5 Weird & Breathtaking Things You Might Experience While on a Hike in Rockford

1. Cardinals 

Ahh... the beautiful state bird. And they always seem to be in large numbers when I witness them. I never see just one. It’s more like 5 or 6. But hey, I’m never gonna complain about that! They’re gorgeous and my favorite bird! 

2. Litter 

I hope you can feel the rage in this one. I’ve been in Rockford for about a year and I’ve never seen so much liter. Small call to action here besties, let’s do better at taking care of our community. I've seen some pretty gross stuff.  

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3. The Occasional Aroma of Reefer 

From the moment I open my car door sometimes, the scent hits you like a ton of bricks. If you don’t like it, there are certain trails I would avoid. But can’t say I blame people, kicking back in nature is what I like to do too. Whatever floats your boat.  

4. Coyotes 

YUP! I was on a trail and one ran right in front of me... I swear it was like 20 feet away from me! It was terrifying but also SO COOL! I’d never seen one outdoors before so I was stunned. The poor thing was all by itself and running like it was terrified of me, so I wasn’t too alarmed. However, be careful folks. 

5. Randomly decorated trees! 

This, at least to me, is the weirdest one of all! I was walking and there was a random tree... in the middle of the woods...decorated with Christmas ornaments! I’m not even going to bother explaining, you’ve got to see it to fully wrap your mind around its bizarreness. Just one random, little tree in the middle of the woods...decorated. How cute! And... weird.