Traveling Along the Rivers in Illinois

As previously noted, this past May we visited Laurie’s family in the St. Louis Missouri area.  As usual we were out and about with Laurie’s sister Bonnie and Bonnie’s husband Bill. 

We’d decided to cross the Mississippi River and drive north to a winery and park that are situated on the Illinois side of the “Big Muddy”.  Laurie and I hadn’t been up that way for decades so it was a real adventure for us…

We crossed the river at Alton Illinois, a river town that had been founded way back in 1818.  But Alton wasn’t our planned destination.

I took this photo of this cabin cruiser from the Pere Marquette State Park, which is located near the town of Grafton Illinois.  At this point, the Illinois River flows into the Mississippi River.

The Illinois River is about 273 miles long and it is one of the major tributaries of the Mississippi.  The Illinois was important to Native Americans and early French traders as the principal water route connecting the Great Lakes (Lake Michigan) with the Mississippi River.  The Illinois River is now the basis for the Illinois Waterway, which allows commercial shipping from the Great Lakes all the way to New Orleans

This is the entrance to the Lodge at Pere Marquette State Park.  The original portion of the lodge was built in the 1930s during the Depression by the Civilian Conservation Corps.  The lodge was expanded in 1985.  The lodge and the surrounding cabins are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

The Park itself is an 8,050 acre protected area in Jersey County Illinois.  It’s located on IL Hwy 100, which at this point is part of both the ‘Great River Road’ and the ‘Meeting of the Great Rivers Scenic Byway’.  Pere Marquette State Park is operated and maintained by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources.

I really liked the warm and ‘homey’ look of the cabins located near the lodge itself.  Each of these cabins contains 3 separate ‘rooms’ that include a sleeping area and a bathroom.  There isn’t any shared common area in the cabins…hence plenty of privacy.  I checked these cabins/stone cottages out on line and was stunned to learn that they only cost $125.00 plus tax per night…and that includes dinner and breakfast from a select menu…plus 2 drink vouchers!  Quite a deal indeed

It took members of the Civilian Conservation Corps from 1933 until 1939 to complete the Pere Marquette Lodge.  The lodge opened for business in 1940.  The cost…$352,912.  Those massive timbers, some as much as 3 feet in diameter, are Douglas fir along with western and pecky cypress.  Limestone taken from the nearby Grafton rock quarry, was used to construct the cabins, the floor of the lodge and that massive 700-ton stone fireplace.  The vaulted ceiling is 50 feet high!  Prison inmates built the furniture in the lodge while the CCC did all of the metal work, including the chandeliers, door handles and window locks.

The Lodge is open every day of the year…a quiet place to escape the crowds of the big cities.  This is the dining room in the lodge and it’s open for breakfast, lunch and dinner.  At dinner time, there are meal choices that are offered for family style dining as well as the usual menu for individual entrees. 

The lodge features a terrace overlooking the Illinois River, an indoor pool, sauna, hot tub, a winery, event space for weddings, business meetings, etc.  To learn more, go to https://wwwpmlodge.net.

So who was Pere Marquette?  Jacques Marquette, a French Jesuit missionary, was born in 1637.  He founded Michigan’s first European settlement, Sault Sainte Marie and later founded Saint Ignace.  In 1673, Marquette with Louis Jolliet, (who was born near Quebec City), became the first European to explore and map the northern portion of the Mississippi River Valley.

Then there is the legend of the Piasa Bird… On the bluffs of the Mississippi River, they encountered something that became a local legend. “We saw…two painted monsters which at first made us afraid and upon which the boldest…dare not long rest their eyes.”  The learned from the local Native Americans that the creature was part bird, with the face of a man, scales like a fish, horns like a deer and it had a long black tail.  The creature was called “Piasa”.  To learn more, go to Piasa - Wikipedia.

After leaving Pere Marquette State Park and its lodge, we headed back south toward Grafton Illinois on the Great River Road.  We didn’t have far to go before we came to Aerie’s Resort, our next destination.  This resort, located high on a bluff overlooking the Mississippi and Illinois Rivers, offers accommodations, a restaurant, the Grafton Zipline and the Grafton SkyTour. 

Upon arrival we learned that we couldn’t just drive to the restaurant on the bluff… The road was closed and our only option available to reach our destination was via the Grafton SkyTour.  Tickets/actually day passes, were $10.00 each…  For me, this wasn’t great, not so much because of the money, but rather it was a matter of balance and coordination.  The gondolas don’t stop to let you get on or off and it was a challenge for yours truly… I wouldn’t do it again.

Since I survived getting into our gondola without a mishap, we decided to take photos of each other.  Bill and Bonnie first, then Laurie and myself.  You will note that we were wearing warm coats as it was fairly chilly, despite it being the end of May...

The preferred level was just below where we ended up sitting for our midday refreshments…but it was closed for remodeling.  There is a deck on this level but it was too cold to sit out there and enjoy our snack…

The dining area is huge as is the bar.  The inside photo only covers a portion of the restaurant.  I would imagine that on a warm day, both this level and the lower level would be packed with visitors and both decks would be overflowing as well.  FYI, no surprise, but there is a gift shop right below the restaurant…

So, what did we order?  Laurie and Bonnie shared a bottle of HBTL White Haven Sauvignon Blanc. ($18.00) A couple of beers also graced our table.  For food, we ordered the Bread and Oil ($10.00), French bread with parmesan seasoned olive oil.  We ordered the bread since few restaurants provide enough bread or crackers to their charcuterie boards.  Aeries’ Charcuterie Board ($18.00) featured cured meats, mixed cheeses, pickled vegetables, fruit and nuts, accompanied with crackers.

Visitors do enjoy the vistas as viewed from Aerie Winery, but in our case, a bit of sunshine would have been nice...  The bluffs along the rivers at this point, and for the 33 miles that comprise the Great River Road, reach 300 feet in height.  Building on the bluff is a smart move as the areas down along the rivers flood fairly regularly.  To learn more about Aerie’s Resort, go to Aerie's Resort | Grafton Illinois (aeriesresort.com).

Just click on any of the photos to enlarge them…

Thanks for stopping by for a visit!

Take Care, Big Daddy Dave