Most of us spend days trying to block out noise. We wear noise-canceling headphones on the train, we turn up the radio to drown out the traffic, and we try to ignore the constant “ding” of notifications on our phones. Silence has become a luxury item. But there is a...

We spend most of our lives racing against the clock. We wake up to alarms, rush through traffic, and count down the minutes until the weekend. By the time we actually stop moving, we are usually too tired to enjoy it. That is why booking a cabin shouldn’t just be...

You’ve checked into your cabin. The hot tub is bubbling, the view of the pond is perfect, and you have finally exhaled. But eventually, someone in your group is going to ask the inevitable question: “So, what are we doing today?” You could just sit on the deck (highly...

Let’s address the elephant in the room. When most people think of Illinois, they think of Chicago or endless, flat cornfields. They are wrong. Down here in the Shawnee Hills, the glaciers stopped moving during the Ice Age. That means instead of flat plains, we have...

Most people visit Southern Illinois for the deep forests and rocky bluffs of the Shawnee National Forest. This area is also home to one of the state's largest lakes: Rend Lake. This is a huge body of water that is a perfect spot for a full day of fun. This blog is a...