On Saturday, I decided to take a short trip to the Reserve in Barrington.
The Metra's Union Pacific/Northwest Line connects to Barrington from Arlington Heights station. The Metra sells weekend passes that is effective Saturday, Sunday, and Monday for the Labor Day weekend. The pass is effective for all destinations.
The station was packed with people heading for Chicago when I arrived. The Arlington Heights station locates in the center of the town. There are bike stands and solar panels are installed on the roof. I waited for the outbound train after the train swept away almost all of the passengers heading perhaps for the Jazz Festival.
When the train arrived finally, I was ushered into the heavy made Metra train. I purchased the ticket and sat upstairs. The city look different from the train window.
Barrington is not too far away from the Arlington Heights station. Beyond the parking lots around the station is the town of Barrinton. The town is pretty -- there are shops and cafes and people were enjoying the holidays there.
Even more prettier are the houses on the way to the Reserve. There are beautiful houses lined up each designed differently. Some people were tending the yard, mowing the turf, running, and taking dogs for walks. I was told to take East Hillside Avenue to get to the lake.
The sight of the lake beyond was rewarding after walking for a while from the station. The water, however, did not look clean and it says "No Fishing". The sign says, the special rookery made of used Christmas trees protects black-crowned night herons from other birds such as great egrets, great blue herons, and double-crested cormorants.
I looked for a trail that goes into the forest. I was told to take a small lane from which the trail leads through the field. Among the trees I saw there include: black walnut (Juglans nigra), bur oak (Quercus macrocarpa), hop-hornbeam (Ostrya virginiana), eastern redbud (Cercis canadensis), tree of heaven (Ailanthus altissima), gray dogwood (Cornus racemosa), Amur maple (Acer ginnala), northern catalpa (Catalpa speciosa), and Norway maple (Acer plantanoides).
After the walk, it was nice to get back to the train and enjoy the view from the window. The trouble, was that I noticed at home that I left the USB cable at work and that there was no way to download the pictures from my camera. I would like to express my gratitude to my neighbor Debbie for letting me use the cable so that I could upload them here.
The Metra's Union Pacific/Northwest Line connects to Barrington from Arlington Heights station. The Metra sells weekend passes that is effective Saturday, Sunday, and Monday for the Labor Day weekend. The pass is effective for all destinations.
The station was packed with people heading for Chicago when I arrived. The Arlington Heights station locates in the center of the town. There are bike stands and solar panels are installed on the roof. I waited for the outbound train after the train swept away almost all of the passengers heading perhaps for the Jazz Festival.
When the train arrived finally, I was ushered into the heavy made Metra train. I purchased the ticket and sat upstairs. The city look different from the train window.
Barrington is not too far away from the Arlington Heights station. Beyond the parking lots around the station is the town of Barrinton. The town is pretty -- there are shops and cafes and people were enjoying the holidays there.
Even more prettier are the houses on the way to the Reserve. There are beautiful houses lined up each designed differently. Some people were tending the yard, mowing the turf, running, and taking dogs for walks. I was told to take East Hillside Avenue to get to the lake.
The sight of the lake beyond was rewarding after walking for a while from the station. The water, however, did not look clean and it says "No Fishing". The sign says, the special rookery made of used Christmas trees protects black-crowned night herons from other birds such as great egrets, great blue herons, and double-crested cormorants.
I looked for a trail that goes into the forest. I was told to take a small lane from which the trail leads through the field. Among the trees I saw there include: black walnut (Juglans nigra), bur oak (Quercus macrocarpa), hop-hornbeam (Ostrya virginiana), eastern redbud (Cercis canadensis), tree of heaven (Ailanthus altissima), gray dogwood (Cornus racemosa), Amur maple (Acer ginnala), northern catalpa (Catalpa speciosa), and Norway maple (Acer plantanoides).
After the walk, it was nice to get back to the train and enjoy the view from the window. The trouble, was that I noticed at home that I left the USB cable at work and that there was no way to download the pictures from my camera. I would like to express my gratitude to my neighbor Debbie for letting me use the cable so that I could upload them here.