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Saturday, July 11, 2009 11:59 PM CDT
COLUMN: Starved Rock a nice, quiet setting to relax with family
By ROB STROUD, Staff Writer
rstroud@jg-tc.com
Since my daughter was born nearly four years ago, my wife and I have taken Hannah to Chicago twice to visit her grandparents there.
We have enjoyed seeing Hannah get to know her grandparents but we often have had trouble relaxing during these trips. Chicago has a whole lot of amazing sights and restaurants to offer, but I can never get used to the sheer size of the place and how crowded it is with vehicles and pedestrian traffic.
When it came time to visit my wife’s folks this year, Beckie and I decided to meet them some place with a much slower pace — Starved Rock Lodge in northwest Illinois.
My wife and I traveled to Starved Rock State Park a few years ago and enjoyed our visit to the lodge there. We rediscovered our love for the lodge this spring while spending a night in one of its cabins with Hannah.
On a Friday this summer, my brother-in-law and I dropped off Beckie and Hannah at the lodge, which has a 3 p.m. check-in, and then drove about 20 miles north to pick up David’s parents at the train station in Mendota.
They left Chicago on a 3:15 p.m. train that arrived in Mendota shortly before 5 p.m., in time for the “Friday Night Family Style Feast” that night in the lodge’s main dining room. The appropriately named feast includes all-you-can-eat fried and baked chicken, baked cod, and sides served at the table.
After supper we went outside to the lodge’s Veranda to listen to the Mr. Meyers band play reggae music. Hannah had a ball dancing the limbo with the many other children who were with their families at the show. The Veranda offers a variety of live music on select Friday and Saturday nights throughout the summer.
For those who want a quieter pursuit at night, the lodge sells bundles of wood that can be burned in outdoor fireplaces. Beckie, Hannah and I had fun during our spring trip to the lodge watching the flames flicker at night and raccoons scurry by along the edge of the patio.
During our mornings at the lodge, David and Beckie went hiking early while the weather was cool and they had the trails almost to themselves.
The lodge looks out over the Illinois River and is surrounded by the natural beauty of the state park. Highlights include canyons formed by the melting water of glaciers and stream erosion. These canyons stretch through tree-covered sandstone bluffs. Waterfalls of varying sizes can sometimes be found at the heads of these canyons.
Starved Rock’s trails are filled with slopes and staircases, so you can get a great workout on a hike. There is a particularly long staircase that connects the lodge to the Visitors Center, which has a museum and a snack shop. The climb down this staircase is not too bad, but you feel every step on the way back up to the lodge.
My wife and I also got a lot of exercise swimming in the lodge’s pool with Hannah. There is plenty of room for laps as well as an adjacent wading pool and hot tub for more relaxing dips in the water.
To recharge after a morning hike or swim, breakfast in the main dining room really hits the spot. We have tried the Saturday morning breakfast buffet twice and I have heard a lot of good things about the bountiful Sunday brunch. I will have to give the brunch a try during my next visit.
We did save room on the last day of the trip to eat the Sunday lunch at the Whistle Stop restaurant near the Mendota train station. I really liked the pan-sauteed sand dabs, a type of white fish, with potatoes and vegetables. We also had tasty fettuccini alfredo and crab bisque soup there.
Eating lunch at the Whistle Stop and visiting the nearby Union Railroad Depot Museum helped pass the time as we waited for the arrival of the 1:21 p.m. Amtrak train that would take my father- and mother-in-law back to Chicago.
The time passed too quickly in the end, with Hannah hugging her grandparents goodbye and them boarding their train. As we drove home, Hannah said she wants to see her grandma and grandpa again soon. Sounds like it is time to get another trip in the works.
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