. And we have the Lake County Forest Preserves organization. I am so impressed by them - they have preserved thousands of acres in this area for recreational use. Weezie and I walk in one of the preserve areas every day. Grant Woods is about 1000 acres (!) - there are 3 entrances within a couple of miles of our house. It's impossible to get the real feel of a place without actually being there, but here are a few pictures I took for my mom. That's because mom stayed in the car while Weezie and I did the 2-mile loop. Mom's lower body mobility needs some work and she improved greatly while she was at our house, but not nearly enough to make a 2-mile stroll. Here she is at the entrance. Note the rough-leafed sunflowers ...