St. Louis Canyon, Starved Rock State Park

On February 12, 2021, my friends and I decided we were going to go hiking at Starved Rock State Park in Central Illinois the following morning. There was a light snowfall a few days before, and flurries were forecasted for the morning of February 13. 

I woke up on February 13 early in the morning before the sunrise. It was a cold, dark, and bleak mid-winter morning. I’ll admit that waking up early in the morning to venture out into the cold can be hard and the thought of falling back asleep crosses my mind many times.

I’m lying in bed, it’s 5:47am, and it seems there are countless reasons why I should go back to sleep.  

But there’s one thought that’s different than the rest. The thought of what the canyon may look like on that given day keeps me guessing. While I’ve been to St. Louis Canyon many times in many different seasons, there’s always something unique about each visit. After all, it’s nature which has no guidelines to follow. 

I’m forced to make a decision on if I’m going to get up. There’s many thoughts telling me to go back to bed and I’ll go there another time. But it’s the excitement of not knowing exactly what the hike or canyon will entail that gets me up. 

This thought process I go through occurs often when getting up for morning hikes. I have yet to be disappointed with my decision to get up and explore a location, no matter the number of times I’ve visited it.

It’s that new perspective that keeps getting me up. The wonder of a similar, but always unique destination, and I get to capture it. The search. 

This photo was taken on a wide-angle lens to capture the entire landscape. Snow was falling, and I was cleaning snowflakes off the camera lens and I was trying to press the shutter button at just the right time. It took me 2 or 3 attempts, but I finally got the photo I was searching for. 

After processing the image, I was very happy with my photo and I was already dreaming about starting the search all over again. 

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