Chuck M. posted an article on Chuck's Adventures - Dec 4, 2009, 12:01 pm
Today, only Len and I of our group were available for our usual hike, so we enjoyed the snow-covered trail in Crabtree Nature Center all by ourselves. In fact, we never saw anyone else during the hike...
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Chuck M. posted an article on Chuck's Adventures - Dec 4, 2009, 5:35 am
The following has been incorrectly attributed to Bill Gates, Ann Landers, Kurt Vonnegut, and Paul Harvey, but in fact is the work of author Charles J. Sykes. Rule 1: Life is not fair - get used to i...
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Chuck M. posted an article on Chuck's Adventures - Dec 1, 2009, 6:12 am
Here's a brief video preview of our upcoming Christmas Concert -- Joy to the World! -- to be held Saturday, December 5th at 7pm, and Sunday, December 6th 3 pm, at Alpine Church in Lake Zurich... ...
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Chuck M. posted an article on Chuck's Adventures - Nov 28, 2009, 6:17 am
Yesterday was a bright sunny day, belying the 32 degree temperature, but a beautiful day for a 5 mile hike in Lakewood Forest Preserve. There were lots of people, and a high-flying flock of over 80 s...
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Chuck M. posted an article on Chuck's Adventures - Nov 27, 2009, 6:58 am
Scott and Sarah, Steve, and I visited Mom in her rehab hospital room yesterday as she ate the tasty Thanksgiving meal the hospital provided her. Then after a few hours, we headed over to Linda and Ph...
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Chuck M. posted an article on Chuck's Adventures - Nov 26, 2009, 6:41 am
William Ward eloquently proclaimed, “Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it.” So always remember to make “Thanksgiving” a word of action.
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Chuck M. posted an article on Chuck's Adventures - Nov 26, 2009, 6:35 am
Last week, WGN Radio personality John Williams, after hearing about the City of Chicago scaling back its annual municipal Christmas tree to "only" $100,000, ranted that he could do it for a lot less t...
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Chuck M. posted an article on Chuck's Adventures - Nov 25, 2009, 7:42 am
The liquid inside young coconuts can be used as a substitute for blood plasma. 

No piece of paper can be folded in half more than seven (7) times. 

 Oak trees do not produce acorns unt...
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Chuck M. posted an article on Chuck's Adventures - Nov 24, 2009, 10:17 am
I love satire and political satire is especially good. I don't agree with all the sentiments in this piece, but this musical video by comedian Tim Hawkins is clever, cute, holds way too much trut...
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Chuck M. posted an article on Chuck's Adventures - Nov 22, 2009, 5:07 pm
The last 2 days, I've biked 36 miles on the Busse Trail before visiting Mom in Alexian Rehab Hospital. Lots of people out enjoying the beautiful weather, and also a lot of deer wandering the wood...
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Chuck M. posted an article on Chuck's Adventures - Nov 20, 2009, 2:21 pm
A few weeks ago, the City of Chicago announced it would scale back on its annual Christmas tree due its high cost of $300,000. The tradition was to construct a huge tree out of dozens of smaller ones...
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Chuck M. posted an article on Chuck's Adventures - Nov 19, 2009, 9:04 am
And you thought those people that set up a room full of dominoes to knock over were amazing. When this Honda ad was pitched to senior executives, they signed off on it immediately without any hesitati...
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Chuck M. posted an article on Chuck's Adventures - Nov 17, 2009, 9:41 pm
Not many posts from me this past week. Last Thursday, my mother broke her hip, fell to the floor of her apartment, and lay there yelling for help for 7 hours until she was discovered by the staff whe...
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Chuck M. posted an article on Chuck's Adventures - Nov 16, 2009, 6:35 am
Forget the escalator, since some Swedish designers have made taking the stairs fun again. The campaign The Fun Theory of Volkswagen is a series of experiments, captured on video, to find out if makin...
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Chuck M. posted an article on Chuck's Adventures - Nov 14, 2009, 9:30 pm
Ever seen team jump-roping with acrobatics? I hadn't either. Watch this performance by the Kings Firecrackers and be absolutely amazed! The Firecrackers are a performance jump rope team mad...
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Chuck M. posted an article on Chuck's Adventures - Nov 11, 2009, 11:07 am
Don't take life too seriously; No one gets out alive. You're just jealous because the voices only talk to me. They divorced over religious differences: he thought he was God and she didn'...
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Chuck M. posted an article on Chuck's Adventures - Nov 9, 2009, 5:52 pm
Here's the 8th and final video chronicling my 2004 adventures in Alaska. Ten of us Sierra Club members met Nick and Sandy, the outing's leaders, in Fairbanks, and together enjoyed 14 days of ...
