Troll Hunting at the Morton Arboretum

Liz and I met up with Michelle, Mike, and Fritz for an early breakfast at Buttermilk.

Note to self: it’s worthwhile to order the omelettes because they come with a side of buttermilk pancakes. But remember that this is a colossal amount of food.

The omelette itself was like a mini Nerf football. Sitting on a sea of diced, roasted potatos. The side of pancakes was almost enough on its own to serve as an entree. In terms of a splurge, this was pretty high on the list.

I convinced myself that all those calories was for the adventure ahead. Instead of our usual hanging out and talking for 20 minutes in the parking lot… we decided to also schedule in an activity, in addition to just meeting and chatting over brunch.

So we all headed over to the Morton Arboretum, to participate in the Troll Hunt!

I bragged to Liz that I featured Thomas Dambo’s trolls on the blog a few years ago, and she wasn’t all that impressed. I felt like quite the trend setter with this info, but all I got was a “That’s nice, hon” pat on the shoulder.

Dambo’s Instagram account is a fun follow. Cool to see some of the behind the scenes stuff (like how they get supplies to remote locations).

The first troll was very easy for us to find – just off the parking lot!

Bad parking spot.

Troll close-up.

Along our path, we encountered several displays made entirely out of Lego’s.

A troll might be nearby.

Troll butt.

Michelle and Fritz walk up to what is, in all likelihood, just a normal basket out in the open.

Troll peeking out from its hiding spot.

Troll waiting, while Fritz explores.

The trolls were “hidden” in various spots across the grounds. It would be a big walk to see all of them, so we settled on just visiting the few nearby where we parked. It was helpful to keep an eye out for these signs, which kept you pointed in the right direction.

Another hidden troll.

Liz, checking out the rope.

Michelle, trying to get free from the trap.

We theorized that originally, this installation featured a rope cage – and enabled folks to stand inside for photos (there was a wooden platform directly underneath the pulley).

We spent a few hours walking around – it was a lovely day, perfect weather, and not overly hot. The first part of the trail had us out in the open walking through fields/plains. The second half, we were in more of a forest setting, underneath a lot of shade.

Liz and I have been meaning to come out here to see the trolls for some time now, so it was nice to turn this into a group event. We have more trolls on our list to see, so hopefully we’ve all got another excursion in our futures.

We ended our trip by stopping at the Visitor Center, where they had a lot of food and drink available. And, apparently, canned drinks available. This will have to be our first stop, next time around!

Related:
Brunch at the Baked Apple
Pancakes and Dinosaurs
The Six Forgotten Giants