Dunes Heritage Hike and dinner at Wagner's

http://photos1.meetupstatic.com/photos/event/9/3/4/6/event_180757702.jpegnote: since so many have signed up for this hike, please make sure to cancel if you won't be coming.

because of the weather forecast, i have decided to shorten the hike a bit, and eliminate the need to shuttle cars from one trailhead to another. but we will meet in the same place, and it shouldn't affect anyone too much, except that we will be hiking a shorter time, and we will not have to wait around while cars are moved.

note that the parking lot is actually a bit north of US 20 on Mineral Springs rd

we invite you to a

day hike

at the Bailly Homesite & Chellberg Farm

in the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore

Saturday, November 23

starting at 11 AM

hike is 4.6 miles

chances to shortcut further if needed

dear hiking friends-

This weekend we will have a day hike on the Little Calumet and Chellberg Farm trails, which feature a cross section of the history of the region.

please check before departure and have appropriate clothing and equipment. ( http://www.weather.com/outlook/homeandgarden/garden/tenday/USIN0233?from=36hr_topnav_garden ). be sure to dress warmly, for the forecast is for wintry conditions. bring along a lunch which we will eat on the trail, plus enough water (one quart minimum).

I will pass a hat for a small contribution to cover the costs of meetup.

i will want to mingle, and not lead the hike the whole time. since this is a complex route, with lots of unexpected twists and turns, i'd like to emphasize--if you get ahead of me, make sure to stop whenever you come to a junction with another trail or road, or in any place where the trail is ambiguous or confusing. I will make sure to lead in the most difficult places. make sure you know where your car is parked, and i will have maps to pass out. i also encourage you all to take and post pictures.

We will meet in the parking lot of the Chellberg Farm on Mineral Springs rd at 11:00, wait for all to assemble, and start hiking at 11:30. we will soon arrive at the Bailly Homestead, with preserved cabins and outbuildings of a nineteenth century fur trader, who has the dubious honor of having that eyesore of a power plant that dominates the lakefront named after him.

We will hike through a remnant of the vast prairies which started around this area and continued west to the Rocky Mountains. we will stop for a lunch break at the bridge over the Little Calumet river. we will traverse the wetlands on a boardwalk, and walk thru some woods and arrive at an interesting pioneer cemetery.

While most Midwest pioneers were Protestants, the early settlers here were French Catholics, and the cemetery is somewhat more ornate than most pioneer graveyards in keeping with Catholic custom, complete with carved passages from the Apocrypha, which consists of the ancient Hebrew holy books traditionally found in the Catholic Bible but rejected as canon by Protestants and Jews.

After walking thru some pleasant valleys and stream beds (don't worry, there is a boardwalk) we will enter a preserved farm from early in the last century, which unfortunately has lost its animals due to the chronic budget problems of the National Park Service, then arrive back at the parking lot.

Afterwards, for those who wish to join us, we will enjoy the Hoosier hospitality of dinner at Wagner's in Porter http://chicago.metromix.com/restaurants/barbecue/wagners-ribs-porter/138276/content .

please let me know if you expect to come to this event, and if you can give someone a ride, or need a ride (and what area you live in). I also encourage you to take pictures on the hike and post them to meetup, and to give the event an evaluation (if you had a good time : ) ) Before the hike I will pass a hat to request a small donation to help cover the expenses of meetup.

a few suggestions to make things run more smoothly

1. print out the announcement, or at least the directions ahead of time and bring it with you in your car if you are driving or navigating--I have frequently been delayed from arriving on time myself because I'm giving directions over the phone

2. bring enough cash to cover your meal if you come to dinner: restaurants usually don't like splitting up credit card charges, and it just delays and complicates the process of paying the bill

3. if you are going to be late, be sure to call my cell phone at 773-415-0428. If you will be a little late, we will usually wait for you. If you're going to be more than about 15-20 minutes late, I will tell you how to meet us farther down the trail so everyone else doesn't have to wait.

hope to see you there,

Rick

directions:

by car via Dan Ryan: follow I-90 (Kennedy-Dan Ryan) East; at exit 59A, be sure to follow signs to "Chicago Skyway/Indiana Toll road" (the Skyway will turn into the Indiana Toll rd at the state line, cash or i-pass); at I-90 exit 21, get onto I-94, be sure to go east (marked Detroit); exit I-94 at exit 22 marked US 20 east; you will go under a railroad viaduct, then about another mile to the second flashing yellow light which is Mineral Springs rd, turn left here; less than a mile on the left is the parking lot for Chellberg Farm, pull into the parking lot and wait there; there is a modern washroom, but drinking water is probably turned off for the season; try to arrive by 11:00; we will move some cars around, wait till 11:30, then begin on foot.

by car via Lake Shore dr/Stony Island ave: (driving time from downtown is about 1 hour 15 minutes) follow Lake Shore dr south to 57 st; exit at 57 st, and get into the left lane--the road will curve to the left and become Cornell dr as it passes the Museum of Science and Industry, then will turn into Stony Island ave; continue south in the middle lanes, and get on the Chicago Skyway (around 79 st); (the Skyway will turn into the Indiana Toll rd at the state line, cash or i-pass); at I-90 exit 21, get onto I-94, be sure to go east (marked Detroit); exit I-94 at exit 22 marked US 20 east; you will go under a railroad viaduct, then about another mile to the second flashing yellow light which is Mineral Springs rd, turn left here; less than a mile on the left is the parking lot for Chellberg Farm, pull into the parking lot and wait there; there is a modern washroom, but drinking water is probably turned off for the season; try to arrive by 11:00; we will move some cars around, wait till 11:30, then begin on foot.

from Northwest, West, or South suburbs: follow the Tri-State tollway (I-294) east until it merges with I-94 east; exit I-94 at exit 22 marked US 20 east; you will go under a railroad viaduct, then about another mile to the second flashing yellow light which is Mineral Springs rd, turn left here; less than a mile on the left is the parking lot for Chellberg Farm, pull into the parking lot and wait there; there is a modern washroom, but drinking water is probably turned off for the season; try to arrive by 11:00; we will move some cars around, wait till 11:30, then begin on foot.

by the South Shore line: get the South Shore at the Metra Electric stations at Randolph (8:40 AM), Van Buren, Roosevelt rd, Hyde Park, etc; take the train to the Dune Park station; train arrives at 10:04. let me know beforehand if you're taking the train—and I will pick you up shortly before 11:00 and take you to the trailhead; wait at the station parking lot just outside the doors. there is a modern washroom, but probably no drinking water; see the website below for trains returning to Chicago; you also may be able to get a ride back to the city from someone else

here is the South Shore website: http://www.nictd.com/

The Dunes are to the Midwest what the Grand Canyon is to Arizona and the Yosemite is to California. They constitute a signature of time and eternity.

--Carl Sandburg