Pimiteoui Trail Association Hiking Club April – June 2013 President – Cindy Alexander – 309-231-2190 Vice President – Brian Cunningham – 309-633-1224 Secretary – Susan Hood – 309 -648 -2771 Treasurer – Linda Kent – 309-263-8500 Newsletter Editor – Jerry Gegel – 309-266-7533 Officer at Large – Mark Klokkenga – 309-678-3827 Officer at Large – Mike Bohn – 309-688-2791 ANNOUNCEMENTS Membership Items 1. Annual membership meeting was held on February 16, 2013 at Kep’s Sports Bar and Grill in Washington, IL. Club members present voted in favor of the PTA contributing funds to other trail-related organizations or events as deemed appropriate by the Board. An Election of Officers was held and resulted in a continuation of Officers currently serving; Cindy Alexander as President, Brian Cunningham as Vice President, Linda Kent as Treasurer and Susan Hood as Secretary. See Event Report for complete details. 2. Annual dues were due on February 16. 2013. To continue your membership and continue to receive this Newsletter send your dues to Club Treasurer: Linda Kent, 22172 Northfield Drive, Morton, IL 61550. Make checks payable to "Pimiteoui Trail Association”. 3. Historical Archives. 2013 is the 30th anniversary of the Pimiteoui Trail Association. Have you ever wondered who built the trail or how the club got started? Evelyn Berg was a Girl Scout leader back in the ’60s and a member of the Peoria Historical Society. She loved the outdoors and enjoyed researching local history. Both of these interests were brought together with the founding of the Girl Scout Trail, the precursor of the Pimiteoui Trail. When Evelyn passed away several years ago, her daughter generously gave the club some of Evelyn's personal archives. Visit the club's website ( www.ptahike.org ) to read the transcripts of these archives. And check back to view additional postings that will be added later Upcoming Events/Happenings 1. Bicycling Opportunity – On May 4 and 5, George and Sandy Burrier will lead a bike ride thru the western suburbs of Chicago. Cycling will be on 3 different trails -- IL Prairie Path, Fox River Trail & Great Western Trail. By combining the trails we will be riding a triangular path and will not need to retrace our “steps”. The trails are mostly converted railroad line property so will be mostly “flat”. Parking for both days will be in the Winfield lot at the intersection of County Farm and Geneva Road called Kline Creek Farm/Timber Ridge Forest Preserve. This lot will park about 12 cars; overflow parking is available across the street in a strip mall. On both days our start time will be 9 AM. For more information contact Sandi & George Burrier via email ( [email protected] ,) or 309-231-3748 (M) or 309-266-5085 (H) after April 1. 2. Rock Island Greenway (Kellar Branch) Fundraiser previously scheduled for May 18, 2013 has been cancelled. A fundraiser will be rescheduled for a later date after the Greenway has been completed. PTA Hiking Club Newsletter 1. For 2013, the newsletter will be “published” quarterly. Hike leaders; please email your Event Reports to [email protected] within two weeks after completion of your scheduled events. A single photo (jpeg file format) for inclusion in the Newsletter may be attached to your report if desired 2. Hike Leaders are to register all attendees for a hike/bike/paddle event using the “official” Pimiteoui Trail Association Liability Waiver form. These may be obtained on our website at WWW.PTAHIKE.ORG . For Outdoor Events 1. In case of bad weather, contact the hike leader to see if the hike has been cancelled. 2. Any hike leader wanting to use the club’s first aid kit can obtain it by calling Jay Meinrich. EVENTS SCHEDULE Event 2013-7, Saturday, April 13, 2013, 8:30 AM – Sand Ridge State Forest Let's get together and hike Illinois's largest State Forest, Sand Ridge, near the town of Manitou, this spring. The past one or two trips to Sand Ridge have been in the summer, so it will be great to see the seasonal differences. Sand Ridge State Forest has huge expanses of oak, hickory and pine trees, open fields and grasslands, and unique sand prairies, making up a total of 7200 acres. This area has often been referred to as a forested island, due to the fact that it is different than the agricultural land that surrounds it, supporting plant and animal life more closely associated with southwest, than the midwest. In addition to the many acres of pines, other examples, regarding what makes this area different, include the badger, bladder pod, and especially the prickly pear cactus. We will be too early