Hey there, I rediscovered ur page, have u toured the natural spring over in Gary?

So interesting, my mom just shared a story with me of her and her friends when they were younger and this was when the road was still open and exited at Hendricks street. They were afraid they wouldn’t make curfew so they turned onto the reder road and gunned it down there (keep in mind the road was already in bad shape so they were bouncing all around the car as they went over all those bumps)she said it definitely gave off this Erie vibe to it. Would love to get out there myself and explore it

So, as a child into young adulthood I crossed that bridge well over 1,000 times. This is where my brother and our friends hung out. The Grove was the place to go and party and party we did. Sadly a lot of unsavory people started hanging out there which eventually led to the downfall of The Grove. It still breaks my heart. Now a block away from here at the end of Desplaines street was the other part of our hangout which is also the site of the "Battle of Blue Island". I lived on Desplaines Street from age 12-18. I know this place like the back of my hand. Now the Cal Sag was just a part of Stoney Creek that was dredged out to make the canal and connection to Lake Michigan and the Desplaines River. My grandfather, George Franklin Stone was one of the crane operators involved in digging out the feeder canal well over 100 years ago. It's actually pretty cool to see someone draw attention to such an amazing area. BTW , the final house you show, whatever name they call it is where my brother in law lived as a kid. Thumbs up my friend 👍🏻 great video.

I'm from Blue Island and grew up hanging around the Calumet River in the area of a favorite hangout The Grove. Good times and great history.

Stony Creek likely originated in the great Sag Marsh; that marsh was a vast swampland ranging from (today's landmarks) around IL Route 83/171 almost to Blue Island. The drainage efforts (i.e.: Cal-Sag) changed the flow of Stony Creek. There's also an Post & Paul map designating the creek as "Aganaske Creek".

Reminds of Port Arthur,TX.I lived there for about two years and the same things are happening there.The while Beaumont -Port Arthur-Orsnge Metropolitan area is the Rust Belt of the South.

I think this was another fantastic video that showcases the potential of the Calumet Region. The region's environment has undergone so many drastic and consequential changes over only about a hundred or so years, a lot of which have been detrimental to the plants, animals, and people here. It would be wonderful if we could incorporate more natural areas, do more to clean up the environment, and create more parks and preserves. There's money in all of that too, I think it would be a big draw for the Calumet Region. Thanks for the sharing the cool video and starting these kinds of conversations!

Another fantastic video! Nature areas, hiking, old cemeteries, and live music?! This was packed with cool stuff. The park (and preserve) seems wonderful, and I've also noticed that older cemeteries often have beautiful views of the surrounding areas, creeks, and rivers. Thanks for the adventure and thanks for sharing!

Very enjoyable! What is a "burrow?"

Another place I'm fortunate to have also explored. Excellent video of it

and the trains, trains, trains, trains. Thanks for sharing.

Is it called Calumet because of Calumet baking powder?

“No more simplification, because it isn’t.” Everyone has an answer, just ask them.

good video. informative, although I'm not holding out hope for any contaminant remediation.

Looks like Cleveland

For we Illinois folks - wish you could have identified some of the steel works on shore. Nice boat ride!

Does the River flow into Lake Michigan or vice versa?

Gary USE to be a great city!!!!!! What happened????????

What's a bigger disgrace is Gary Indiana relieved $500 million dollars in Stimulus Money from the Obama administration? Where the F--k did the taxpayers dollars go??😮

Great Fallout movie set.

Demunist run dump for the last 77 years. liberalism is leprosy

It has a certain decrepit charm.

There is a subtle beauty in nature reclaiming these structures. I feel for all the folks in Gary and in every rust belt city. These cities were abandoned by greedy corporations and shady government over a half century ago. The people trying to rebuild these cities are too young to have lived in the "good" times and face tremendous obstacles. I wish the best for the good people of Gary!

Exactly one mile straight south of this location, with a manicured lawn and walled off by a wrought iron fence, is the home Michael Jackson and his siblings grew up in.

1:00 Gary is NOT a great city. It WAS a great city in the 1930's and '40's but has since declined to where it is a now - a decaying, dying shell of a city. Gary was ruined like many big cities by greedy politicians locally who stole federal money thrown at welfare and schools in hopes of somehow making things better.

apocalyptic...

depressing as hell....and I LIKE nature!

When I see videos like this, I always wonder where the owners are, and how one can just afford to abandon a house and property like that.

