In October I went on a photography class to Starved Rock, which was given to me as a birthday gift by B. It was raining on and off during the morning, but it actually made the experience better because the colors were vibrant and I had fun traipsing around with my umbrella and learning how to take photos in the rain.

I truly love macro shots, and one of the participants lent me his 50mm f/2.5 lens…so I was in heaven!

We stayed in Kaskaskia Canyon, but because of the rain there were not many people there.

In a 2 sq ft area, there were logs with 3 different kinds of fungus. I spent a good ten minutes there.

There is life growing right out of the canyon walls.

For all you Chicago folks, you should definitely consider a trip down to Starved Rock.