Jesse and I were staying in Lake Forest, Illinois, which is a suburb north of Chicago, with my mom, who we ‘d last seen when she visited us in Italy back in May. We visited the Chicago Botanical Gardens, which are so large that even with parking lots full of cars, we were still able to wander with few people in sight. There are some cool installations:
Many pretty flowers, even in September:
and an island with bonzai trees:
We were able to walk trails near her home along the North Branch of the Chicago River, entering through the soft grass trails of the Mellody Farm Nature Preserve.
We were able to visit first in early September, then again in late October. It was really neat to see the bright yellows and greens of early fall:
give way to the dark reds and browns of late fall:
We even carved pumpkins and set them out for Halloween! See if you can guess which are mine, Jesse’s or Mom’s?
Phil Barrington's WayPastCool 