Regent Road Waterfall

OK, so technically this isn't a year round waterfall.  But, there is a small back road in Goreville, and when the weather has been wet, there is also a waterfall.  You actually drive across a (usually) dry creek, which drops off sharp on the left side of the road into a bowl.  When there's been enough water to fill the creek, the waterfall goes right off the side of the road :)

If you park on the side of the road there's a horse trail going down into the bowl.  You can poke around on the rocks and in the hollow, and when the bowl isn't overfull you can even go back behind the fall into the small cave.

There are some neat rock formations down here, and even when there isn't any water it's a nice place to poke around a bit.  This is a really good place to go if you have smaller kids and just want to show them something different, or you'd like to see some of the things I blog about here but don't want to hike two miles to get there.  You should be aware though, I have to assume this is private property, so please respect what you find.  Leave no trace!

How to get there:

from I-57-

take exit 40 and turn left onto Goreville rd.

 Regent lane is the first road on the right.  You'll go down it a little ways, and right on a big curve you'll see the flat spot for the creek.  It's really obvious.

StarView Vineyards

I am a volunteer for several animal organizations, mainly in fundraising.  Being as I live in Southern Illinois and wineries are kind of our thing, I thought a fundraiser at a winery would be just the ticket.  Lucky for me, Regina at StarView was more than excited to come on board, which also means I got to spend the afternoon at StarView.  You know, for research purposes.  ;)

StarView is located on the Shawnee Hills Wine Trail, which makes it ridiculously easy to find.  The area down around Cobden is just gorgeous, and even the drive is relaxing.  You have your choice of many wineries in the area, Blue Sky, Owl Creek, Rustle Hill....all of which have their own charm.  I've had several bottle of StarView's wine in the past though, so I knew that I was in for good spirits.  

I started off with a glass of Moonlight White, a fairly sweet white wine with a nice crisp finish.  But I promise you, it's the slushes and sangria that you really want.  You can't get either one in a bottle, (although I hear you can stock up on bottles and make the sangria at home!) so your only option is to drive on down and enjoy in person.  We also had lunch while we sat out on the sun filled deck overlooking the pond and groves.  It really is a lovely way to spend an afternoon.

StarView Vineyards was founded in 2006 when a new tasting room was opened.   It isfamily owned & operated by Brett & Regina Morrison and Ron & Susan Dalius. Brett has been in the wine industry for over 15 years and has been making wine for 8 years. Brett introduced Regina to the "wine lifestyle" and she has loved being involved in the tasting room operations. Regina & Brett are enjoying their life in Southern Illinois, it reminds them of Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania, which is where they moved from in the summer of 2013.  I spent some time with Regina and she's an absolute delight, she clearly loves what they are doing, where they are, and spending time with everyone who comes to visit.  She can be found walking the groves or lounging on the deck with a glass in her hand chatting with patrons.

They have a cute little section of wine related gifts, and I stood for a long while chuckling at the t-shirts, magnets, and coasters, all picking on us poor wine lovers.

There really is a light atmosphere with a lot of humor around here :)

StarView offers twelve award winning wines, plus those fantastic sangrias and slushes.  Summer is by far the best time to visit, with mild weather and local bands playing.  They're also pet friendly! (As evidenced by their cat, Alex, who likes to greet you at the door, and the neighbor farm's lab who loves to drop in and say hi.) You can find all their events listed on their website: http://www.starviewvineyards.com

Plus, keep an eye on our blog and StarView's website for the announcement of my fundraiser for Kindred Hearts Transport Connection :)

StarView Vineyards

5100 Wing Hill Rd.

Cobden, IL 62920

618-893-9463

How to get there:

Follow I-57 S to Lick Creek Rd in Lick Creek. Take exit 36 from I-57 S

28.2 mi / 26 min

 Take Hall Church Rd to Wing Hill Rd

5.3 mi / 11 min

Turn right onto Lick Creek Rd

0.6 mi

Take the 1st right onto Hall Church Rd

1.7 mi

Continue onto Wing Hill Rd

1.9 mi

Turn right to stay on Wing Hill Rd

 Destination will be on the left

...or you know....hop on the wine trail and follow the signs :)

Lotawata Creek Southern Grill

(Please excuse the shoddy pictures on this one, I came unprepared and only had my cell phone >_< )

After piloting a run for Kindred Hearts Transport, we happened to drop off our charge at exit 12 in Fairview Heights, right across from Lotawata Creek Southern Grill.

