This was so easy and pleasant to do that I'm embarrassed I haven't explored Illinois's state parks sooner.
To pick a park, I went to the Illinois State Park website, clicked on the most northeast region, and then went alphabetically through the parks... and stopped at the first one because it looked pretty and was only a 45-minute drive.
I taught an (in-person) class on a Monday morning and then jumped in my car to head up to Adeline Jay Geo-Karis Illinois Beach State Park in Zion, IL.
There was a chance of rain, but instead, Mother Nature gifted me a gorgeous 70-degree, sunny day in the park. On my drive in, I managed to sight a snowy egret standing in the river. Over the summer of 2020 in Michigan, I had very casually started bird watching, so I was pumped to enter a new bird in my app so quickly.
After a quick stop in the Nature Center, I eagerly started with a walk along the river to look for more birds. There were a ton of small ones who were too quick for me to identify without binoculars, but then I saw a huge bird gliding over the other side of the river: a Great Blue Heron. I wished I had binoculars, as it landed on the other side, a good 50 meters or more away, so I could only just make out the size, shape, and color. So cool.
After walking one of the river trails, I walked to the beach, which seemed so calm in comparison to the often choppy Lake Michigan near my apartment.
The park is full of trails and bike paths, and I'm eager to take my bike up there once I get it tuned up a bit.
On my drive out, I spotted two huge (like 4-5 feet tall) brown and black birds wading through the shallows, but my bird app was no help in identifying them.
I'm stoked to head back someday with my bike and some binoculars. It was such a quick, pleasant road trip, just 3 hours total away, and a nice afternoon escape from the city.
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