Hurricane Ike's Damage.. Northwest Indiana gets more rain than Texas!

Hurricane Ike did more than dump water on the Texas coast.. It wrecked havoc all up and down the mid-section of this country, some places getting hit harder than others. Near Dayton, Ohio, the winds were so fierce, that trees were broken or uprooted.. wading pools sailed through the air, 'til neighborhood children caught them and held them down and the remnants of IKE were felt all the way to Iceland, the winds fierce there, also.

Gasoline prices in Tennessee and Kentucky climbed to incredible highs near $5.00 a gallon, when the scare of refiners being shut down in Texas because of the storm, drove people into gas stations to buy gas they didn't need.. filling up every tank and gas can they owned. Stations ran out of gas quickly.. The station owner we talked to was on his fourth delivery for the day and it was only mid-day. He said it would be all gone within 2 hours.. and then, he didn't know what he was going to do about prices.. Everyone around him was already at $4.29 or more.. So far, he'd been able to hold the line on his prices at $3.85.. I thanked him for doing so. Shouldn't have had to thank him for doing the "right thing".. but greed is a powerful thing.. and greed for money is far worse. And all the stations anywhere near him has already succumbed to making a quick dollar.... the "Almighty Dollar".. I can't even imagine how many fortunes were made that day.. at the expense of people who probably couldn't afford to lose any of theirs. :(

Here, in Northwest Indiana, however.. the real story was RAIN. I've never seen so much rain fall on this area.. not ever... and I've been living here almost 29 years. The exact measurement was somewhere over 11 inches.. If not for the fact that the ground was so parched from not having adequate rain the 2-1/2 weeks before the deluge, things here could have been far worse, tho things were bad enough... of this I am postive.

At Indiana Dunes State Park, on the northern-most end of Chesterton, IN, what happened was so bizzarre, it was almost unbelievable. My friend, who saw it happen, could hardly believe his eyes... Depending on how the wind blows, men using sand-moving equipment move the sand around on the beach to keep up with the flow from the water from the Creek that runs through the park and empties into Lake Michigan.. We're not sure exactly how it happened, but apparently the sand was piled wrong.. or it moved after it was piled up... and the water rushing out of the Creek started to back-flow. It back-flowed all the way to the gully on the far east side of the parking lot... and after that area was full, it started to run it's way down the side of the parking lot... back towards the Lake where it normally flows.

It was raining here so hard at the time, the rain coming down in sheets most of that while.. that it was not only running down the side of the parking lot, but started to wash away the sand at the same time.. The harder it ran, the more sand it picked up and washed away.. first from the side of the parking lot.. then UNDER the parking lot. It eventually undermined the asphalt and that collapsed, sending the water in a new direction... now running under the cement pad that runs directly over the Creek and the discharge area to the beach. Eventually, part of the cement pad had no sand left to hold it up and that also broke away, leaving only the cement barrier wall that the pad that backed up onto. If you look at the one photo, it clearly shows the drop-off where cement used to be, but is no longer..

Another photo shows where the beach USED to be.. Now, it's all water that's coming in there.. and with each wave of water, more sand is being washed out from the area that was once many-feet-deep with sand... and the parking area that continues to erode. The one photo that's taken from the beach looking up towards the eastern-most curved retaining wall for the Creek, clearly shows water now where the sand used to be, but beyond that, you can see part of the Dune has also been sliced-away, the trees at the bottom used to be on top of that dune... as did the now-dangling fence. The asphalt from the parking lot has heaved in that area, but in other areas, the gaping hole is anywhere from 10 to possibly 20 feet deep. No matter which edge of the cement or asphalt we looked at today, there is nothing under them for quite aways..

I wonder exactly how much more of the cement pad and asphalt parking lot will have to be destoyed in the effort to rebuild the damaged area.. Without a doubt, this is going to be an incredible feat to repair all the damage.. and what's visible isn't all there is... many more materials will have to be removed before they can even begin to fix the problem.. Probes will have to be driven down through the cement to see how far towards the Pavillion building (and the rest of the parking area) the erosion has traveled.. And none of it visible at all. Right now, you can't get to the Eastern side of the beach... the only access there.. is entry from the campgrounds, even though the beach at the West Lot in IDSP is still open. Many people don't even realize the West Lot exists..

This is a really heart-breaking situation for those of us who frequent the Indiana Dunes... but a true catastrophe for the already money-strapped State Park.. I do hope no one is hurt in the process of rebuilding it all, as I noticed one man couldn't resist the temptation to walk down the sand and stand on one of the slabs of upturned asphalt.. and if one man did it, many others have already and will again.. A very dangerous situation over there. :(

Sunsets at Indiana Dunes State Park..

There are no two sunsets alike.. especially true at the Dunes State Park in Chesterton, Indiana, where you can watch the sun setting into Lake Michigan.. Some nights you can almost feel it sizzle as it touches water! Each night of the year, the sun sets in a slightly different place, making each sunset a unique experience. If you're close enough to visit the Park, you can start with a sunrise (just as beautiful as sunset), stay to enjoy the park and beach all day and behold a sunset over the water before you head home. It's definitely worth the entrance fee.. $5 in state, $10 out-of-state vehicles.. If you want to come back more often (we visit almost every day and some days, we visit twice or more..) there are season passes for $36 in-state, $48 out-of-state.. If you're traveling this way, stop in.. They have a really nice improved campground here, but I strongly recommend advance reservations, or you'll probably be disappointed, as the place is a very popular destination!! Nature puts on such a beautiful show all year 'round at this end of Lake Michigan.. We never get tired of visiting this beautiful place.. :) http://www.in.gov/dnr/parklake/6711.htm
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And RAINBOWS.. This one over the east side of Chesterton, Indiana.. Lovely things, rainbows.. and this one was quite spectacular after the rain and just as night was falling..
If there was a pot of gold at the end of this one, I didn't see it... but the rainbow itself was worth plenty! :)
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And BOATERS.. This one passing by just as the sun was setting west of Chicago.. I think that one of the buildings that were outlined on this photo was the John Hancock Building, but wouldn't swear to it.. All I know is that it was a spectacular sunet.. and from what I'm told, a very rare sight. :)
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