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Chuck M. posted an article on Chuck's Adventures - Nov 9, 2009, 1:31 pm
The group met in Crystal Lake and biked 18 miles, heading south. The re-route of the McHenry Prairie Trail in Crystal Lake south of Rakow Road is open, and the Pyott Road re-route looks nearly comple...
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Chuck M. posted an article on Chuck's Adventures - Nov 9, 2009, 7:02 am
Yesterday, Steve and Beth visited, and as we watched the Bears get trounced by the Cardinals, our frustration with their ineptitude was abated by reminiscences of family trips, favorite places across ...
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Chuck M. posted an article on Chuck's Adventures - Nov 8, 2009, 6:42 am
In 2004, I drove 10,000 miles on an 11 week odyssey to and through Alaska, and this episode features my outdoor adventures while there -- namely biking, hiking, backpacking, kayaking, and rafting -- i...
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Chuck M. posted an article on Chuck's Adventures - Nov 7, 2009, 6:35 am
Last night I drove over the state line to Kenosha, Wisconsin, for a wonderful concert by the Riverport Chorus, a group of about 40 women who excel at singing four-part a cappella harmony, barbershop s...
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Chuck M. posted an article on Chuck's Adventures - Nov 6, 2009, 6:52 am
In 2004, I drove 10,000 miles on an 11 week odyssey to and through Alaska, and this episode features Denali National Park. During my two months in Alaska, I visited Denali three times -- once on my o...
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Chuck M. posted an article on Chuck's Adventures - Nov 5, 2009, 10:14 am
In 2004, I drove 10,000 miles on an 11 week odyssey to and through Alaska, and this episode features Homer, Seward, and Whittier, with footage of Kenai Fjord National Park and Chiswell Islands Wildlif...
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Chuck M. posted an article on Chuck's Adventures - Nov 4, 2009, 6:05 am
In 2004, I drove 10,000 miles on an 11 week odyssey to and through Alaska reported here. During the trip, I also took camcorder footage which I came across on an external drive this week. So I put tog...
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Chuck M. posted an article on Chuck's Adventures - Oct 30, 2009, 10:59 am
In 2004, I drove 10,000 miles on an 11 week odyssey to and through Alaska reported here. During the trip, I also took camcorder footage which I came across on an external drive this week. So I put t...
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Chuck M. posted an article on Chuck's Adventures - Oct 29, 2009, 5:29 am
Yesterday was yet another cloudy, humid day -- no sun, but at least a bit warmer. My oldest son, Scott, invited me to join him at Morton Arboretum for a bike ride on the roads... In 1922, Joy Morton...
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Chuck M. posted an article on Chuck's Adventures - Oct 28, 2009, 6:53 am
Scott and I visited Mom yesterday, with lunch at El Sombrero... ...and then an hour back at her apartment, conversing and watching movies of my summer trip to England... Very enjoyable visit, and th...
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Chuck M. posted an article on Chuck's Adventures - Oct 27, 2009, 6:08 am
The rain yesterday morning canceled our planned hike, but between rain storms in the afternoon, I got in an hour hike at one of Lake County's newer preserves, Nippersink, which the preserve distr...
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Chuck M. posted an article on Chuck's Adventures - Oct 26, 2009, 10:37 am
In October of 2001, Apple held a press conference to announce a new device called an iPod. Steve Jobs told the press, "You can fit your whole music library in your pocket. To have your whole CD lib...
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Chuck M. posted an article on Chuck's Adventures - Oct 25, 2009, 6:54 am
It's so much nicer to hike on a clear day than in the rain! Yesterday it was 4 delightful miles in Singing Hills FP.
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Chuck M. posted an article on Chuck's Adventures - Oct 24, 2009, 6:42 am
Yet another lousy day of weather yesterday. It was cold and wet yet again, and though biking was beyond the realm of possibility, we planned to hike. At 9am as we were leaving our places to meet, th...
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Chuck M. posted an article on Chuck's Adventures - Oct 23, 2009, 8:35 am
Orange cheeked, top-knotted loving companion and friend for eight too-brief years. How you entertained with newspaper munching and noggin bumping, sing-song serenades and door-top warbles, perch-pran...
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Chuck M. posted an article on Chuck's Adventures - Oct 22, 2009, 6:14 am
This trail project was under the auspices of the Appalachian Mountain Club in conjunction with the Acadia National Park trail personnel. We stayed at AMC's Echo Lake Camp nestled on a lovely fores...
