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Turtle Pond LbNA #19960

Owner:Kiddy Writer
Plant date:Jan 12, 2006
Location:
City:Glenview
County:Cook
State:Illinois
Boxes:1
Found by: goofy86
Last found:Jun 25, 2015
Status:FFFFFFFFFFaFFFFFFFFF
Last edited:Jan 12, 2006
The Grove is the location of Glenview’s national historic landmark, “The Kennicott House” and the “Turtle Pond” letterbox. It is at 1421 Milwaukee Avenue, just south of Lake Avenue. This public park has six buildings of all sizes. Check them out when you visit, though they will not all be open. Hours are 8 am until 4:30 pm weekdays, 9 to 5 on weekends. Walking the trails will be a highlight of your visit to this park. This letterbox adventure is an easy one and can be enjoyed by young and old. It is also wheelchair accessible.

You’ll find The Grove on the east side of Milwaukee Avenue. Enter the grounds and drive up the car track past a large, beige house. That’s “The Kennicott House.” It was the home of Chicago’s first medical doctor, Dr. John Kennicott. He arrived in 1834 and built this house in 1856. It was restored to the tune of about a half million in the 1970s. A tour of the house can be arranged on Sundays from 1 to 4. Leave your car in the first parking area, turning right after passing the big beige house. If it’s full, feel free to park in the second lot.

After parking, you should look around for a wooden portal that points the way to a Visitor Entrance. Don’t bring your pooch. With all the wildlife in the park, they’re not allowed out of the car. Walk the paved path. Soon you’ll come to a stone bench. Take a rest and breathe in the fresh air. If it’s spring, look for some bloodroot, trillium, or May apples.

Pick yourself up and continue on down the paved path. You could go left, but you won’t be right. In a few steps, a vernal pond should be on your left. Take the wooden boardwalk when you finish finding “Turtle Pond.” If it’s summer, you might look for turtles in the pond. They love this wetland, as do the ducks.

See the cage in front of you that looks like a corncrib? That’s the home of a great horned owl. After finding your treasure, you might want to go say, “Hi.”

For now, take a right into the Interpretive Center, built in 1989. You will find a welcome over the front door. If you look right just before walking onto the porch, you’ll see birds at a bird feeder. If it’s early or late in the day, you might see Mr. and Mrs. Raccoon getting breakfast or dinner there.

As you walk in the door of the 5000 square foot log cabin (yes, it really is a log cabin), you’ll walk right into a turtle pond. There are all kinds in this pond. In a smaller tank behind this one, you’ll see a 140-year-old snapping turtle. He comes up every so often to get a breath of air. You might be lucky enough to see him take his hourly gasp.

Wander around the Center to see all the fish, snakes, turtles and critters. In a room to the left of the turtle pond as you face the pond after coming in the door, you’ll find a Science Room. You could spend hours looking around here. There could be a number of people in here, so be careful with your next steps.

Find the bullfrogs. As you face the tank, look up. See the big fish? (Don’t touch him. He looks old and fragile.) Below his tail fin, you will find what you seek. After stamping, carefully rehide the box. Don’t let anyone see you.