Pow-Wow at Starved Rock

On this day Jason took Kelly for a new experience -- a native american pow-wow. It was held at Starved Rock State Park. We were dazzled by all of the colorful and complex costumes. The fringes, beads and feathers gave the impression of constant motion. The drum circle in the background was a constant heartbeat for the event. We sat on bales of hay and watched the dances. In spite of it being an extremely hot May day, people danced their hearts out. We were totally impressed by a group of young girls that did dances with rings which they manipulated. Every different costume was for a different dance. A dress with many silver jangling pieces was a "Good Medicine" dress, and that dance was extremely noisey. Many people threw money at the feet of the dancers, which they collected and gave to their elders or the drum circle. Their culture teaches them to share. Another outfit with long white yarn fringe entailed a dance that evoked images of swaying prairie grasses. A man sounded a mournful tribute to his friend who had passed away, using a conch shell. Jason and I shared fry bread and drank lemonade. We checked out the many vendors and Jason bought a lizard necklace, and I bought a purple ring and a blue blanket.

Then we went for a hike up on the cliffs of Starved Rock and got rained on! We saw a deer and lots of different birds, adding to the bird list Jason gave me.

On the way home we both got hungry at the same time, and noticed the pattern that we both seemed to have the same metabolism, because we get hungry or are not hungry at the same times. Not just our hearts, but our stomachs are in tune with each other!

Jason probaby won't like this last picture -- but I love it! He's so handsome in his glasses. He's trying to figure out if those swallows are rough-winged or cliff. And the wind is puffing out his shirt so it looks funny.