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Matthiessen State Park, Illinois
Matthiessen State Park, Illinois This place is amazing. I went in February while everything was frozen and in black and white tones. It was magic. The Dells Canyon and Bluff is one of the 5 Miles of trails in the whole of Matthiessen State Park, it’s a small gorge in Illinois with two waterfalls. The Dells trial itself is only about 2 miles in total but it makes a figure eight so you don’t have to hike it all in one go. Dells Canyon and Bluff Distance: 2 Miles Pets: Yes, on leash. The lower falls in summer can create a corkscrew cascade and I’m told it’s amazing. I wasn’t…
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Great Sand Dunes National Park
Great Sand Dunes National Park According to Outsideonline National Parks and National Monuments are distinguished by why they are being protected. “National parks are protected due to their scenic, inspirational, education, and recreational value. National monuments have objects of historical, cultural, and/or scientific interest.” The Great Sand Dunes National Park was designated on September 24, 2004. That being said, Great Sand Dunes is small by comparison but should be identified as a National Park simply because it’s one hell of a view. GSD is the largest Sand dune in North America, and reaches an outstanding 750 feet high. It’s very bizarre to be driving along southern Colorado, and…
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Dinosaur National Monument
Dinosaur National Monument- Fossil Quarry Dinosaur Quarry The original Dinosaur Quarry was built in the 1950s on unstable clay and even during construction problems started. Damage to the parking area appeared almost immediately. Eventually, cracks in the structure split and grew, there were gaps showing where the building was pulling away from the rock wall. For instance, the library was shut down when support beams flexed through the walls. At one point, ceiling tiles fell from the roof and the chief paleontologist office started tilting so severely his chair would roll away from his desk. Thirdly, the most disconcerting details came from the staff who reported the second story gallery…