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Chuck M. posted an article on Chuck's Adventures - Oct 21, 2009, 6:24 pm
After days of being thwarted in my attempt to hike or bike beneath fall colors, I finally succeeded. I had to drive over to Wheeling and bike south on the Des Plaines Trail starting at Dam Number 1 W...
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Chuck M. posted an article on Chuck's Adventures - Oct 20, 2009, 3:56 pm
This been the coldest Chicagoland October in 133 years! At least today and tomorrow had been forecast to be sunny and reach the average temp (61 degrees). They were half right about today -- we hit ...
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Chuck M. posted an article on Chuck's Adventures - Oct 19, 2009, 12:12 pm
I met Patti and Dave and we hiked 5+ miles in Volo Bog State Natural Area. After 5 days in the house fighting a hacking cough and head cold, it was good to get outside and beat the incarceration of c...
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Chuck M. posted an article on Chuck's Adventures - Oct 18, 2009, 10:16 am
Here's a brief video I made 5 years ago when our cats were intrigued by chipmunks that climbed a metal pole to steal food from the bird feeders. The feeders were only a few feet from the window a...
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Chuck M. posted an article on Chuck's Adventures - Oct 16, 2009, 7:17 am
The measure of a life, after all, is not its duration, but its donation. -- Corrie ten Boom The greatest happiness of life is the conviction that we are loved - loved for ourselves, or rather, loved ...
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Chuck M. posted an article on Chuck's Adventures - Oct 15, 2009, 7:17 am
The Angelique, built in 1980, was modeled after a windjammer of the 19th Century, but was built specifically for passenger comfort. Amenities have been added to make life aboard more comfortable and ...
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Chuck M. posted an article on Chuck's Adventures - Oct 14, 2009, 8:28 am
This Elderhostel (now called Exploritas) program is an active outdoor paddling program hosted by the Shawnee Institute and held at The Shawnee Inn on the banks of the Delaware River located in the Del...
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Chuck M. posted an article on Chuck's Adventures - Oct 13, 2009, 7:27 am
Sungha Jung was born South Korea on September 2, 1996, and his dream is to become a professional acoustic fingerstyle guitarist. I think he's well on his way! See if you agree... Sungha watched ...
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Chuck M. posted an article on Chuck's Adventures - Oct 12, 2009, 12:12 pm
Too cold to bike today, so the Patti, Dave, and I hiked 6 miles at Lakewood Forest Preserve. We saw several dozen deer, including a couple bucks, several hawks, and also enjoyed watching these 6 swan...
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Chuck M. posted an article on Chuck's Adventures - Oct 10, 2009, 4:23 pm
A number of our Elderhostel alumni group members gather together regularly to create memoirs (also known as lifestories) under the tutelage of Don Nylin of our group, who has taken several Elderhoste...
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Chuck M. posted an article on Chuck's Adventures - Oct 9, 2009, 6:04 am
Listen to these young ladies sing our national anthem! I'm amazed at their talent and professionalism at such a young age. This video is from their performance at a Texas Tech basketball game......
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Chuck M. posted an article on Chuck's Adventures - Oct 8, 2009, 7:38 am
Yesterday I biked 22 miles on the DRT, curious to see if there had been much color change. Very little was in evidence, except for the landscaping trees planted at Independence Grove's Visitor Ce...
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Chuck M. posted an article on Chuck's Adventures - Oct 7, 2009, 6:03 am
In my driving trips across all 50 states, I often spot clever, amusing, and thought-provoking signs in front of churches of all denominations, and long ago I began jotting them down. I'll graduall...
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Chuck M. posted an article on Chuck's Adventures - Oct 5, 2009, 3:02 pm
Lakewood is Lake County's largest forest preserve at 2700+ acres and offers access to the Millennium Trail which loops through western Lake County. Trailhead access is available at the Lakewood Fo...
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Chuck M. posted an article on Chuck's Adventures - Oct 5, 2009, 5:35 am
Things that happen every 60 seconds on Earth 2,000 thunderstorms occur.45 million gallons of water go over Niagara Falls.2,271 working satellites orbit Earth.A hair grows 0.00027 inch.954 camera phon...
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Chuck M. posted an article on Chuck's Adventures - Oct 3, 2009, 7:35 am
Lousy day to bike, but a fine day to hike, so the 6 of us hiked 6 miles in Deer Grove Forest Preserve and then went to lunch...
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Chuck M. posted an article on Chuck's Adventures - Oct 2, 2009, 6:34 am
The 90 year old woman’s health was failing her, but she was still in command of her faculties when her doctor said, “I’m sorry, but I don’t think you’ll live much longer.” She responded w...
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