By Mary Fairchild After rock climbing at Devils Lake one evening, we saw a strange shape in the grass alongside the lake. It was a great time to spot it as the sun was beginning to set and shadows began to detail the shape. (Pictures on Flickr) Devil’s Lake State Park, which is approximately 15…
Search Results for: sea kayaking
If I Could Turn Back Time: ESCONI Rock Club
By Mary Fairchild “The Mazon Creek flora is renowned for being almost completely collected by amateurs. Since 1858, in an area covering approximately 100 square miles, untold numbers of collectors have gathered fossils in quantities unprecedented in North America.” Jack Wittry In the mid-1990s when our family first became interested in collecting fossils our electric bill…
Surfing Baja’s Pacific Coast
By Mary Fairchild Although it is possible to ride storm surf, tidal bores, and swell, what provides us with ‘the finest waves to ride’ is swell arriving on a suitable beach. Nigel Foster (1) During the first week of April, I was fortunate to be a part of Gini Callahan’s first sea kayak surf camp…
Mirror, Mirror, on the Water: A Tranquil Paddle at Mirror Lake State Park
By Mary Fairchild Chelsea Boots appreciates the serenity of Mirror Lake as she quietly discovers the oak/pine forest reflection before her for the first time. …there is rarely a wind-stirred ripple on the water’s still surface— Mirror Lake is a narrow river-like waterway between tall cliff-sided gorges that is about 4 miles long. An impoundment of Sauk County’s Dell…
Deep Politics in Chicago: Money, Power, and Marilyn
By Mary Fairchild The “Welcome to Chicago” sign at the Indiana border on Chicago’s South Side is within POD surveillance. PODs are surveillance cameras with zoom and 360 degree rotation capabilities for high-crime areas. They are mounted on city light poles to help reduce violent crime and drug dealing. In a recent Chicago Magazine article titled “Why is…
Redeveloping Chicago
Mayor Emanuel calls Lake Michigan “our Grand Canyon” and he has big plans to “make it a recreational frontier.” Governor Quinn added, “Nature-based tourism is a popular new trend.” NBC News In a joint initiative between the Chicago Park District, the Forest Preserve District of Cook County, and the city of Chicago, plans are in the works for the “redevelopment…