• Arkansas’ Lake Fayetteville Tra
• Arkansas’ Scull Creek/Mud Creek Trail (Fayetteville)

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• Alaska – Anchorage trails
• Alaska – Juneau trails

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• Arizona’s Buena Vista Mountain Bike Trail
• Arizona’s Ghost of the Coyote Trail Mountain Bike Trail
• Arizona – Grand Canyon’s South Rim Bikeway
• Arizona’s Rim View Trail encircling Page, Arizona

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• Colorado’s Cherry Creek Trail in Denver
• Colorado’s Glenwood Canyon Trail
• Colorado’s Grand Junction Riverfront Trail
• Colorado’s Salida Trail
• Colorado’s South Platte River/Mary Carter Greenway Trail in Denver area

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• Florida’s Big Shoals Lands
• Florida’s Cape Haze Pioneer Trail
• Florida’s Cross Florida Greenway Trail
• Florida’s Everglades Loop Trail
• Florida’s Ft. Clinch State Park Trail
• Florida’s Gainesville area trails (Gainesville-Hawthorne, Depot Ave., Waldo Road, and Paynes Prairie Preserve
• Florida’s Gulf Islands National Seashore
• Florida’s Guana Tolomato Matanzas Trail
• Florida’s Jacksonville-Baldwin Trail
• Florida’s Lake Minneola/South Lake Trail
• Florida’s Lake Okeechobee Scenic Trail
• Florida’s Legacy Trail
• Florida’s Little Econ Trail
• Florida’s Munson Hills Loop mountain bike trail in Apalachicola Natl. Forest
• Florida’s Nature Coast Trail
• Florida’s Paisley Lake Mountain Bike Trail in the Ocala National Forest
• Florida’s Palatka-Lake Butler State Trail
• Florida’s Pinellas Trail
• Florida’s Santos Mountain Bike Trails in the Ocala National Forest
• Florida’s Seminole-Wekiva Trail
• Florida’s Suncoast Trail
• Florida’s Tallahassee-St. Marks Historic RR Trail
• Florida’s Twilight Loop mountain bike trail/Munson Hills Offroad Bike area
• Florida’s Van Fleet Trail
• Florida’s West Orange Trail
• Florida’s Wilderness Park’s Flatwoods Park Paved Trail
• Florida’s Wilderness Park Off-Road Mountain Biking Loop
• Florida’s Withlacoochee Trail State Park

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• Georgia’s Augusta Canal Trail
• Georgia’s Cumberland Island National Seashore
• Georgia’s Jekyll Island
• Georgia’s St. Simon’s Island

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• Idaho’s Bill Chipman Palouse Trail in Moscow
• Idaho’s Hiawatha Trail which straddles the Idaho/Montana border (through 9 tunnels and over 7 trestles in the Bitterroot Mountains)
• Idaho’s Latah Trail in Moscow
• Idaho’s Trail of the Coeur d’Alenes

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• Illinois’ I and M (Illinois and Michigan) Canal State Trail (Channahon to LaSalle)
• Illinois’ Jane Addams Trail
• Illinois’ Long Prairie Trail
• See also my CHICAGOLAND TRAILS INDEX (30+ trails)
  

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• Kansas’ Levee Trail in Salina
• Kansas’ Shunga Trail in Topeka

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• Kentucky’s Louisville Riverfront Trail

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• Maine’s Acadia National Park carriage road system
• Maine’s Kennebec Valley Trail
• Maine’s Lagrange Rail Trail

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• Massachusett’s Cape Cod, Nantucket Island, and Martha’s Vineyard Trails
• Massachusett’s Shining Sea Bikeway on Cape Cod

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• Missouri’s Katy Trail

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• Montana’s Hiawatha Trail which straddles the Idaho/Montana border (through 9 tunnels and over 7 trestles in the Bitterroot Mountains)
• Montana’s Missoula Riverfront Trail System (3 trails)
• Montana’s River Edge Trail in Great Falls

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• Nebraska’s Big Papio Trail in Omaha

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• New Hampshire’s Northern Rail Trail

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• Ohio’s North Coast Inland Trail

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• Oklahoma City’s River Trail

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• Oregon’s Columbia River Trail East in Portland
• Oregon’s Columbia River Trail West in Portland
• Oregon’s Springwater Trail in Portland

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• Pennsylvania’s Clarion-Little Toby Rail Trail