My husband had gone a few weeks ago with another Boy Scout leader, and came home with a hug leftover portion of Chili Cheeseburger Horseshoe, which took both of us to finish, not to mention what he had eaten int he restaurant.  So today we couldn't help but stop and see what other massive meals they had in store for us.  I was not disappointed!

Creek has a HUGE selection of menu items, and just like the server's shirts say, "Warning! This ain't no chain restaurant, we serve real food!"  And lots of it.  They start you out with fantastic homemade rolls that you practically need two hands to eat, with what I have to assume is also housemade butter, regular and honey cinnamon.  Amazing.

Everything is big here.  Kevin ordered the Philly Cheese steak Cheeseburger Horseshoe this time, and the massive plate is built more like a bowl in an attempt to hold everything in.  I had a shrimp Po' Boy, which beside being the best I've ever had, came so big the massive amount of fries came on a second plate.

Needless to say, I ate the sandwich and a handful of fries before I had to throw in the napkin.  Not to mention I could barely fit it in my mouth.

Prices are pretty good too, the three of us ate for about $45.00, but keep in mind we ate the leftovers for supper, and still had some left!  We will definitely be going back, our server was great, the food was wonderful, and my husband and son slept most of the way home from good full bellies, with the car smelling like french fries.

You can view the menu and salivate over food pictures here:
http://www.lotawata.com/

And here's how to get there!

Exit I-64 at exit 12

Take a right at the light and go to the next light and turn right onto Salem Place


Follow the crowd ... they lead to Lotawata Creek in Fairview Heights.

Mike's Drive-In

Mike's Drive-In is a must for anyone living or passing through West Frankfort.

What initially drew us in was just that it was something different.  Yes, WF has a Sonic, and McDonalds, and pretty much all the other required fast food crap.  Mike's is not like these.  An original '50's style drive-in, Mike's has all the classics - burgers, onion rings, chili dogs...then you get home made root beer (best around!)  What keeps us coming back (every Friday, to be exact) are the horse shoes and pork tenderloin sandwiches.  We are from the Springfield area, and both these things are hard to find outside of there.  What's better, is they are actually good!  Especially the horseshoes, which come is several varieties with homemade cheese sauce - hamburger, pork, or turkey.

The service here is nothing short of excellent, another reason we always return.  It didn't take long to make friends with the waitresses (especially Krystal and Angie.) They are always super friendly, and if you come back often enough, know your favorite orders. :)

They have indoor seating (with awesome retro decor!), an outdoor patio with bench seats, and traditional curb side eat in dining.

I highly recommend taking a trip to Mikes, which is open most evenings until 8, closing a little earlier on Sundays.  You can find the whole menu here: http://www.urbanspoon.com/cities/171-illinois/restaurants/983219-mikes-drive-in/menu (great prices!!)

Mike's Drive-In
1007 W Main St,
West Frankfort, IL 62896
(618) 932-2564

Directions:

Take I-55 to the West Frankfort exit and head into town.  Right off the interstate on the North side of the road.

Ghost Dance Canyon

Ghost Dance Canyon at Dixon Springs is undoubtedly one of the best 'trails' in Southern Illinois.  I use the word trail lightly, as there is only about half a mile of distinguishable trail.  It starts just beyond the swimming pool, running underneath the highway in a fairly impressive arched bridge.

Follow the foot path along a bubbling stream, with many places for you to stop and play in or near the water and it's various little waterfalls.

The trail basically ends at a large confluence of rocks in the stream, nestled in an opening of a canyon.  It's pretty impressive already.

