Setting up our Christmas tree - Marking the beginning of the holidays

We are in full swing moving towards the holidays, as we get into the middle of December.

Christmas had a different meaning growing up in India. It was not a very big deal in the small town of Nabha, except for the shades of it start to show on the chocolate boxes, juice boxes, cutouts of Santa at different stores, and a whole lot of advertising on the tv and the shows.

In a bigger city like Patiala, you could also see small Christmas trees.

however you were to go to tier 1 cities, or major hotels to see them bring the true colors of Christmas to the town.

We also had a church in Patiala which made it look much more special than anywhere else.

however with time, things have changed, and with the advent of malls, India is now a global country. we love to celebrate festivals and Christmas has also become a big thing.

personally, as a family after Umika came along we started celebrating all the festivals which we could so she gets exposure to the culture and the people.

Our move to states opened the floodgates on exposure to different cultures.

Capturing the beauty of fall with tokina 11-16 f2.8

This is late November now and we have had already a few sessions of snow here in the Chicago area. We just received a significant snowstorm this week as well, taking away all the changing colours of the fall season. We were still fortunate enough to savour the changing landscape and its beauty in the Naperville area.

I am sharing some shots from the same. 

These shots were mostly taken handheld, over my Canon 80d and Tokina 11-16 f2.8 lens. The day I took these shots, the light was tricky and overcast. It was quite windy as well, however, the wide aperture of this lens helped capture sharp images, and get an excellent perspective.

visiting Japanese garden at rockford, IL

This Sunday we took a trip down to the city of Rockford, IL. The agenda was to visit the Japanese gardens. I have read multiple mentions of this place in many blogs, Instagram posts etc. 

Since this is not a long drive (approx 65 miles from Naperville, IL), and doesn't need much planning in any bookings, reservations, night stays, we just drove towards it after breakfast.

The morning was bright and sunny but by the time we started the sky was all overcast. I am still extremely thankful that it didn't rain or spoilt our trip. It is still early autumn here, so the weather wasn't as brutal too, hovering in the lower 50s or higher 40s.

The drive was smooth, although once in Rockford there are like zillions of traffic signals to cross. It also has that old town vibe.

The gardens are on this nice very green sort of patch. It has a decent sized parking although that should give you an idea of what type of crowd it could pull. I would think that you couldn't park more than 200 cars there and that not a lot of parking spots for a big public place.

The Entry fee is $9 for adults and $8 for kids.

They don't allow any food or beverage(except for water) inside the gardens. 

Honestly, Not many places in states put such restrictions.

They also have an onsite restaurant, which closed at 3 pm on Sunday afternoon.

the park itself closes by 5 pm. all detail here on the official website

Once inside, there are really not many restrictions and it has been laid out in a beautiful manner, and you can explore it the way your heart pulls. There are few koi ponds and some of the brightest and the most beautiful koi you will see. It's a pleasure.

the variety of Japanese artifacts, tea rooms, a housing complex, and a huge variety of trees and shrubs are laid out beautifully.

There is a lot of wood used for artifacts throughout the park which is commonly seen in the  Japanese tradition.

The designers of this garden have used a lot of bamboo artifacts to catch and draw rainwater to create serene corners, deer catchers and other smaller apparatuses which you will appreciate if you pay attention.

Overall we were very pleased with visiting this place, and it was a good 3 hrs of time spent here, on a Sunday afternoon.

Took some pictures at this place and sharing it for your eyes.

Official website: https://andersongardens.org/

Visiting Starved Rock & Matthiessen state parks from Chicago

So, finally, we made quick plans to go over to the Starved Rock state park, IL for the long weekend. by the time this plan was getting finalized, it was already past 11 am on Saturday morning. so, the scope was reduced. however by reviews of this location, it felt like all was still not lost.

I made quick reservations at the Hampton Inn Suites in Peru, IL for the family. The whole of Saturday went away chilling with the family and little bit of packing to prepare for the trip next day.

Starved rock is around 70 miles from Naperville, and takes about an hour to reach.

Map showing different routes from Naperville to starved rock state park

Starved Rock state park to two different entrances of Matthiessen state park- one which leads to all the trails, other is closer to the river basin.

There are a few different approaches to get to the destination and it's your call. We took the state highway 71 initial and joined I80 for last 8-10 miles of the journey.

Experience at the Starved Rock State Park 

Overall it was an excellent experience. a different one. as well as, not so different at the same time.

I will explain!!!

The state park is run very well in terms of how the visitor centre is organized, how the trails are marked and labelled, access to clean water, restrooms, all the creature comforts of a restaurant, excellent ice-creams in searing hot days, clean trails, most of the hikes up to the canyon tops are wooden pathways, and so forth.

It makes for a great outdoor activity with the family.

By the roadside. An old water gauge and the cornfield early morning.

You can see people with all sorts of fitness levels out there. There were big families moving as a group and then a lot of people moving around with their pets.

headed towards the first Canyon at starved rock [French canyon]. not much crowd as i took the photo strategically :-)

French Canyon

It was good but not very different from a usual trail I would take at Naperville.