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• South Carolina’s Killer 3 Trail in Manchester State Forest
• South Carolina’s North Augusta Greeneway Trail

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• South Dakota’s Sioux Falls’ Loop Trail
• South Dakota’s Mickelson Trail (Black Hills)

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• Tennessee’s Knoxville Trails

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• Utah’s Potash Scenic Road

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• Vermont’s Burlington Bikeway (Island Line Trail)
• Vermont’s Delaware and Hudson Trail

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• Virginia’s Virginia Creeper Trail in the Mt. Rogers National Recreation Area
• Virginia’s New River Trail State Park

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• Washington’s Bill Chipman Palouse Trail in Pullman
• Washington’s Burke-Gillman Trail in Seattle
• Washington’s Cedar River Trail in Renton (Seattle area)
• Washington’s Greenbelt Trail in Clarkston
• Washington’s Interurban Trail in Bellingham

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• Wisconsin’s “400″ State Trail
• Wisconsin’s Badger State Trail
• Wisconsin’s Eisenbahn State Trail
• Wisconsin’s Elroy-Sparta State Trail
• Wisconsin’s Glacial Drumlin State Trail
• Wisconsin’s Great River State Trail
• Wisconsin’s Kenosha County Bike Trail
• Wisconsin’s Ozaukee Interurban Trail
• Wisconsin’s Sugar River State Trail
  
  

Also, for information on Biking, Hiking, and Paddling, head on over to Bike, Hike, and Paddle.

• Busse Reservoir Bike Trail in northwest Chicagoland

• Centennial Trail of southwest Chicagoland

• Chicago Lakefront Path

• Danada/Herrick Lake Trail in DuPage County

• Deer Grove Forest Preserve Mountain Bike Trail of northwestern Chicagoland

• Des Plaines River Trail in Lake County (Northern section)
• Des Plaines River Trail in Cook County (Southern section)

• Fox River Trail in western Chicagoland.

• Grant Woods Trail in Lake County

• Great Western Trail of western Chicagoland.

• Green Bay Trail of northern Chicagoland

• Hebron Trail of McHenry County

• Illinois Prairie Path of western Chicagoland

• I & M Canal Trail of southern Cook County

• I & M Canal State Trail (Channahon to LaSalle)
• Kenosha (WI) County Bike Trail of Wisconsin

• McHenry’s Prairie Trailof northwestern Chicagoland
• Middlefork Savanna Forest Preserve of northern Chicagoland

• Millennium Trail of Lake County

• Moraine Hills State Park in northwest Chicagoland.

• North Branch of the Chicago River Trail in northern Chicagoland

• North Shore Trail of northern Chicagoland

• Old Plank Road Trail of southwest Chicagoland

• Palatine Bike Trail in northwest Chicagoland.

• Poplar Creek Forest Preserve Trailin northwest Chicagoland

• Robert McClory Trail in northern Chicagoland

• Rock Run Greenway Trailin southwestern Chicagoland
• Skokie Valley Trail of northern Chicagoland

• Veteran Acres/Sterne’s Woods mountain bike trails in Crystal Lake

• Virgil Gilman Trail in western Chicagoland

• Waterfall Glen Forest Trail of southwestern Chicagoland

It’s better to be lost in the woods
Than found in the city.
–Ollie Olsen–

I was born and raised in Chicago, Illinois, and developed an abiding love for the outdoors through the Boy Scouts. I currently live in Wauconda located in Lake County, about 40 miles northwest of Chicago with a population of about 13,000 and a distinct rural flavor. Local hiking and biking are available in several dozen forest preserves in the area. Also, the Millennium Bike Trail runs through Singing Hills Forest Preserve right behind my house.

My oldest son, Scott, (on the right) received his Bachelors and Masters in Architecture degrees from the University of Illinois and is now a licensed architect employed at an architectural firm in Darien, Illinois. He also plays flute for the Palatine Community Band and his church orchestra. He and his wife, Sarah, live in Wheaton, Illinois.

Steve graduated magna cum laude (economics) from Bradley University in Peoria, Illinois, where he was honored with the Byron Rivers Award for the school year 1996-1997 as the Overall Best Disk Jockey. He currently works as a stocks and bonds trader with JPMorgan-Chase as an assistant financial planner. He lives in Park Ridge.

