the colors are making their slow but grand re-entrance at the cache river in southern illinois

We went on our first big hike of the year yesterday. It was wonderful.

This was our first venture into the woods of the Cache River and we are in love.

We hiked about 3 1/2 miles in and back out, and apparently, what we saw was just a small region. It seems that perhaps we saw one of the less impressive areas to discover. We were able to get some good maps of both the cache river state natural area and the tunnel hill bike trail that make us think some return trips are in order.

For now, I hope someone enjoys these glimpses into our day.
(click photos to enlarge, especially recommended for photos with reflections)