Festival Lights on September Nights | The 2023 Murphysboro Apple Festival
Lindsay + Tim Stockhecke www.deliciouslyordinary.com With attendance exceeding 45,000 the Murphysboro Apple Festival is anything but small, but somehow organizers have preserved the small-town feeling in spite of the impressive visitor count. When we stopped at their headquarters organizers attributed some of this to the choice to not sell wristbands, describing not wanting guests to […]
Sunset and A Concert | A Series
Lindsay + Tim Stockhecke www.deliciouslyordinary.com It’s both easy and hard to miss Carl Lee Park Pavilion and Bandshell as you drive down Murphysboro Mainstreet. The hustle and bustle of a busy downtown street can make the featured sculpture, completed in 2010, go overlooked but, once seated in the cut grass listening to the acoustics provided […]
The Big Muddy Monster | Fact or Folklore
Lindsay + Tim Stockhecke www.deliciouslyordinarystyling.com Folk^lore [noun] the traditional beliefs, customs, and stories of a community, passed through the generations by word of mouth. Myth or history, stories bind us. They carry the lessons of our ancestors and leave opportunities for contemplation and fodder for centuries to come. The Big Muddy Monster gives natives and […]
Never been fishing? Lake Murphysboro is calling
Lindsay + Tim Stockhecke www.deliciouslyordinary.com There are fishing families, those who learned to bait a hook before they could ride a bike, and then there are the rest of us. Fishing for those not raised within a fishing family can feel daunting, as any new venture with children can be. It has variables built in […]
A very special place | Makanda, Illinois
Lindsay + Tim Stockhecke www.deliciouslyordinary.com Makanda, Illinois is known by locals and transplants alike but depending on who you are will determine what it means to you or what you know it for. Nevertheless, anyone who has visited knows it is special. Frequently called the hippiest town in Illinois, it has made a name for […]
Exploring Lake Kinkaid Spillway
Lindsay + Tim Stockhecke www.deliciouslyordinary.com After weeks of dry weather, the forecast promised a day full of rain, and a mild 73 degrees provided the perfect opportunity to visit Kinkaid Lake Spillway. Offering a multi-level cascading waterfall leading to a deep pool at the base, the spillway is a popular known swimming spot in Jackson […]
“Just Like Granma’s House” | Exploring rural Jackson County, Illinois
Lindsay + Tim Stockhecke www.deliciouslyordinary.com “It smells just like Grandma’s house!” our eight-year-old proclaims as we enter Ava Food and Family. We opted to spend a slow day exploring the western side of Jackson County on a toasty summer afternoon, keeping our agenda open-ended to allow for unexpected roadside delights. Southern Illinois is the perfect […]
Giant City State Park – A Snap Shot
Lindsay + Tim Stockhecke www.deliciouslyordinary.com With the vast nature of the Shawnee National Forest spanning 289,000 acres across the most southern part of Illinois, Giant City State Park, located within SNF, is a great option for visitors looking for a self-contained park with a clear entrance and trails all within close proximity of one another. […]
Little Grand Canyon | 5 Tips Before You Go
Lindsay + Tim Stockhecke www.deliciouslyordinary.com One of the most advanced hikes we take as a family, Little Grand Canyon was admittedly intimidating the first time we did this trail a few years back. With that being said many of my fears were dispelled that first time and we have since found this to be our […]
Kayaking Cedar Lake
Lindsay + Tim Stockhecke www.deliciouslyordinary.com My first time kayaking was on vacation in Kauai and I remember thinking, while it was undeniably phenomenal the lush scenery was so similar to southern Illinois. Since that first paddle we have enjoyed many more right here in our region and each time are reminded that the very scenery […]
