My Travel Backpack

Special collaboration from CSN Mattresses

While the Chicago suburbs have a lot to offer, one thing they do not have a lot of is nature. Sure, the burbs have more trees than the city does but that’s not really saying too much. Parks are nice and all but I’m looking to walk for more than 50 feet without seeing any concrete or steel. Now that I’m old enough to rent a car, my possibilities have opened up considerably. Wisconsin, Iowa, Michigan, Missouri and Kentucky are all super close to Illinois and offer enough “wilderness” to satisfy any nature-deprived suburbanite. Illinois has plenty of nature as well; you just have to know where to find it. Consider adding Starved Rock State Park to your list of must-see Midwest destinations!

Located a little less than 100 miles Southwest of Chicago, near Utica, IL., the 2,800-acre Starved Rock State Park offers spectacular views of the Illinois River from various overlooks spread throughout the park. My first visit to Starved Rock was when I was young, a little weekend excursion with the family. I went back as a Boy Scout and more recently went with some friends. Timeless is definitely a word I’d use to describe this beautiful state park. Starved Rock has 18 canyons formed by glacial melt water and stream erosion. These canyons dramatically slice through tree lined, sandstone bluffs for nearly four miles! Stunning!

Hiking and biking trails criss-cross throughout the park and offer visitors quite a lot to see. While a majority of the area along the river is forested, most of it is a flat, gently rolling plain. The upland prairies located in the par were created thousands of years ago, during a period of intense warming, long after the glaciers melted. The Illinois River Valley in the Starved Rock Park is very rocky, compared to the flatland parts. Formed by floods during the melting of the glaciers, sandstone and sedimentary rocks were deeply eroded, creating some interesting rock formations.

If you visit the park in the early spring, at the end of the winter thaw, beautiful waterfalls can be found at the heads of each of the 18 canyons. The moss covered stone is truly something else to behold. The 13 miles of well marked hiking trails are open all year round, and a color coded system helps inexperienced hikers follow their route on a trail map. As far as camping goes, there’s a nice, large campground on the south side of the park with 133 campsites, 100 of which are reserveable. These campsites have electricity, showers and flush toilets. There’s even a camp general store that sells fire wood, ice and other camping supplies. With all of these amenities, this isn’t really roughing it “Man vs. Wild” style but itís still totally worth it.

What Did I Pack?

Now, given that there are only 13 miles of trails at Starved Rock, this probably isn’t going to be much more than a 2 day trip, however you can always extend it. There’s a lot to see and do! There’s also a lodge to stay in if you want a change. When packing for your trip, be wary of the climate, since the park is open all year round. The last time I went was in mid October to catch some beautiful fall foliage. Here’s what I brought with me:

• Tent: REI Camp Dome 2 Person Tent
• Backpack: North Face Gompa Expedition Series
• Sleeping Bag: North Face Snowshoe Sleeping Bag
• Air Mattress: AeroBed Adventure Bed (I laid my sleeping bag on top of the mattress)
• Food & Water I didn’t bring too much since I was only staying for one night. Just some snack foods for the day’s hike and some food for dinner. The water at the campground was safe to drink, but I brought some Chlorine tablets just in case.

If you ever find yourself in or around the Chicago area and have an extra day or two to kill, I highly recommend jutting off the Starved Rock State Park near Utica, IL. Its geological wonders combined with majestic views of the Illinois River, it’s truly a gem!

5 days in Las Vegas but our best souvenir is not in Vegas itself… it’s in the sky over the famous Grand Canyon, a steep-sided gorge carved by the Colorado River.

We definitely wanted to see the Grand Canyon (even though we’ve seen a part of it from our plane) and after discussions with friends who went to Vegas and who told us “you MUST take an helicopter tour”, we didn’t have the choice. The helicopter tour is about 2 to 4 times the price of a bus tour but it lasts 4 hours instead of 14. Sometimes longer is better, but when you stay in a city only 5 days, every hour counts. Well, in this case, we should have skipped the time-share condos presentation (I should write in details my thoughts about that in another post but for now just remember not to go there).

From the 5 helicopter tour companies going in the canyon from Vegas, we chose Las Vegas Helicopters. In fact, their stars and stripes helicopters are just awesome… it’s a bit cliché but they have such a great look… I knew it would give us great shots !

Thursday 7am (7am… that’s SOOOO early for a morning in Las Vegas but the colors in the Canyon totally worth it), Darryl, driver for LV Helicopters, picked us at our hotel and drived us to Boulder City airport. We had a great time talking with Darryl, this guy was very funny. From the moment we met him, we knew that all this was gonna be a great adventure.

Less than 1 hour later, we were sitting in the helicopter, our headsets on, ready for take-off. And here we go….

