2008 Woodie Awards
Get off your keister, go play outside
Andrew Browning
Issue date: 3/24/08 Section: Opinion
March tends to be the month when I cannot stand winter anymore. I don't want to see any more snowflakes, and I want to be able to go outside and not worry about frostbite.
Thankfully, daylight savings time and the first day of spring come in March, and the days suddenly become longer and warmer. As soon as it does start to warm up, I find myself itching to go outside. It's not to say that I don't spend a pretty good amount of time outside during the winter, I just want some warm, sunny days to enjoy.
Many times when I feel like going hiking or fishing, I just head out to Lake Argyle or Spring Lake, but I was feeling pretty burnt out on both of those places when I decided I needed somewhere new to explore. After a tip from a friend, I found Siloam State Park on www.stateparks.com. This Web site shattered my previous assumptions about this area of Illinois being fairly barren of decent hiking areas.
As it turns out, stateparks.com is a great resource to find outdoor activities in any state. You can find hunting, fishing, horseback riding, hiking trails and campsites, among other things. If you like the outdoors, you are sure to find a state park that has something to stir your interests.
The Web site is incredibly simple - just click on the state you are looking for and then click on the area you are interested in, and it will bring up a list of parks with different information like what to do, what to see, where to stay, photos, maps and literature. It also has direct links to Google maps and small topographic maps for the park and some of the surrounding areas.
We are lucky in the sense that Lake Argyle and Spring Lake are so close to this campus. I have made trips to both places over the past few years, and I always felt satisfied after I left because I got a much-needed nature fix.
Until recently, I had no idea that there were so many places in Illinois I could use to relieve the winter blues, and I don't think I will find myself back at Lake Argyle or Spring Lake for a while.
No matter what your fix may be, you can find something to do at one of the wonderful state parks in Illinois. There are many good reasons to get out and enjoy nature, and www.stateparks.com makes it incredibly easy to do so.
It also serves another purpose by getting you out of Macomb, if only for a little while. I don't know about you, but it always feels good to drive away from this town. You could also use this time as an opportunity to not drink. Think about how awesome it would be - to go do an activity where you don't have to get drunk.
It is a novel idea for kids at this university, but you really could benefit from this. You will save brain cells and get some fresh air all while exploring new areas of the state.
Thankfully, daylight savings time and the first day of spring come in March, and the days suddenly become longer and warmer. As soon as it does start to warm up, I find myself itching to go outside. It's not to say that I don't spend a pretty good amount of time outside during the winter, I just want some warm, sunny days to enjoy.
Many times when I feel like going hiking or fishing, I just head out to Lake Argyle or Spring Lake, but I was feeling pretty burnt out on both of those places when I decided I needed somewhere new to explore. After a tip from a friend, I found Siloam State Park on www.stateparks.com. This Web site shattered my previous assumptions about this area of Illinois being fairly barren of decent hiking areas.
As it turns out, stateparks.com is a great resource to find outdoor activities in any state. You can find hunting, fishing, horseback riding, hiking trails and campsites, among other things. If you like the outdoors, you are sure to find a state park that has something to stir your interests.
The Web site is incredibly simple - just click on the state you are looking for and then click on the area you are interested in, and it will bring up a list of parks with different information like what to do, what to see, where to stay, photos, maps and literature. It also has direct links to Google maps and small topographic maps for the park and some of the surrounding areas.
We are lucky in the sense that Lake Argyle and Spring Lake are so close to this campus. I have made trips to both places over the past few years, and I always felt satisfied after I left because I got a much-needed nature fix.
Until recently, I had no idea that there were so many places in Illinois I could use to relieve the winter blues, and I don't think I will find myself back at Lake Argyle or Spring Lake for a while.
No matter what your fix may be, you can find something to do at one of the wonderful state parks in Illinois. There are many good reasons to get out and enjoy nature, and www.stateparks.com makes it incredibly easy to do so.
It also serves another purpose by getting you out of Macomb, if only for a little while. I don't know about you, but it always feels good to drive away from this town. You could also use this time as an opportunity to not drink. Think about how awesome it would be - to go do an activity where you don't have to get drunk.
It is a novel idea for kids at this university, but you really could benefit from this. You will save brain cells and get some fresh air all while exploring new areas of the state.
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pfs
posted 3/25/08 @ 2:42 AM CST
Lookup locations with nearby wiki's worldwide on satellitepictures easy by address?
http://www.picsfromspace.nl
A combination of Googlemaps mashup, Wikipedia information and thirdparty addressdata with address suggestion. (Continued…)
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