Yesterday afternoon when we were done working, Dustin and I decided to go to Starved Rock State Park to do some hiking. We were originally thinking of biking there but since it was already late afternoon, we decided to take an Uber to save time. We spent a couple of hours hiking up and down through the canyons and cliffs and it was stunningly beautiful! Who knew Illinois had this gem hidden in Utica?
After awhile, we decided to head home to grab some dinner. Well, when we looked on Uber to get a ride back, there were no more in the area that night. None. Not one single Uber. So we walked over to the lodge at the state park and asked the concierge about a taxi service and told them what had happened. Their response was that they were shocked that we were able to find an Uber in the first place and that there were no taxi services either. And no buses. So our only other option at that point was to walk back to the marina which was about 6 1/2 miles away!!
On the way back it ended up getting pitch black outside. Luckily, Dustin had his cell phone with him (I did not) so he kept intermittently turning the flashlight on as cars would pass so they saw us on the side of the road walking. We were kind of in the middle of nowhere and I got a little creepy after dark, especially when we passed a creepy old asylum, but we finally made it home unscathed about an hour and a half later. It was a super long walk home, but we got a good story out of it! Starved Rock State Park is a gorgeous place to hike in Utica, IL!! I would've never known it existed!! I would definitely suggest adding this to your list for places to explore in the Midwest!