Prairie Kicks on Route 66!
Event Information
Description
You've checked out the coolest diners--- now catch the flavor of life off the beaten path of Route 66! We'll look up close at Violet Wood Sorrels (photo by Midewin Botanist Michelle Pearion) and other spring prairie blooms on nature hikes and more! WALKS: Midewin volunteers will lead “Route 66: Off the Beaten Path” Nature Walks and History Walks. Learn what life was like along Route 66 during its heyday. See the Golden Alexanders, Spring Beauties, Shooting Stars and other native Illinois prairie blooms. These, and more, have popped up on this land every spring even hundreds of years before Route 66 ran through here. Learn about the importance of today’s non-native plant removal initiatives to protect and improve habitat for native flowers and pollinators. Drift back in time some 150 years on a Midewin Heritage Walk, and learn a bit about early settlers who lived along the road that became Route 66. 30-minute walks will leave from the Information Trailer. History Walks are at 10, 12 and 2; Nature Walks are at 11, 1 and 3. DEMONSTRATIONS: Wildlife Artist Ray Koehler, Jr.; Spinner Kathy Tovey; more!
Celebration of Life Seed Broadcast: Come together at 4 p.m. at the Iron Bridge Trailhead Prairie as we celebrate life along Route 66 – past, present and future – with a community-wide broadcasting of seeds of Little Bluestem!
Smokey Bear and Woodsy Owl, too!
NO PARKING WILL BE AVAILABLE:: BUS SHUTTLE: From 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. buses will shuttle to Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie from Elwood: 401 E. Mississippi Ave. and from Wilmington: North end of Water St. (Arrival spot: Iron Bridge Trailhead Parking Lot, located 2.5 mile north of the Welcome Center, 30239 S. State Route 53, Wilmington, IL 60481)