UHHC Progress Report - Monday, May 4 - 6:43 a.m

Yesterday morning the Intrepid 3 + Coach informed Mike Smith and I that they were not planning to make the Chicago River until Tuesday. After some palavering Mike and I figured they should be able to make it by today, but they needed a place to camp last night, a daunting prospect given the industrial nature of that coast between Gary and Chicago.   I went to work with Live Search Virtual Earth which has Birdseye views. I followed along the shore locating every waterfront park and scoping the possibilities for camping, stealth or otherwise. I passed descriptions of each park to Mike and enlisted the aid of Neil Miller, one of the portage/swamp trompers. Eventually I got out of the loop by asking Mike and Neil to message each other directly. Smart move. I went down to the river and took a nap and when I got back up to the house and pulled up Toby's Tracker I saw that they were heading right for a casino and marina in Hammond, Indiana. All had been arranged by Mike and Neil.    Go to Mark's blog to see how they were treated when they arrived and a neat picture of the place.    Later There was a message from Dan on my answering machine saying that they only had 13 more miles to go to the Chicago River. Mike is on his way to Chicago this morning with his van and canoe trailer. Neil regrets that he can't be there too.   The Intrepid 3 will paddle up the Big Lake past Chicago's impressive lake front and into the Chicago River, finishing their mission. Coach and Mike will join them for a canoe parade through the Chicago "Canyon".    I will put out a bulletin as soon as I know they have made it.