BIRTHDAY ROAD TRIP 2024

A Birthday trip to Southern Illinois made last weekend an adventure and a perfect opportunity to film nature and experience a beautiful couple of days in the 70s with sunshine. It's a step back in time and a step closer to the simple life where ferry boats still get you from Illinois to Kentucky at Cave-in-Rock. The sun rises over 7-foot corn crops next to endless soybean and corn fields from horizon to horizon, lush and green from rain and mild summer weather. The Shawnee National Forest offers visitors the Garden of the Gods and the Little Grand Canyon of Illinois, geologic treasures just a couple of hours away. We could see the Milky Way galaxy at night without any help but used an app on our iPhones to reveal the constellations as we pointed them in the sky at endless groups of twinkling stars. My special gift of a mini flying camera worked beautifully to see and record it all from the heavens, powered by unbelievable vision and digital capture technology. It all made this post possible, recording a memory we can share and include in our treasure chest of fun and festive moments now and forever. Heartfelt thanks to Laurie and her family for the kindness and comradery that are always better gifts than anything coming in an Amazon package. Along with all the good wishes from other family and many friends, I am left eternally grateful and inspired. Thanks to everyone once again! Enjoy the short film!

[@michellehaynes6208]

Rip did you go to Illinois for your birthday? I have never seen the boring flat land 5 hour drive look so good!!!!!