Our Favorite Winter Retreat

Last week we spent Wednesday, Thursday and Friday at Pere Marquette State Park lodge, about 40 miles from home on the Illinois River, north of its confluence with the Mississippi. It's become a tradition to go up there in January to enjoy the winter landscape, see eagles, relax by the fire and cure cabin fever.
This year there was about 4 to 6 inches of snow on the ground, and the river was partially frozen. This sunset above greeted us the first night. Also, the sliver of a new moon and Venus glowed in the branches of a sweet gum tree. (Venus is a barely visible dot just below the top edge of the photo. Try clicking to enlarge the image.)

The massive stone and timber lodge was built by the Civilian Conserva- tion Corps in 1933. The fireplace alone weighs 17 tons. The entire lodge was refurbished in the 1980s, and a new wing of motel-style rooms was added. This year, for the first time, we got to stay in the "old" original wing, reached by climbing the stairs at the right of the fireplace. The "life-size" (for a child at least) chess set is a signature of the lodge.

One feature of the renovation was a set of 4 tapestries that depict the plant and wildlife of the area, and the meeting of the rivers. They hang from the rafters of the lodge and are Very Heavy.








Because it was cold and we also lacked good snow boots, we spent a lot of time watching the river from the great hall. Here Norm is spying on a couple of eagles that perched on the far side of the river for most of the afternoon.

Norm also spied some unexpected river traffic. The Thomas E. Erickson pushes a tow of 12 or so barges downstream. The barges ride high, as if empty. Maybe they took salt to Chicago?

As I mentioned, we got to stay in the original part of the lodge, over the dining room wing, this time. Our room was delightful, with two walls of windows and no one next door to us. It was quiet and felt like a great place to read, knit, quilt or watch wildlife.

This is what our wing looks like from the outside. Our room is under the dormer on the section that comes out at a right angle from the dining wing. I think we were above part of the kitchen, or an old apartment for the head cook, maybe.

One view from our east window was the tip of the massive chimney of the fireplace in the great room. The sun's rays just caught it at sunset when the clouds thinned out.

Our north window looked out on the cabins and tree studded hills. A huge sycamore hosted cardinals, sparrows, juncos and some surprisingly musical starlings during our stay.











Our retreat of course finally had to end, and we drove home Friday noon noting how ice-packed the Mississippi is, all the way from Grafton to Alton. We saw eagles perched on the bluffs and floating on the ice floes. We walked through a flock of chattering juncos, chickadees, and titmice feeding in a ravine. We watched a great blue heron fish from a floating ice floe. Gulls, ducks, geese entertained us. We saw rabbit and deer and possum tracks. It was a quiet, restful retreat that let us experience sights and sounds we don't have every day. Same time next year?