Fascinating

I morel mushroom hunt that area and I ride up and down the alleys on my Kawasaki KLR 650. Next spring I am going to add an Insta 360 camera on the back. The conditions of them alleys are definitely viral video worthy.

these are my stomping grounds 💪🏽🤩 When it's dry (or frozen) u can venture further along the actual riverbed from either direction from the frolf course using the deer/beaver trails 😏 Bring ur boots! 🥾🥾 Cool lil piece on the local beauty most ppl drive past w/o thought 😔 My coolest sightings have been: All the different Herons & Egrets, Beaver lodges, a Coyote running on the frozen river, an American Mink, the occasional turtle or frog, Wood Ducks, and the different neighborhoods of birds esp. the raptors 🦅🦉 The Woodpeckers run this area of the woods tho. I've seen @ least 4 or 5 different types in just this small strip of wilderness. 😍🤙🏽

Awesome video! Very interesting history about Meyer, the botonic gardens, and Meyer's Castle. I had known about Meyer's Castle, but only recently read about his his herbal business and writings. The castle and the Ideal Section would be a cool adventure, could cruise the Lincoln Highway too! 😎🚘

This is such a beautiful spot! Y'all are doing amazing work. Love to see the clean up and the environmental activism. These videos are always inspiring ❤✊️

Nice Video. I been over that bridge many times by car in the 1970's. A Truck drove over the bridge and the wood gave through. They never repaired the bridge. There are alot of homes in Blue Island from the mid 1800's. The oldest house in Blue Island I believe is from the 1830's.I once owned the house at 2355 Canal Street. It was built in 1858. It faces the water fall on the Canal.

My mom grew up on Division and Des Plaines Avenue right across the street from where you're at in Blue Island. She said her and her siblings used to run around and play in that creek as kids. My mom has since passed away. In a old book I saw a photo of a dam that was built there around 1839 where the abandoned blue bridge is now. It said Indiana residents blew it up because the dam would flood the Indiana Calumet area region. This would of been before the Cal Sag Chanel was built. That Midlothian Creek confluence area right where you're at was also a 1769 Ottawa Indian battlefield. Its the first battle which ended up at Starved Rock in Utica.

What up Sam! Missed you man. Been to Marquette Park before in the dune area a couple years ago and enjoyed it. Can't wait to come back to see the rest of the park sometime in the future. Peace!

Very cool spent lot of time in those woods as a kid. So many great memories. Lived right off chicago rd. And Laura lane. Was our go to place!

Nice video. Keep them coming.

Interesting, thanks for sharing!

Not gonna lie, this is a little depressing, but thank you for posting. You can find one of those little Herb Doctor catalogs at nearly every estate sale in the region (along with the Forest Trees of Illinois booklet if you venture over the border).

NO PEACE. These progressive maniacs won't be satisfied until the entire planet is developed. They call it "progress". Fact is this area has gotten progressively worse with noise and pollution over just the last two decades. That levee had thousands of mature trees to block some of the noise- now it has none- ZERO. And they can't give the measly 30 acres back to nature where it belongs?? Money (capitalism) is destroying the natural world day by day, minute by minute and most of us stand back and applaud because we've been propagandized to believe and accept "progress".

toll road

following little creeks is my Michiana passtime.

When we lived in Porter County, I would take I-94 over Salt Creek. During heavy rains Salt Creek would rise to the level of I-94 which served as a dam. I have seen salmon scurry across the lanes in water measured in inches seeking the river and succeeding.

City West was founded to be a rival to Chicago. It later was renamed as Tremont. In the 1960s and 1970s in became part of the Indiana Dunes National Lake Shore later National Park. It lay beside US 12 and the site is now just east of the South Shore RR's Dunes Park Station. All buildings were demolished in the early 1970s.

My best friend's dad was a heavy equipment operator when we were growing up in the 1950s in Chicago. He would often tell us about relics found during construction of suburban subdivisions. Because Illinois at the time required the landowner to bear the cost of any archeological work on the owner's land, the relics were buried or bulldozed. Mounds were leveled, pottery shards were graded out, and on occasion, bones were found, which were always classified as animal by the foreman and buried.

Im from homewood and have found artifacts in my yard and a nearby town. FYI, there is a Native American burial site in thornton (protected site) close to the mentioned Lake Wampum.

Most fascinating channel I have found in years ❤ I grew up just East of South bend and have lived in Michigan City. I have visited Chicago over 200 times, and what I like about your videos is a background of the history and study of nature.... Well done...

I found this channel 1 hour ago..... Fantastic work 💯 I am subscribing 😊!