Why? The trails didn't have stretches which challenge you in terms of the hike, or surface etc. in this sense of the hiking the difficulty levels were 'easy'. As long as you pack lighter, can generally walk and have enough water with you, you can keep going.

The views are nice overall.

Somewhere deep in the Starved rock state park

Starved Rock state park: so many great opportunities to take pictures

Starved rock state park | WildCat Canyon

Starved Rock State park | wildcat canyong rocks

These beautiful colored rock formations

Starved Rock state park | Somwhere near the St louis Canyon

Starved Rock State park | st Louis Canyon

The complete path is pretty clean although, after the initial part of the trail, there are no trash cans on the trail, as well as limited restrooms.

There is also a wide variety of flowers, trees, critters which can be seen on the trail.

I didn't see many distinct birds there, but maybe I need to spend more time there to start seeing those things around.

Canyons and waterfalls

Starved rock park offers a total of 13 miles of trails to explore. 

Within these 13 miles, 18 canyons are hidden and the state parks website claims that mostly 14 of these canyons have waterfalls running just after a good rainy season.

During our visit, we were told at the visitor centre, only one of the canyon [St Louis canyon] had the waterfall going and other places were dried up.

Based on the timing of your trip, this can change. however, I do recommend to re-prioritize your trip based on the canyons where the waterfall is still running. 

Its a site for sure!!!

Passing note: to set the right expectations, these waterfalls are significantly smaller in size and marvel than the ones you may have seen at other 'actual' waterfalls.

Options to eat

Within the state park, the visitor centre has a restaurant which offers most of the standard needs. they also have a souvenir shop which was pretty good. however, we didn't buy anything from there.

There are multiple vending machines located here as well.

The major parking outside offers big parks around the area for people to barbeque and probably during the holiday weekend hordes of people were here for that purpose alone too.

if you are looking for serious eating options, nearby towns of Peru and La Salle are your best options.
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We covered the first day with our packed lunch and ate during a break in the grounds outside of the visitor centre.

in the second half, we prioritized our approach and went down to the St. Louis Canyon. This canyon is just right around the corner from the main entrance to the starved rock. You need to come out to the main road, and drive about 1 mile. fairly easy to spot.

St Louis canyon was similar to the other canyons we covered [french canyon, etc] but the view was nicer, and it felt like a bigger canyon overall. it had the waterfall going for it, and just the formations and colours of these sandstone rocks were amazing.

Park's website says that it is open until 4 pm, however, we, noticed that its pretty much open and you will not get into trouble unless it's already dark. as long as the weather is good, the light is good, I didn't feel you would see much issues.

Here is how we did it:

• We reached the parking of St Louis canyon around 3:45 pm. 
• Then walked 40 mins to the canyon. 
• Spent an hour at the canyon. 
• Came back around 6 pm. Quite a few people were around there at that hour as well.

Experience at the Matthissen state park

Next morning we were planning to return back to the starved rock park, but my instinct took the turn for the better. reading about the Matthiesen park, I figured its better to spend some time there before heading back.
We discussed the plan, agreed and after a good breakfast, strong tea, and packed bags we left for the Matthiesen state park.

and boy, was this decision right on target!

unlike the Starved rock park, Matthiessen park is quite different.

It's not as popular, which means not too many people show up and throng.

There is no fancy visitor centre!

And there is an entrance[on the river side] which I suggest you avoid if you are not interested to go to the river and rather are interested in the trails and sandstone rock formations. Refer to the map.

We got to the parking after trying to find our way, around 10 am. and there were just 10 cars at the location.

It was pretty chilled out.

my wife on the bridge leading to the lower dells

My daughter at the lower dells with her stone tower

Finding the way through the rocky pathways of upper dells

We began walking which is when I realized that portions of this trail are kept well, and have wooden stairways. however beyond a certain point, as you begin going through the lower dells and upper dells, a lot of the way is unpaved, uncharted, mostly rocky and watery.

You have to find a way for yourself in most cases.

and that's the cool part of all.

We loved the feeling of being alone in so many portions and

This park has much better views. most of the waterfalls were nicer. the hikes were little more challenging and felt much more natural. Views were significantly much more beautiful than the starved rock page.
If I plan to revisit this place in fall, I would probably start with the Matthiessen park first this time and spend more time there.

Where to stay for Starved Rock and Matthiessen Parks:

The first question to ask yourself is do you need to stay overnight? Due to the close proximity to Chicago, I realized that we could have easily done a day trip and return the next day if we needed to. We just preferred staying over the night.

If that is the case with you as well, there are a couple of options. You could stay at the lodge inside the state park. This looked like a good option.

secondly, there are a lot of camping group options here, for those who would like to camp at the location. find information on camping here. 

And if you are like us and looking for hotels around, then Peru, IL is the nearest location to find all the usual hotel chains to stay. Peru also has all the major restaurant chains for food, and everything else and it's around 7 miles from starved rock state park.

