A Ride Through Suburban Chicago

Last week we visited with my sister, her family, and my mother in far-west suburban Chicago.

The Midwest has many abandoned rail lines -- a good number of which have been turned into "rail trails". Combined with other recreational trails, there are a lot of trails to explore in "Chicagoland". We took a loop route on the Illinois Prairie Path (the very first "rails-to-trails" trail) and the Fox River Trail.

Even though we were traveling through suburban subdivisions and industrial areas, the trees on either side of the trail made it see quite rural.

Along the Fox River Trail, three bridges cross the river at Stearns Road. In the foreground is the railroad bridge, followed by a highway bridge, and finally the new pedestrian/cyclist bridge.

Looking across the Stearns Road pedestrian bridge. The highway bridge is to the immediate left, while the railroad bridge is the left background.

Another trail bridge over the Fox River.

Lon on the bridge.

Sue on the bridge.

I hadn't realized the dangers of going under a highway bridge!

A huge shelf fungus on a tree along the trail.

The last segment of our ride started near Good Templar Park. Nothing special, except that my childhood church in Chicago (the long-gone Kloeckner Memorial UCC) held our annual church picnic here every year. I hadn't been here in nearly 50 years!