Took a few days and went down to do some hiking in Shawnee last week.
Picked a great time of year to do it. Middle of December finds lots of
the campgrounds closed, but also means you have the trails almost to
yourself. We bring most of our food stuff with us, but if you're the
kind who likes to restaurant it, good luck. You have limited choices in
the forest area at this time of year, and in the summer it probably
takes forever to get through the lines and wait.

Just needing some quiet nature time, this place provides it. It is not
mountainous, but the trails provide plenty of 2-300 feet up and then
down, over and over again. Of the hikes we took, Garden of the Gods was
probably the favorite. There is a short ~1 mile loop at the center and
top of the area that has a paved walkway going around it from the
parking lot. I think they claim it is wheel chair accessible, but there
were some steps. The views from there were spectacular, and we saved it
for the end of the day.

First, we did a ~7 mile hike around what they call the wilderness area.
The rock outcroppings, streams, and big trees were beautiful. Was able
to sneak up on some deer, flocks of turkeys, several big owls that let
you walk right up to them, and lots of other wildlife. As a bonus,
December means few bugs! Another thing we noticed was an abundance of
nuts on the forest floor. No wonder there are so many deer down here.
There was food everywhere.

The only thing that bothered me the whole trip was seeing some of the
most beautiful and old trees all carved up with initials and the usual,
"I love Deb" knifed into them. I just think you have to be a real
selfish idiot to do that. Eventually it will kill them.

Anyway, nice place to get to, and will have to go try some of the other
areas some day.

sticks

--
Stand With Israel!
NOTE: If you use Google Groups I don't see you,
unless you're whitelisted and that's doubtful.

sticks wrote:
> Took a few days and went down to do some hiking in Shawnee last week.
> Picked a great time of year to do it.  Middle of December finds lots
> of the campgrounds closed, but also means you have the trails almost
> to yourself.  We bring most of our food stuff with us, but if you're
> the kind who likes to restaurant it, good luck.  You have limited
> choices in the forest area at this time of year, and in the summer it
> probably takes forever to get through the lines and wait.
>
> Just needing some quiet nature time, this place provides it.  It is
> not mountainous, but the trails provide plenty of 2-300 feet up and
> then down, over and over again.  Of the hikes we took, Garden of the
> Gods was probably the favorite.  There is a short ~1 mile loop at the
> center and top of the area that has a paved walkway going around it
> from the parking lot.  I think they claim it is wheel chair
> accessible, but there were some steps.  The views from there were
> spectacular, and we saved it for the end of the day.
>
> First, we did a ~7 mile hike around what they call the wilderness
> area. The rock outcroppings, streams, and big trees were beautiful.
> Was able to sneak up on some deer, flocks of turkeys, several big owls
> that let you walk right up to them, and lots of other wildlife.  As a
> bonus, December means few bugs!  Another thing we noticed was an
> abundance of nuts on the forest floor.  No wonder there are so many
> deer down here. There was food everywhere.
>
> The only thing that bothered me the whole trip was seeing some of the
> most beautiful and old trees all carved up with initials and the
> usual, "I love Deb" knifed into them.

Yeah, that Deb really gets around.

> I just think you have to be a
> real selfish idiot to do that.  Eventually it will kill them.
>
> Anyway, nice place to get to, and will have to go try some of the
> other areas some day.
>
> sticks
>
>

--
bill
Theory don't mean squat if it don't work.

On 12/19/2023 9:17 PM, bfh wrote:
> sticks wrote:
>> Took a few days and went down to do some hiking in Shawnee last week.
>> Picked a great time of year to do it.  Middle of December finds lots
>> of the campgrounds closed, but also means you have the trails almost
>> to yourself.  We bring most of our food stuff with us, but if you're
>> the kind who likes to restaurant it, good luck.  You have limited
>> choices in the forest area at this time of year, and in the summer it
>> probably takes forever to get through the lines and wait.
>>
>> Just needing some quiet nature time, this place provides it.  It is
>> not mountainous, but the trails provide plenty of 2-300 feet up and
>> then down, over and over again.  Of the hikes we took, Garden of the
>> Gods was probably the favorite.  There is a short ~1 mile loop at the
>> center and top of the area that has a paved walkway going around it
>> from the parking lot.  I think they claim it is wheel chair
>> accessible, but there were some steps.  The views from there were
>> spectacular, and we saved it for the end of the day.
>>
>> First, we did a ~7 mile hike around what they call the wilderness
>> area. The rock outcroppings, streams, and big trees were beautiful.
>> Was able to sneak up on some deer, flocks of turkeys, several big owls
>> that let you walk right up to them, and lots of other wildlife.  As a
>> bonus, December means few bugs!  Another thing we noticed was an
>> abundance of nuts on the forest floor.  No wonder there are so many
>> deer down here. There was food everywhere.
>>
>> The only thing that bothered me the whole trip was seeing some of the
>> most beautiful and old trees all carved up with initials and the
>> usual, "I love Deb" knifed into them.
>
> Yeah, that Deb really gets around.

Is she the one to "call for a good time"?

>
>> I just think you have to be a real selfish idiot to do that.
>> Eventually it will kill them.
>>
>> Anyway, nice place to get to, and will have to go try some of the
>> other areas some day.
>>
>> sticks
>>
>>
>
>

--
---------
If you put a potato in a microwave oven and press the pizza button, it
still comes out a potato. Works the same with choosing your gender.