Cross the stream (carefully!) and there's a footpath following the water and bluff line for about a quarter of a mile.  Being as it's fall and there's a ton of leaves on the ground, we couldn't tell if the trail went any further, but some people up ahead of us turned up on top of the bluff line, while we went down to the water.

We then made our way back up to the main crossing via the stream.  It was incredible.  Rocks as big as houses stand in the stream.

There are little waterfalls everywhere, making this a cascade fall.  If you are not an experienced hiker, I do not recommend climbing among the rocks.  Although, if you are experienced enough to do it, it's an experience you won't soon forget.  There were numerous times that we just sat on a large rock and surveyed the scene before us.  This is God in all His glory.

Directions:

Follow directions in my last post to Dixon Springs State Park.  Park at the swimming pool, walk to the front of it where the building is, and turn to the right.  Follow the trail!

Dixon Springs State Park

Dixon Springs State Park is one of several state parks in the Illinois Shawnee Hills. The park is on a giant block of rock which was dropped 200 feet along a fault line that extends northwesterly across Pope County.  The area around the park was occupied by various tribes of Algonquins who, after the Shawnee had been driven from Tennessee, settled near the mouth of the Wabash River. Dixon Springs was one of their favorite camping grounds and was called "Kitchemuske-nee-be" for the Great Medicine Waters.  One of the better-known Indian Trails, which the early French called the "Grand Trace," passed to the west of the park and south to Fort Massac, then branched out into lesser trails. Much of the "Grand Trace" is IL Rt.145, one of the most scenic highways in the state, running nearly all of its length south from Harrisburg through the Shawnee National Forest.  This section of the state was part of an Indian Reservation occupied for a time by about 6,000 Native Americans. Like the buffalo, most of the Indians were gone by the early 1830s.

Dixon Springs takes its name from William Dixon, one of the first white settlers to build a home in this section, who obtained a school land warrant in 1848 from Governor Augustus C. French. His cabin was a landmark for many years as was an old log church on the adjoining knoll.  A small community grew up at Dixon Springs with a general store, post office, blacksmith shop, grist mill and several churches.  Three of the churches are together on a circle drive in the middle of the park, but beyond cabins and the DNR offices, there are no other buildings left within the park.

Dixon Springs became a 19th century health spa which attracted hundreds to the seven springs of mineral-enriched water. A bathhouse provided mineral or soft water baths, hot or cold, available at any time. The natural beauty of the area and its interesting stone formations helped to give the park valley a more equable temperature in the summer than most of southern Illinois. This made the resort so popular that people came to Golconda by steamboat excursions from as far away as Paducah, KY, Evansville, IN, and Cairo. From Golconda they then traveled by train to within a couple miles of the park.  There were nine named springs within the park, three of which we'd found, all of which (to my knowledge) have been capped, some with springhouses  around them and spigots for the water to flow out.


One of the oldest artifacts in the park is the Rainbow Lake dam north and upstream from the pool. Whitesides (one of the sites many owners) built it sometime in the 1890s and created a small lake where there was fishing and canoeing. Today the lake has silted in, but the rock wall dam is still visible below the youth camp.  A series of trails begin at the dam, and you can walk both on the top rim of it as well as in the canyon it creates.

There is a pool, bathhouse, many camping facilities, ans several parks and recreational areas within the park.  Across the street is the Chocolate Factory (which I posted about earlier on the blog page.)  Within a quarter mile South is a section of the Trail of Tears.  I have to admit though, it is just a paved road with houses on it, which we did not find to be very thrilling.

Directions:

Dixon Springs State Park is located in Pope County, just 30 miles south of Harrisburg, IL, or 20 miles north of Paducah, Ky. To reach Dixon Springs State Park from I-24 traveling East, take exit #16 to Rt. 146. At the stop sign turn left and the park is 13 miles on the left. If you are traveling West on I-24 you take exit #16 to Rt. 146. At the stop sign turn right and the park entrance is 13 miles on the left. The park entrance sign is across from the Chocolate Factory. Dixon Springs State Park is 1 mile east of Rt. 145.