Castle Park

Technically, this space is called the Jeremy 'Boo' Rochman Memorial Park, but locals know it as Castle Park, or Dungeons and Dragons Park.  You have to pass right by it to get to Giant City or Makanda, so we've passed it a good many times, never stopping.  Our son, KJ, took a school field trip here a few years ago, and talked about it often, but he had not been back, either.  So after stuffing ourselves on fried chicken at Giant City Lodge, we stopped on the way home.

Boo, the son of the president of a local investing firm, was tragically killed in 1993 at the age of 19, just a few hundred feet from his home (which, ironically, also resembles a castle.)  Boo loved the magical Dungeons & Dragons (quite popular back in the 90's) so dad Barrett Rochman hired sculptors from his Alma Mater, SIU Carbondale, to craft the fantasy park.  Some of the wizards seen around the park were sculpted after Boo's own D&D characters, found hand painted in his things.

Opening officially in 2005, the park focuses on the huge wood and stone castle playground in its center.  There is a plethora of tunnels for little ones, and many adults (including us) walk the ramparts and bigger spaces.  KJ was within for 15 minutes before we caught sight of him again, it really is much bigger than it appears, twisting and turning within itself.  Pennants fly in the breeze, swords, gargoyles, and lanterns hang from nooks and crannies.  

The grounds are just as amazing.  A beautiful iron tower holds a donation box and memorial to Boo.  A huge half-sleeping dragon lays in a corner.  A burial mound boasts of the knight entombed within.  Everywhere are musical wind chimes, hand crafted and hanging from the boughs of a good many trees.  Look up, things are everywhere.  A fountain sits near the entrance, a gathering place for adults.  All around are sorcerers, magicians, archers, warriors, on the grass, in the trees, upon the battlements.  A bell tower actually holds a large bell.  Everywhere is enchantment.

Jeremy 'Boo' Rochman Memorial Park
31 Homewood Dr,
Carbondale IL

Open 8am to dusk
Free admittance, but donations are welcome.

how to get there:
From Carbondale drive east two miles on Hwy 13, then turn south at the Wal-Mart onto Hwy 12/Giant City Rd. Drive 3.5 miles. Turn left, onto Homewood Drive to the parking lot. If you cross No Name Rd you've gone too far.

The Foundry House at Devil's Backbone

Unfortunately for some, when you search for 'Devil's backbone, grand tower, IL' all you really come up with is haunted ghost stories.  But you know, the Foundry House is much more than that, and honestly, despite being what most would call a 'sensitive,' I sure didn't see'feel'hear anything out of the ordinary at the site of the former home.  Except awe, that is.

We rode the Harley's down to Grand Tower on a particularly beautiful early fall day, just to find the Foundry House.  Devil's Backbone state park is easy to find, and it's actually really big and nice.  We parked in a big playground right next tot he river for a while, and walked around a bit.  While the park was easy to find, nothing I could find said where the foundry house or iron furnaces were, so we had to glean that information on our own.  We ended up asking a very knowledgeable camper.  From the park, the Bake Ovens are to the left, and the Foundry House to the right.

Grand Tower, at one time, was a booming river city (then call Evan's landing), boasting visits from such notable figures as Mark Twain and Ulysses S Grant.  It's hard to know who all came through the town, as most records of visitors and residents have been lost in fires and multiple floods.  We do know, however, that the Mississippi and the Bake Ovens were booming business.  In the 1800s the iron foundry was built on the side of the Devil's Backbone, and the superintendent of the foundry was built high atop a rocky outcrop nearby.  The house had to have once been quite majestic, with an almost 360 degree view of the river.  Few pictures exist anymore, unfortunately, and the one that does has been widely circulated.

We did not seek out the furnaces, as we've seen many before in the Garden of the Gods area.  What we came to see where the remains of the Foundry House.  From the park there is a narrow access road running to a small beach, the pipeline, than back into town.  The Foundry House is right on top of the hill the pipeline rests on.  You can't miss it, really.

So here's the legend that you will get on every other site you pull up about Grand Tower.  After the foundry was built, the superintendent built his home practically right on top of the outcropping called Devil's Backbone (which used to be a much longer, larger outcropping, but was largely blown away to make for better river traffic, as well as stone to be used for various endeavors.)  It was a huge two story house, clearly more than was needed for himself and daughter Esmerelda, but hey, if you have that kind of money, why not, right?  Word has it they came up the Mississippi by way of steamboat after Esmerelda's mother died, although without records, this whole tale could be made up, I have no idea.

Anyhow, Esmerelda falls in love with the pilot of a riverboat called the 'Spectre' (again, how do we know this? We don't.)  Her father, however, has chosen a well-to-do older gentleman as her betrothed, and forbids her to see said pilot.  She stays locked in her room, refusing to see anyone, despite the family having quite the social life beforehand.  She'd stay in her room for days, watching for the Spectre to travel up or down the river.  When a length of time had passed and she failed to see the ship, Esmerelda inquired to it's whereabouts, finding that it had been destroyed in a boiler fire, along with most of it's crew- including the pilot.  The young lady lost all desire to live, and on a stormy night not long after her room was found deserted.  Her broken body was found along the riverbanks the next morning.  