to see the prickly pear cactus flowers, but the plants should be present at the time of our hike. There are 44 miles of marked trails ranging in length from 1.5 to 15 miles, many of which are interconnected. I will scout out the trails and terrain to see which ones provide the greatest opportunity to see the diversity of the landscape. Please be prepared for a moderately strenuous hike. Let’s meet at the Pekin Riverfront Park for carpooling. Be sure to check out any specific updates as provided in a reminder that will be emailed to PTA members at the beginning of the week prior to the date of this event. Following our hike, we will drive into Manito and go to the Ironwood Restaurant for lunch, conveniently located next door to Willet's Winery. Hike Leader : Mark Klokkenga, 309-678-3827, [email protected] Event 2013-8, Wednesday, April 17, 2013 , 5:30 PM – Bike Ride on River Trail of IL – East Peoria to Morton We will meet at 5:30pm in the parking lot in East Peoria on the south side of the Bob Michael Bridge. The parking lot is between the Granite City restaurant and the bridge. There is plenty of room to park. We will ride the River Trail of Illinois (Carl "Bud" Schmitt Trail ). It is 100% asphalt paved. So, road- bikes will be ideal. The ride will be about a 20 mile round trip. Ride Leader: Brian Cunningham, 309-633-1224 Event 2013-9, April 20, 2013, 9:00 AM – Earth Day - Great American Clean Up \ Keep Peoria Beautiful (Service Day) On Saturday April 20, 2013 we will meet at the Peoria Heights Library rear parking lot at 9am to celebrate Earth Day by participating in this annual community litter pick-up campaign. This event provides much synergy for our group by enabling us to simultaneously celebrate Earth Day both by getting some hiking in and also contributing toward a less littered trail and city. We will focus on cleaning the litter on the PPD Rock Island Greenway going south from the library and make our way toward Springdale Cemetery. This part of trail is not paved yet. Some garbage bags and gloves will be provided by the Keep Peoria Beautiful organization. If you have litter picker\ grabber tools at home please bring them. Coordinator: Brian Cunningham, 309-633-1224 2 Event 2013-10, Wednesday, May 1, 2013, 5:30 PM – The May 1 hike has been relaocated due to river flooding. We will hike a different segment of the East Peoria River Trail. Meet at the caboose at the Fon du Lac Park Dist. Admin. Building 201 Veterans Drive. In East Peoria. Hike leader Cindy Alexander 309-231-2190 Event 2013-11, Sunday, May 19, 2013, 2:00 PM – Jubilee Park The park is located west of Peoria a few miles off I-74. Take exit #82 to Kickapoo, and Jubilee State Park, and follow the road to a "T" intersection in Kickapoo. Make a left onto Rt. 150. In a couple miles there will be a sign to Jubilee Park Historic site. Do not take that road, but continue on Rt. 150, past Kickapoo Creek to the main Park Entrance. Take the Park road to just past the Park Office. Go a short distance past the office, and take the first right turn which will quickly end at a "T" intersection. Go left to the Bow Wood Glen parking lot. The trails are moderately hilly and mostly wide. We will hike about two hours. We will cancel if it's raining heavily, as the trails will be very muddy. You can find maps online. Maps provided by the park are difficult to read. Afterwards, we will stop to eat at the Jubilee Cafe restaurant located back at the I-74 exit. Be sure to save room for homemade pie. And be sure and bring your check book or cash as they do not accept credit or debit cards. Hike Leaders: Doug and Toni Lais (507) 358-3981 Event 2013-12, Saturday, May 25 2013, 10:30 AM – Fugate Woods Nature Preserve & Kilgus Farmstead, Fairbury Come out on this May morning to Fugate Woods Nature Preserve ( http://www.fugatewoods.org ), located in the abundant prairie croplands just 2 1/2 miles northeast of Fairbury, Illinois. This natural area contains more than 150 acres of native timber and restored prairie. We will start on the Gathering Grove Trail from Fairbury, explore Fugate Woods’ four loops of trails and then walk back out to Fairbury. The trails are flat, not paved, and might be muddy, so just be sure to bring proper boots. Leashed dogs are welcome. We will hike for about 2 h. Afterwards we can gather for lunch at an eatery in Fairbury and then end with a guided tour of the Kilgus Farmstead 1 mile south of Fairbury (http://www.kilgusfarmstead.com ). Tours will begin and end at the Farmstead Country Store where you can purchase Kilgus and other local products.