The Fremd High School boys cross country team accepting the trophy for third place in the State of Illinois following the 1994 state meet in Peoria, Illinois. Head Coach Rich Bokor is in the white sweater in the back row, next to me. I coached for 16 years and this was the highlight moment.

Front row: (l to r) Mike Leonardi, Brian Folkers, Matt Yesko, Jeff Berkson
Back row: Eric Kapusinski, Steve Schlader, Coach Bokor, Coach Morlock, Kris Bakos, Jason Kapusinski
Center row: (the short runner): Paul Kenost

GREAT JOB, GUYS!

I sing with my church choir as well as with the Village Singers of Lake Zurich which performs two concerts per year along with appearances at a variety of community events. Our membership ranges from 35-45 voices, depending on the concert.

The big problem here in the Chicago area is the lack of nearby backpacking locales. Fortunately I have other passions which can be pursued around town, including mountain biking, hiking, and kayaking. We have numerous large forest preserves which provide lengthy bike trails (paved and unpaved), as well as several rivers and lakes for paddling, many of which are listed on my site and include photos and info.

… and here’s a side channel of the Colorado below the bridge and the awesome rock formations lining the banks…

Then Ellen’s bike got a flat. I biked back to the motel and drove the van to pick her up. Next came a tasty lunch at the Moab Diner, followed by replacing the bad tube. We decided to take another jaunt on the bikes despite the 90+ degree heat, and Ellen made a new biking buddy…

… and we biked another 5 miles in the 90+ degree heat through more residential areas and came upon the lovely Mill Creek Parkway Path seen below…

That made a grand total of nearly 20 miles for the day, over 300 for the month, and over 1900 for the year. Tomorrow we raft all day on the Colorado, so check out those pictures tomorrow night.

Upheaval Dome is 3.4 miles deep and 2 miles across, and scientists can’t agree if it was caused by a meteor strike or a salt dome upheaval…

Two more overlooks are represented in these 2 shots. The storm is dead center in this shot, and though lightning bursts were prevalent, we couldn’t capture one in a photo. The Green River is far off but the storm haze prevented a photo. Saturday we leave on a 9 day canoe trip down 130 miles of the Green, half of which will have us in Canyonlands NP, but seeing the sights from a far different perspective.

It did drizzle on us a few times, and Ellen was finally able to catch the end of a lightning strike as we drove, seen in this shot if yo click to enlarge and look closely…

Then it was back to Moab and a buffet of salad, soup, and pizza at Zax.

The hike is on Bureau of Land Management land and they are waging battle with the invasive Tamarisk, which has displaced native vegetation on 1.6 million acres of our western lands. After 20 years of study, various agencies have imported Tamarisk leaf beetles to defoliate the plants without affecting any other plant or animal species. I read that a large tamarisk plant can have a root system 100 feet deep and can consume 20,000 gallons of river water daily! Below shows the result of the battle in one section of this canyon…

There are about 8 easy creek crossings on the hike…

Morning Glory Natural Bridge is 243 feet in length, making it the sixth longest rock span in the country. The pool below it somewhat reminds me of Morning Glory Pool in Yellowstone’s Old Faithful area, making me wonder if that accounts for the bridge’s name. The bridge is adjacent to the nearby cliff face but is only connected to the mountain on the 2 sides (you can see light between the bridge and the cliff.)

We saw people atop the bridge, and then 10 minutes later they began rappelling down the cliff face and joined us on the ground as seen here. (They were with an outfitter and they drove and hiked up top to get to the cliff.)

Then we hiked to, around, and up next to Balanced Rock seen below…

The plan had been to camp at Arches and Canyonlands National Parks this week and do a lot of hiking and biking. The 100+ degree temperatures forced a change of plans. Instead, we are in a motel in Moab, and got an early start this morning to hike to several of the arches. The plan sort of worked — the temp was only 84 when we began the 2 hour, 3 mile trek to Delicate Arch (elevation gain of 500+ feet), but it was already 94 degrees during the hike back, and we felt it. The arch was well worth the effort, though, as seen below…

Petroglyphs are also extant in the park, as seen here, with horse, rider, and big horn sheep carved by the indigenous Ute tribe 350 years ago…

We also hiked the half mile to Skyline Arch, which just 68 years ago became a top attraction after an immense section fell out of the arch and more than doubled the opening’s size…

Finally, below are several more shots of the hundreds of miscellaneous arches and spires we saw…

Click here for more Arches NP photos.