End of the Road

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The Wife and Kids at the End of the Trail

Last weekend we received lots of rain - around 9 inches or more in 48 hours! One storm was followed by the remnants of Hurricane Gustav so we got a great soaking. This 188 acre lake is usually hundreds of feet from the road and about 30 to 40 feet below it. This rain caused it to raise almost to street level (much higher than the photo) so only the tops of mature trees could be seen.

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The lake that's always there was made to collect rainwater from the neighborhood streets, and is stocked with fish for fishing. The majority of the park cannot be seen due to the overflow of water. It's a good thing, or our homes would most likely be underwater right now!

Beverly Shores Station

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The Historic Beverly Shores Station
Beverly Shores, Indiana

Built in 1929 by the Chicago South Shore and South Bend Railroad (an interurban electric railroad), the Beverly Shores station is a fine example of Spanish Revival architecture, and perhaps the last example of a train station built in this style. During this time, the railroad was owned by Samual Insull who also designed several other stations along the South Shore Line using this Spanish Revival style.

This particular station was boarded up in 1997, no longer fit for use. The station was saved and by 2001 it was restored and turned into the Beverly Shores Depot Museum and Art Gallery. The waiting room still serves as the train station waiting room for the South Shore Railroad.

Civil War Days

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Dellwood Park's
Civil War Days

A great way to learn about history is to recreate it (as long as you're careful not to repeat the bad parts). Civil War reenactments are a perfect way to understand not only the history of war, but the technology and protocol as well.

At this year's Civil War Days at Lockport's Dellwood Park, the battle and all of the functions leading up to it were described in minute detail by a narrator. This really helped everyone understand how things were done and why.

Colorful Sunset

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View from our Front Porch

After a hot day running around the shore and paddling the canoe, the boys and I were treated to a great sunset. With lows in the 50's and 40's this week, I hope that wasn't the last summer evening we can enjoy....

Sunny Side Up

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A Back lit Wildflower
Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore

While climbing the dunes in the morning sun, I noticed a few of these wildflowers growing along with the tall grasses. They looked great illuminated from behind by the sun .

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.

Hay Loft

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Raising Hay to the Loft
Pioneer Village
LaPorte County Fairgrounds
LaPorte, Indiana

A visit to the LaPorte County Fair would not be complete without stopping by the Pioneer Village area. This collection of buildings provides a look back into the days of early settlers in the area. A barn, home, store, school, post office and blacksmith shop are all included in the village. People in period dress staff the buildings and demonstrate how difficult life was before modern technology.

After the Catch

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Dusk
East Pierhead Light
Michigan City, Indiana

Fishermen leave the pier as the sun sets over Lake Michigan on a calm, summer evening. The lake was almost perfectly still, rippled only by the occasional boat wake or late swimmer.

Solar Beacon

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Illuminating the Dusk
Michigan City, Indiana

It was a great end to a great day in Michigan City, Indiana. A weekend day that was supposed to be a washout turned out great. We spent a few hours on the beach goofing around in the sand and in Lake Michigan, then did some shopping at the local malls, had dinner and headed back to the beach for sunset. It's kind of nice to have a very remote looking, dune filled beach VERY close to civilization and lots of stores and restaurants. Everyone's happy - beach goers, shoppers and lighthouse lovers alike.

I See You!

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Danny looking at his new friend

Danny was fascinated by this little grasshopper or leafhopper. He was tiny but didn't seem to mind being handled as long as he was standing upright.

We let him go soon after.

Non-tornadic Waterspout

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Waterspout in the Gulf of Mexico
Fort Desoto Park

After our visit to the fort, we headed to the beaches of Fort DeSoto Park. The North Beach was rated one of America's top beaches, so we wanted to check it out. On our way, we noticed a storm system in the distance, but it appeared to be moving in another direction and would not hit us. We also noticed a line dropping from the clouds to the water - a waterspout!

It wasn't too easy to see as it was the same color as the clouds behind it, but you could make out the spinning funnel and the splash of water at the base.

It was the first time the family saw a waterspout - (I saw one last year too) so it was a pretty cool thing to watch. This one lasted about 10 minutes and then disappeared.

The beach was filled with people, yet nobody left, they all watched the waterspout and continued swimming.

The storm never did come near the beach.

Non-tornadic or fair weather waterspouts are pretty common in Florida (400 a year in the keys alone). They're much weaker than tornadoes associated with supercell storms, and usually have winds of only 65 mph. They tend to be static as the clouds are forming vertically, not moving horizontally, so they're little concern of the waterspout moving toward you.

Visiting an Old Friend

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Peaceful End to a Beautiful Day
Clearwater Beach, Florida

There's nothing like visiting an old friend, and to me, Clearwater Beach is an old friend. Spending well over 40 vacations on this little island has made it a kind of second home - a familiar place with lots of friends. In this case, my friends were the motels and businesses (and a few people who would visit each year).

It was always interesting to see how things in Clearwater Beach changed from year to year, which hotels and restaurants changed names, remodeled, got new pools and paint jobs. Lately lots of the little motels have been bought out by developers who intend to build condos in their place. With all the construction and change, we decided to stay a few miles south where things are still at a slower pace.

It's still nice to stop by Clearwater Beach and walk along the shore where I first set foot in the Gulf of Mexico, built my first sand castle, casted my first fishing line, watched the fishing boats come in, collected brochures with my brother, found bags and bags of seashells, watched countless thunderstorms over the Gulf, enjoyed Howard Johnson's hot fudge sundaes, chased lizards, learned to swim..................

Anyway, it was great to walk along that beach again - even if it looks so much smaller now as compared to Treasure Island!

Gravity is Beautiful

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The bottom of Lake Falls
Matthiessen State Park

On a hot day at Matthiessen State Park near Utica, Illinois, it's worth the trip down to the bottom of the canyon. Not only for the beautiful view of the stream, sandstone cliffs and waterfalls, but it's much cooler at the bottom. If you get near the falls, the falling water creates a breeze that carries a cool spray of water.

Worth the trip - even if it's cool outside.