Natural Beauty

Starved Rock State Park (Utica, IL) is known for it's beautiful rock formations and numerous waterfalls. 16 of the 18 canyons in the park have waterfalls, however all of them were bone dry when we visited there in August during the drought of 2012.  What a disappointment!  It was very hard to photograph the waterfall canyons with the contrast of bright morning sunshine and deep forest shadows.

Here is Eagle Cliff Overlook, just south of the dam on the Illinois River. By the time we got there, we'd already climbed enough steps up to overlooks and down, so we just snapped this photo showing other people enjoying the spectacular view.