The prairie is not so much a place as it is an experience. It’s and ever changing kaleidoscope of brilliantly colored flowers and plumed grasses waving in the wind. It is plants with such intriguing names as rattlesnake master, compass plant, shooting star, gay feather and big bluestem. Only a small fraction of Illinois’ original 22 million acres of prairie remains. The Illinois Department of Transportation is involved in a number of programs to restore wildflowers and native grasses along many of our roadsides to offer a sense of this experience to future generations.