Inside the Dellwood Dam

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Valve and Pipes Inside the Dam
Dellwood Park
Lockport, IL

At the turn of the 20th century, Dellwood Park was turned into an amusement park by the Chicago and Joliet Railroad. The park offered swimming and boating in a large lagoon created by damming Fraction creek in two places. The natural limestone dells provided the perfect place to hold in the water. This appears to be a valve that would regulate the flow of water from the upstream dam to the downstream dam.

Dellwood

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Dellwood Park Dam
Lockport, Illinois

Just after the turn of the century, The Chicago and Joliet Electric Railroad built the 150 acre Dellwood Park in Lockport, Illinois. The park was developed into an amusement park specifically to increase ridership on the railway. The park had some interesting natural features such as tiny Fraction Creek and limestone dells. Dams were built across the creek to raise the water level to a sufficient depth for swimming and boating.

The dams still exist in ruin today, but most other buildings have been removed or destroyed by a 1930 fire. Fraction Creek feeds the Illinois and Michigan Canal at the edge of the park, where the modern railroad now runs.

After the Storm

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Sunset After the Storm
Treasure Island, Florida

Our last day in Florida was almost a complete washout. It rained from about 11:00 am until 7:00 pm. A rainy day in Florida is better than a sunny day at home, so we spent it shopping and seeing some sites indoors.

When we arrived back at the motel, the rain stopped and we headed off for one last walk on the beach. With all of the rain, the block walk from the street to the water was flooded. I've never seen so much rainwater on a beach - it was half way up to our knees in some places. Once we got to the water we were treated to this sunset. Along with the interesting sunset, the tide was low and in some places we were able to walk out into the water for a couple of hundred feet without ever going deeper than our knees. If I didn't have my camera, I'm certain I could have waded out past the buoys and never had to swim.

We found lots of little seashells that were really interesting and Kim found a baby shark that was dead. Of course we picked it up and passed it around to other people at the beach. An interesting site, yet we felt a bit somber for the poor thing. One thought entered my mind - if this baby shark is here, mommy and daddy are probably around somewhere....

Morning on the Dune

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View from Mt. Baldy

A morning hike to the top of Mt. Baldy yielded plenty of neat sites. The vivid blue sky and deep blue water provided a great contrast to the sand and clouds.

We also managed to see a rare inhabitant of the Indiana Dunes, a racerunner lizard. I thought we were too high in latitude to see any lizards, but the sand dunes provide the warmth and protection necessary to survive the winter.

St. Joseph Harbor

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St. Joseph Harbor Entrance

Took a long walk on a long pier to get this shot of the inner light of the St. Joseph, Michigan range lights. In the foreground is the beacon marking the southern limit of the entrance to the St. Joseph River and St. Joseph Harbor. Chris and I ventured to the end and climbed up to the base of the beacon (there's a hidden staircase without handrails) to get a great view of the lake and of Silver Beach, the beach to the south of the St. Joseph River.

Silver Beach has soft, powdery sand and not too many rocks - perfect for spending the day in the sand. A children's playground is also on the sand to keep the kids occupied once they're tired of building sandcastles and collecting snail shells.

Lake Michigan Shoreline

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Driftwood, Sand, Water and Wind

Our regular walks along the shore of Lake Michigan give us the opportunity to see lots of driftwood, sand, water and interesting fossils. This spot has proven to have an abundance of small crinoid stem fossils and lots of driftwood.

Racing Down the Dune

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Running Down Mt. Baldy
Michigan City, Indiana

As usual, our Saturday started out with a visit to Mt. Baldy along the southeastern shore of Lake Michigan. It was warm and sunny yet windy, creating some heavy surf on the lake. The kids had lots of fun in the sand- especially running up and down the dunes.

Returning to Port

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Sailboat Returning to Port
St. Joseph, Michigan

A sailboat returns to the St. Joseph river from a cruise on Lake Michigan; the perfect activity on a hot summer day.