In the dark of night, 25 visitors to Goodenow Grove Nature Preserve in Crete Township took turns reaching into a bag and reacting to the variety of interesting but unseen things they felt: an antler shed and snake skin among them.
At least one reaction was markedly delighted.
“Nobody gets to put their hand in a mystery bag anymore,” a participant enthusiastically said.
That is exactly the type of “young at heart and ready to be silly” attitude interpretive naturalist Heather Van Zyl hoped people would bring last weekend to the Moonlight Masquerade at Plum Creek Nature Center at Goodenow Grove. The first-time program offered an adults-only night hike through the preserve with stops for games, followed by a bonfire.
“We’ve been doing trick-or-treat in the woods for kids for a number of years now,” Van Zyl said. “It just seemed like a fun idea to offer up a similar program but just for adults … really having a lot of kid fun without the kids.”
In addition to the mystery bag, participants played games, one using Nerf guns to shoot through pods to get treats, as well as a “moth and bat” chase, a search for spider eyes with flashlights, and an acorn game to simulate squirrel memory.
“This is the best,” said Jill Berndt, of Tinley Park. “So fun.”
Berndt said she had never done a night hike before and it has been a while since she last visited the Plum Creek Nature Center. But the Moonlight Masquerade looked like a fun opportunity to spend the night with her daughter. Like most others, they wore costumes for the occasion.
Dee Cerutti, of New Lenox, was with her aunt Rosemary Griggs, of Frankfort. Cerutti made a masquerade-style mask for herself at the last minute, gluing leaves she found on the ground onto a mask she found at a hobby shop. While Griggs said she was “just enjoying the beauty that surrounds us,” Cerutti added that the event’s BYOB policy allowing beer and wine that evening was an added selling point.
“It’s the fun of an adult night hike that you can drink legally in the woods,” she said.
More Top Picks Hon Ignition 2 0 Task
Denise Steffen, the forest preserve district’s director of information technology, also joined in the fun. While she works for the district, Steffen is typically at the Sugar Creek Administration Center in Joliet.
“I’m the indoor person,” she said. “I don’t get outside. It’s actually nice to get out and see what we have to offer everybody else.”
It also marked the first time she has been out on one of the district’s trails at night.
“It was super cool,” Steffen said. “Gorgeous night. We were looking at the stars. They do stargazing, too. I want to come back to do that.”
The Plum Creek Nature Center has a busy fall and winter schedule still ahead, including a Hibernation PJ Party in December. The weekend after Halloween, from 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Nov. 5, the nature center will offer an expanded drop-in Pumpkin Smash program.
“We’ll have different smashing stations to just obliterate the pumpkins you’re done with from Halloween,” Van Zyl said. “Then, we will compost all of those. It’s a really fun way to recycle your pumpkins, rather than just putting them in the trash and having them end up in the landfill.”
Those looking to get their fix of the forest preserves at night have a few upcoming opportunities with the Forest Preserve District of Will County’s Owl Prowls, including those at the Hickory Creek Preserve — LaPorte Road Access in Mokena, Plum Creek Nature Center in Crete Township and Messenger Woods Nature Preserve in Homer Glen.
“Night hikes are always really popular,” Van Zyl said. “It’s a fun opportunity to get to be out in the preserves at night, because that’s not an option unless you’re out here as part of a program or come out here to camp.”
Bill Jones is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.