10/9-11/2008 - Chicago in October

Originally, Sharon and I had planned to see a band at the Chicago Theatre on Thursday night, but the show was postponed due to an injury to the lead singer (he fell off the stage at a prior show in Iowa ... go figure!). Since we had already Pricelined the Hyatt ($60/nt), we were committed to making the trip downtown. After checking in late Thursday, we headed up to the top of the Hancock Tower to have a couple drinks and enjoy the amazing view. On Friday, we visited the Shedd Aquarium and then met up with NIU grad, Dustin Oltman. Below are a few pics, as well as a pretty cool animation, from our trip.

View looking south, from the top of the Hancock.

View looking west, from the top of the Hancock.

Chicago Water Tower at night.

Chicago skyline, from the Shedd to the left, to the Loop and CBD in the center, to River East to the right.

A more detailed look at the CBD.

Golded Poison Frog at the Shedd Aquarium.

Big ol' turtle at the Shedd.

View, from our hotel room, of the fireworks on Friday night. Terminus of the Chicago River, Centennial Fountain, and Lake Shore Drive are pictured.

Michigan Avenue Bridge -- open to allow sailboats through for their annual wintering. Click here to see an animation illustrating the bridge closing.

Marina City towers.

9/14/2008 - Another Year, Another Flood

With 6.02" of rain from Friday night through early Sunday morning, DeKalb is once again in flood. Most of that six inches came in about a 5-6 hr window early Saturday morning. While the Kishwaukee River will not crest near the historic levels we witnessed last August, it is in moderate flood. In addition, many basements throughout the DeKalb and Chicagoland region were flooded -- including many of my neighbors' basements. States of emergency are in effect for many locations throughout Chicago.

Doppler Radar storm-total rainfall estimates. Highest rainfall totals were actually just south of DeKalb (red dot), which just happens to be the Kishwaukee River's headwaters.

Kishwaukee River hydrograph for the gauge at Lincoln Highway in DeKalb.

Prarie Park in flood.

DeKalb's new water park. Lions Park flooding -- on the southside of Taylor Street.

Residents of Taylor Street's Riverside Apartments deal with flooding once again. Note to self: never rent an apartment at a complex that has the name riverside.

9/6/2008 - Indiana Dunes and Chicago

On Saturday, Sharon and I took a day trip over to Indiana Dunes to check out the scenery. On the way back home, we drove through Chicago via Lake Shore Drive at dusk. Overall, a nice, short excursion on a college football Saturday that didn't feature any marquee games.

Road in Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore Park.

View from the top of Mt. Baldy, looking east toward a power plant in Michigan City. Interestingly, that is not a nuclear power plant; rather, it is a cooling tower for fossil fuel-supplied power plant.

Looking northwest from from the Museum Campus at a cloudy Chicago dusk.

Sears Tower from the sun roof.