Lake Mead

Hoover Dam

The magnificient Grand Canyon

… and us trying to seize every minute walking in one of the most impressive places we’ve seen in our lives… for the first, and probably, last time. I just can’t find words to describe you how we felt down it the Canyon, it was just amazing.

Thanks to Curtis our pilot, a Vietnam veteran, who helped making our tour extraordinary by all the info he gave us about the Canyon.

Overall, this was such a great experience and yes “you MUST take an helicopter tour” to the Grand Canyon when you’re in Vegas.

Note that Las Vegas Helicopters kindly provided me with a complimentary flight for the purpose of this article, but it doesn’t have any influence on this review. In fact, I wouldn’t have told you this if it would have had any influence. ha! ha!

How I wish that there were more
Than the twenty-four hours in the day
cause even if there were forty more
I wouldnt sleep a minute away

I totally agree with Elvis on this (not that we disagree usually… we were good friends. Well. No. Umm. Anyway.) : Viva Las Vegas !

First of all, we got a 555$/ea package for a fly from Burlington to Las Vegas and 4 nights at the Excalibur, couldn’t be cheaper. Excalibur was okay, but I’ll definitely try another hotel next time. ‘Cause yesss, there will be a “next time”!

Here are the highlights of this trip:
O by Cirque du Soleil
KÀ by Cirque du Soleil (I slept for a couple of minutes – shame on me – but my friends enjoyed it a lot!
Moon Nightclub at the Palms
Poker tournament at Excalibur (ended 5th on 60)
Grand Canyon Helicopter Tour with Las Vegas Helicopters
Dinner at Mon ami Gabi enjoying the Bellagio Fountains
Dinner at Olives (Bellagio)
Visit of the Dolphin Habitat at the Mirage
Free drinks in casinos!

You can find pictures on Flickr

 Trekking in the Grand Canyon is the dream of many backpackers I know. I’m sure you’re all jealous to know that we will go to the Canyon next thursday. Guess what, we’ve decided not to walk into the Canyon but fly over it. You’re right, we’ve just booked an helicopter tour with Las Vegas Helicopters. We chose the Adventurer tour which is a 4 hour tour over Boulder City, Lake Mead, Hoover Dam and, obviously, THE Grand Canyon. We are so excited about it! We just can’t wait to fly in one of their stars and stripes helicopter!!!

Only 4 days left ’til we arrive in Vegas! 

 In a couple of days, I’ll fly to Las Vegas. 5 days of shows (O, KÀ), casinos (poker!), pool and other adventures (Grand Canyon!)

If you have any suggestions, please comment or send me an email.

“I must say, my time at Philmont was well spent, the beauty of northeastern New Mexico is breathtaking to say the least. My pack held up well for being a outlet camp bargain at $70. My experiences here have driven me to become more of a die hard outdoor enthusiast, and I now have an overwhelming passion for backpacking and rock climbing.” – Eric

Backpack brand: Coleman
Backpack model and capacity: Coleman Exponent 4200
The location where you took the picture: Southern Rockies, New Mexico, United States
Trip Length: 20 days

Thanks to Eric Fehringer

“The snow proved to be too deep, so the Corgi went into my buddy’s pack. Last time he goes on a back country ski trip.” – Jason

Backpack brand: Osprey
Backpack model and capacity: One 35 lb + Corgi
The location where you took the picture: Rabbit Lakes, Anchorage, Alaska, United States
Trip Length: 1 day

Thanks to Jason Meyer

“I was walking the trail with my dog Sally and a few friends, when one of them snapped this picture. It was a gorgeous day, although it was cold.” – Christopher

Backpack brand: Gregory Mountain Products
Backpack model and capacity: Arcadia, 3800 cu. in.
The location where you took the picture: Appalachian Trail, North Georgia, U. S. A.
Trip Length: 10 days

Thanks to Christopher Ryan

“This photo was taken on our honeymoon trip. The hike up to the top of Farewell Gap was a long stretch of exposed and narrow switchbacks. When we got to the top of the gap, the wind was incredible. We were able to lean into the wind and be supported by it. The view was incredible, and then we started down the other side of the valley to make camp.” – Beth

Backpack brand: Lowe Alpine
Backpack model and capacity: Ophir 60L
The location where you took the picture: Farewell Gap, Sequoia National Park, California, United States
Trip Length: 6 days
More pictures at: http://community.webshots.com/user/climbmda/

Thanks to Beth Albrecht
Should Beth win the photo contest?

“3 day backpacking trip outside of Durango with myself (Ben Ridge), girlfriend, and dog. Hiking right at treeline, beautiful scenery, as you can see.” – Ben

Backpack brand: REI
Backpack model and capacity: Venus 4100 cubic inches
The location where you took the picture: Outside of Durango, Colorado, United States
Trip Length: 3 days
More info at: http://www.wanderaround.com

Thanks to Ben Ridge (and his girlfriend…)
Should Ben win the photo contest?