Chris & Rachel: The Spillway

Chris has had the opportunity to have some time off from the weight room due to a three week break that the athletes get before starting summer training. This three week break has been so amazing for Chris and I. We have actually been able to spend a considerable amount of much needed time together after a very jammed packed year of crazy commitments. Since I am working nights we have all day to do whatever we please. The timing couldn't have been more perfect since we just moved into the new place and have had the opportunity to settle in and make it our home. So our days have been spent nesting, working out, and finding creatively in-expensive entertainment. In our search for something to do we came across one of the coolest things ever! We found a waterfall nestled in the forest off of Lake Kinkaid - which is about fifteen minutes from our house. This place is known as The Spillway.

Chris loves it when I take pictures :-)

This is the bottom of the spillway where the water fall runs into

This is the lower section of The Spillway - right now there isn't a ton of water because it hasn't been raining much. At different times of the year the water flow is much more. For our purposes, it is just right :-)

Here is the second level of the Spillway - this is my favorite level because of the large tabletop of water that I can walk through to cool off. It also has the best place to sit in the waterfall.

The top level

This is the view at the top overlooking the whole thing. It is hard to capture the wide open space feeling in a picture, as well as the sounds of the water falling. It is an amazing sight to see.

Dangling

Sunbathing in a waterfall? YEEEESSSSSS

This easily has moved to one of my favorite places in the Southern Illinois area, and with the 90 degree plus weather we have been experiencing we couldn't have discovered it soon enough! It is the perfect escape for an afternoon picnic, R&R time, and to cool off!

We finished our day with an old style BBQ on our back patio. Chris devised a fire pit out of some cinder blocks and we roasted some turkey sausages over the open flame. Mind you it was 8:00pm and still 75 degrees out! So cool!