Some tips from our hiking experience:

1. Dress appropriately. the feeling of hot or cold significantly changes when we walk with a bag for a long time, hence dressing appropriately to the weather is the key. light clothing which lets your body breath is important.
2. Carry water. Can not be emphasised enough. water is the #1 resource during the hike.
3. Carry what you need. no reason overloading bag with hundreds of things which you don't need. plan well. take only what you will need.
4. plan your hikes based on your plan for the day. before you begin, figure out if you want to get back for lunch to the visitor centre. choose your trails accordingly. You can also break down your trip based on different parking spots around the park which may be closer to the trail you are looking for.
5. Pls, do not litter. carry your trash. 
6. pls, do not put unnecessary graffiti on the rocks. they look much more awesome without your name on them or tell us when you visited or who you loved at that time.

Useful information Summary for making travel plans:

• Starved Rock state park official site: https://www.starvedrockstatepark.org/ 
• Matthiessen state park official site: https://www.dnr.illinois.gov/parks/pages/matthiessen.aspx 
• starved rock state park trails map: http://www.starvedrockstatepark.org/activity/hiking-trails/trail-maps/
• Matthiessen state park trail map: https://www.starvedrocklodge.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/Matthiessen_TrailMap.pdf
• Starved rock camping information: http://www.starvedrockstatepark.org/activity/camping-picnics/
• Complete trail map for starved rock: https://www.starvedrockstatepark.org/wp-content/uploads/17x11WelcomeMap_July2018.pdf 

So, what do you think? Have you been to this park before? how was your experience?

or does this blog make you want to visit these parks? Do write in your comments and let me know.

Visiting the starved rock state park and Matthiessen State Park during 2018 labor day

Matthiessen state park | lower dells | shot with: Samsung galaxy Note 8

We had our plans squashed for a long drive inside Michigan, and we relaxed with the thoughts of staying home, lazing around, a casual trip to downtown Chicago for taking photos.
however, with Saturday moving fast, the once discovered and browsed thoughts of starved rock park crossed my head.

I began the exploration and eventually figured that it would be totally upon me if I still dont make plans for a place barely 65 miles from my places.

It can be a day trip.
It can be a 1-day trip.
It can be a family hike.
it can give us an opportunity to get out of the home.
It can give me an opportunity to do something with my family over this extended holiday.

So, off did we go on Saturday morning. I made reservations at the Hampton Inn, Peru which promised to be better than the lodges at the park.

A photo blog of our trip is coming soon.

Keep watching this space.

Photo story from renaissance fair, wisconsin

A week back we went to attend the Renaissance fair. the fair is held in Kenosha, WI and it was around 70 miles away from Naperville, IL.

I got to know about this place through my photography meet up the group a month earlier. The event is supposed to be a congregation of a lot of people dressed up in the costumes from really old times.

At the event, the fair is pretty much a recreation of an old town in England- Bristol. They set up the town with jesters, town halls, shops, shows and so much more so as you feel transported back in time.

The cast and crew members dress up as various artists and dawn those looks and characters extremely seriously.

Also, the event encourages people coming in to dress up in a similar fashion by publishing various themes in advance. for example, the theme was steampunk on Sunday of our visit. (you can find more about special events here)

It was a fascinating place which really transports you back in time, enchants with elaborate dresses of the performers, street performance and all the acts taking place there.

Characters & dress up

During the day, there is a queens parade which is the highlight of the day and goes through a couple of times. all the characters you will see dawning their roles in different positions can be seen at one time via this parade.

The street jesters, the old judge, the wise men from the city, the crooked minister, the battalion of soldiers, the senior ministers, the king and all the artists of the kingdom of Bristol take part in this parade.

 The dresses of each of these characters were pretty elaborate. Right from the heavy gowns, extremely detailed & heavy headgears, actual leather accessories was just a treat to watch.

The day of visit the temperature was hovering around 91F and I asked some of the visitors and artists on how were they doing under those heavy dresses.

Most of them smiled and explained that after being miserable for first 30 mins, are have gotten used to this pretty much.

Visiting the Arlington cemetery, Washington DC

I have been to the Washington DC metro area a multiple number of times. its all about the govt building and amazing structures, excellent and also the best in the world museums which are an absolute delight.

JJ Astor Roof top rotating restaurant in Duluth

I recently went on a business trip to Duluth, Minnesota and stayed at the Radisson hotel in the downtown area. For my meetings, I had looked up for JJ Astor restaurant, which sits at the top of the Radisson hotel and is supposed to be a spinning restaurant.  I had been here once before for a business dinner and was looking forward to spending time at this restaurant during the daytime and getting some views.

Falling in love with the beast- my bmw x5

This is not a BMW sponsored post. This is just my love for the vehicle which I have owned now for close to 1 year and 4 months, and my love for its capabilities and its true colors grows stronger.

As it is said, every relationship will get stronger or weaker as time passes by, and the tests the time puts you through. Either you come out on top, or you realize it was not meant to be.

Books I read in 2017

2017 has been a good year for me, in terms of advancing my learnings and spending some quality time with the books. This year, I have made a lot of travel happen, and some of that time has been spent with books.
One major change which happened initially was my switch to kindle. I began reading books on kindle and it is a fantastic medium to carry books in a small package. The most valued feature is being able to add notes to your books.