Cicacadageddon, Ferne Clyffe and Window Covers

 

I’m sure everyone has heard more than enough about the historical convergence of the emergence of two different broods of cicada in the Midwest this year. Well, where we live, we are literally right on the line of the emergence. One side of the river has cicadas like crazy, but our side - not so much.  That means we really hadn’t thought about what it would be like when we decided to head south to camp over Memorial Day Weekend. 

My prep project for this trip was to make window covers for inside the driver and passenger doors.  We had some Reflectix bubble insulation already. I just made a template, bought some magnets and set to sewing.  Basically, I bound the bubbles and inserted the magnets as I went.  It was a pain, because everything in the area of my machine stuck to the magnets - the pins, the needle plate, small scissors - it was a challenge.  But they work great, and are exactly what we needed, for just the cost of the magnets and some time on my part.  

After teetering on whether or not to even go camping over the holiday, along with everyone and their dogs, at the last minute we decided to travel to the Shawnee National forest for some nature time.  We were able to secure a reservation at Ferne Clyffe campground for Saturday and Sunday night, but not Friday.  Instead of waiting until Saturday to leave, Friday night after driving for four hours in the rain, we decided to try our luck without a reservation at Eldon Hazlet State Park on Lake Carlyle, an old haunt for us.  It had been years since we’d been there, and we arrived around 9p in the dark.  We got lucky and found a nice spot, plus we were able to set up and walk to the pit potties before it started raining again. 

The next morning dawned clear, bright, and quiet.  Still no cicada song. We could see the lake from our site, but many of the sites are right on the lake, and we decided we want to return again when we have more time to enjoy it! We had our bikes with us, so we took a cycle tour of the campground to see what was new.  They have a really nice pool now, and a camp store that serves breakfast!  The menu Saturday was biscuits and gravy. Since we had already eaten, we just settled up with the camp host, and headed on to Ferne Clyffe.  

When we arrived, we knew the cicadas had gotten there before us! OMG was it loud! There were actually two layers to the noise.  The first was from the trees in the immediate vicinity.  It was so loud you almost had to raise your voice to have a conversation.  Then there was a second level of noise, coming from the forest around the campground.  It was a steady low humming buzz. It really took a while to get used to it. The site we had reserved was somewhat disappointing.  It was right in the middle of a bunch of big rigs, and they were running their air conditioning.  Add that to the roar of insects and it just wasn’t pleasant.  Before unpacking too much, we checked in with the host, who offered us an alternative site that was available because of a cancellation. We moved our tent, which we pitch mostly to save our spot, but also use to store gear we don't want to haul with us everywhere. The new spot was much better. It was tucked off in a corner by itself.  Things started looking up after that! 

After lunch, we went searching for the park’s notorious waterfall. It was straight down the bluff from the campground. There was a trail that switch-backed down to it, and going down was easy!  

At first I didn't want to venture to the bottom, because I was not sure I could make it back up - but the destination was worth it!  There has been plenty of rain lately so the falls were active, and the valley was nice and cool. It was very pretty!   And I made it back up with less stops than I thought I would have to make.

Supper was delicious and the cicadas actually do go to sleep at night.  Thank goodness!

 

The next morning it rained until noon, so we slept in and had a simple breakfast in the Metris, then we got showers.  We tried a bit of fishing at the lake, but only saw turtles.  By 6p, it looked like rain was coming again, so we decided to drive to Murphysboro (45 mins) for BBQ at 17th Street. 
 

Thank goodness we did!  BBQ saved our butt!  While we were away, a tornado came through Pulleys Mill, taking out a large path of trees and downing power lines - only a mile away from the campground.  Everything was dark when we got back, and people were still sheltering in the shower house.  We did not need electricity, and the storm has passed, so we parked and went to sleep with tummies full of yummy food, and grateful for escaping a stressful situation.  

Monday morning was bright and sunny, so we decided on another hike.  This time we sought out the "cave" that showed up on the trail map.  The hike was great, and the cave at the end was actually another waterfall, and it was very active because of the storm the night before.  Nature can be so dynamic. 

After lunch we packed up the tent and our wet towels (they had been hanging to dry during the storm) and headed home.  For the most part, the cicadas were just back ground noise.  We did see tons of holes in the ground where they had emerged, and there were some on the tent in the mornings, but they are harmless, and didn't bother us.  We reduced the population a bit on the way home, though.  Our windshield was a mess!