Today was a crisp and clear fall day so we decided to go on a hike with our dog, Nova.  We opted to try our luck with a Date Day to Conrad Station, site of the infamous ghost train and sunglass snatching spider from a previous date.

We arrived around 10am and set off on the 2-mile trail that winds through the 800+ acre savanna.  Keeping an eye out for Tom’s missing sunglasses (lost in September when a giant spider took up residence on his hat), we headed for the former town of Conrad.  The hike was more pleasant this time as it wasn’t over 90 degrees and all the bugs from our last visit seemed to be gone.

Town of Conrad

Nova lead the way and we arrived in Conrad after about 15 minutes.  A quick history lesson teaches us the town of Conrad was established in 1908 as a place for nearby resident and rancher, Jennie Conrad, to ship her livestock via rail to Chicago.  At its peak, the town boasted a train depot, an 18-room hotel, a post office, a general store and a blacksmith shop.  The population of almost 100 catered to local ranchers as well as people who came from Chicago to conduct business in the Conrad area.

Today, there is a sign marking the site of the town and the location of its primary structures.  If you wander around a little you will come across old foundations, cement blocks and even an intact set of steps.  You can also see, and walk along, the now disused train tracks that ran through town.  The sign and map are on the east side of the train tracks, but make sure you explore the west side as well.  We didn’t realize that half of the town was located west of the tracks on our first visit and missed that entire area.  We enjoyed about an hour exploring the old town, however, Nova seemed a little ill at ease the entire time.   Maybe the ghost train?  Who knows.  But it was time for us to continue down the trail.

Nature Conservatory

The rest of the trail, which is maintained by The Nature Conservatory, meanders through trees, grasses and sedges and is a very nice place to spend a fall day.  We didn’t spot any wildlife this time, but we hear it’s a great place for birdwatching.  Thankfully, for Theresa, we also didn’t see any of the snakes or lizards that are prominently featured on the parks brochure.  We did, however, stop to read the sign along the trail that describes how The Nature Conservancy manages the savanna at Conrad Station as well as the unique plants and animals that live there.

Perhaps the strangest part of our hike were the “Evacuation Route” signs and arrows that we kept seeing along the perimeter of the savanna.  We couldn’t then, and still can’t now, guess who or what they are for.  All-in-all, it was a good day.  We got our steps in, the dog stayed relatively clean and we made it to school in time to pick up Nathan.  If you are ever hiking the trail at Conrad Station and stumble across a pair of Ray-Bans, please let us know.  Tom still has a bone to pick with a certain spider.