Many people claim to see or hear her at the foundry house ruins.  We saw no such thing.  The walls of the home, however, are quite visible, and we spent some time hiking around the top of the cliff. 

The backbone is overgrown, and while there is a path climbing up to the foundation, there really aren't any to speak of atop the rock, but it's small and you can forge your own path.  It's pretty dense with thorns in a few places though, though keep watch where you step.

How to get there:

It's not hard to find the backbone, follow rt 3 into grand tower, and there is a sign saying 'Devils Backbone Park' or you can go into town and follow signs to the park. Either way it's the same place, just two entrances.  The park road is where you will come in, and it goes straight into the park and also splits off to the right on a small one lane.  Follow the lane past the RV campground and around a curve to the beach.  There it will turn to rock and go up a big hill, and right on top of the hill is the access below the pipeline to the backbone/foundry house.  You can follow the same road straight out to 20th street and 3rd ave back to rt3 when you leave. :)

The W Restaurant - DuQouin

For my husbands birthday our good friends Molly and William made reservations for us at The W Restaurant in DuQuoin (we went to Rustle Hill for Molly's birthday last year, but I never got to blog about it, because I sent my camera through the washing machine the next morning. >_< )
I know what you're thinking (same thing I was) , 'A fancy restaurant in DuQuoin? Yeah, right.' But really, it's beautiful.  The W is right outside of town on a ranch (A ranch in DuQuoin? yes, really!) with big longhorn steers staring at you while you meander up the drive.

(picture courtesy of the Southern)

There was a class reunion going on the night we were there, so it was really busy (and I didn't get to wander around and take pictures like I normally would) but either way I do recommend reservations.  I would think it is busy enough that you will prefer, if not need them.
The W, beyond the pretty ranch it sits on, honestly doesn't look like much when you reach the building.  It's a big pole barn type building, with a fenced off area in back where people were on horses.  If you have a twinge of disappointment at the outside, walking onto the porch and in the door will more than make up for it.

The entire inside is warm, welcoming, and rustic.  The theme, of course, is ranches, horses, and rustic charm.  We sat right inside the door in one of several dining rooms, and the W also sports private dining as well as a bar and outside seating to watch the cowboys ride horses and rope cattle.

 (last 2 pics courtesy of the Southern)

The W has an impressively creative drink menu, and we took full advantage of it.  Kevin had a Jack and coke, and me, Molly, and William had a Georgia Peach, Raspberry Lemon Drop, and AppleTini, respectively.  I don't think I even need to say how amazing they all were :)

The menu is beautiful.  It has plenty of choices, but it's not overwhelming.  They have four or so salad choices, half a dozen entrees, anther half a dozen or so sandwiches, some A La Cart items, and just a few desserts.  But honestly, who needs a menu that takes an hour to read and even longer to make a selection?  Not to mention how they keep everything fresh by only having those few things they need on hand.  The W has something for everyone, and it's all amazing, and I commend them for a smaller menu.

I ordered the pork chop with fruit glaze, and it was probably the best I've ever had.  Sweet and salty and cooked to absolute perfection.  Not to mention that the chop itself was so big I took no more than three bites of my baked potato.  Prices are about what you would expect to pay at any fine dining restaurant, between $15 and $25 a plate. 

Of course, we couldn't go without dessert, but our entire table was stuffed, so we ordered one slice of Kahlua Pie, and let me tell you, even between the four of us, once slice is all we needed.

The staff was quick and courteous, even with a packed house.  We were not rushed through our courses nor our after dinner chit chat.  I didn't see the bill, but I imagine with the four of us it hovered comfortably around the hundred dollar mark.   After you've thoroughly stuffed yourself, it seems that a lot of people go outside onto the porch and 'sit a spell.'  It's lit up beautifully with globe lights and is super inviting.

There was a bunch of lights on in the arena when we went out, so naturally we went to investigate.  Apparently we had just missed the bull roping, and they were getting the steers lined up to go back out the gate.  I mentioned how a brown brindle one was pretty, so then one of the cowboys said he'd sell it to me. Ha, Thanks?  No thanks.  The reunion was gathered mostly in the outdoor seating area right next to the arena, which was really neat because it was almost completely walled in yet still was (and felt) like it was outside.  I would really like to sit out there sometime and watch the action with a meal.

All in all, I highly recommend the W Restaurant.  It's definitely the kind of place I would return to time and again.

The W Restaurant & Lounge

7230 State Route 152

Du Quoin, IL 62832

(618) 542-2424

(888) 971-9435

http://www.thewrestaurant.com/

https://www.facebook.com/TheWRestaurantLounge

Hours of Operation:

Wednesday - Saturday 5 p.m. – close 

Sunday 11:30 a.m. – 5 p.m