On a Clear Day...

you really can see forever! This afternoon, it was beautiful day--warm, bright, sunny, but not hot and humid, like July often is in Chicago. We decided to take a drive to the Scenic Overlook, which we usually call Trash Mountain. It's the highest point around here, and it really is a mountain of trash. It was the dump at one time, and it had reached maximum capacity. So they planted grass on it, stuck in pipes, and now they generate electricity from the methane gas. Pretty slick!

Anyway, we packed a picnic dinner of parmesan drumsticks, deviled eggs, watermelon, apricots, Pringles, and cookies and headed up there. We had been curious as to how scenic the overlook could really be. After all, this is Illinois flatland, and it's mostly covered in trees! Well, as is so often the case, a change in position can really change your perspective.

Here's what we saw at first, which is looking towards our house (although you really cannot see our house, so don't look for it).

Then we walked to another side, and discovered this view:

Yes, that is downtown Chicago in all its glory. Mind you, Trash Mountain is about 30 miles away from downtown!

We spoke to a forest ranger there about how impressive that view was, and how we were surprised that the hill was high enough to get us that view. She proudly exclaimed that it was 190 ft high! We waited until we were in the car to start snickering. (Guess we're a little snobbish about elevations, having lived in a mountainous area.)