McHenry County Blog

The Crystal Lake Park District is using shirts issued to Main Beach employees to advertise events being held there this summer.

Take a look:

The 2012 events at Crystal Lake's Main Beach. Click to enlarge.

More detail follows:

2012 Main Beach Events

www.crystallakeparks.org

http://www.facebook.com/CrystalLakeParkDistrict

(815) 459-0680

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Friday, June 1, 3 pm Battle of the Bands

Tuesday, June 5, 7 pm Concert in the Park-Final Say Band (FREE ADMISSION)

Tuesday, June 12, 7 pm Concert in the Park-Crystal Lake Community Band (FREE ADMISSION)

Friday, June 15-16, Family Campout, 6 pm-8 am (Advance Registration Required)

Friday, June 15, Movies in the Park/Baskin Robbins Ice Cream Eating Contest, The Muppets (FREE ADMISSION), email you interest in registering for the ice cream eating contest to jweber@crystallakeparks.org

Saturday, June 16, Kids Dog Show, 9 am, (Advance Registration Required)

Saturday, June 16, Big Wheel Race, 10:45 am, (Advance Registration Required)

Tuesday, June 19, 7 pm, Concert in the Park, Stagecrafters Theater (FREE ADMISSION)

Saturday, June 23, Noon, Cardboard Cup Regatta

Here is a link to a press release for cardboard pick up for boat building

Tuesday, June 26, 7 pm, Concert in the Park, Voices in Harmony (FREE ADMISSION)

Sunday, July 1, 7 pm, Fireworks Concert, Voices in Harmony/Crystal Lake Community Band

Tuesday, July 3, 7 pm, Concert in the Park, Georgia Rae Band (FREE ADMISSION)

Tuesday, July 10, 7 pm, Concert in the Park, AC ROC Band (FREE ADMISSION)

Friday, July 13-14, Family Campout, 6 pm-8 am (Advance Registration Required)

Friday, July 13, Movies in the Park/Baskin Robbins Ice Cream Eating Contest, Kung Fu Panda (FREE ADMISSION), email your interest in registering for the ice cream eating contest to jweber@crystallakeparks.org

Saturday, July 14, Crystal Lake Park District Open Water Swim Race, 7:30 AM, Register in advance at Sign Me Up Sports

Tuesday, July 31, 7 pm, Concert in the Park, White Saddle Band (FREE ADMISSION)

Wednesday, August 1, 6 pm, Senior Luau (FREE ADMISSION), Seniors only please

Friday, August 3, 6 pm, Teen Garage Sale (Buyers and Sellers Needed). Sellers register in advance,

Friday, August 3, Movies in the Park/Baskin Robbins Ice Cream Eating Contest, Cars 2 (FREE ADMISSION), email you interest in registering for the ice cream eating contest to jweber@crystallakeparks.org

Tuesday, August 7, 7 pm, Concert in the Park, Crystal Lake Community Band (FREE ADMISSION)

Tuesday, August 14, 7 pm, Concert in the Park, Vito Buffalo Orchestra (FREE ADMISSION)

Saturday, August 18, 3-11 pm, BMO Harris Bank Presents Blast on the Beach (FREE ADMISSION)

This event will truly be a ‘Blast on the Beach’ featuring

• a Kid’s Fun Fair with over sixteen vendors,
• a Craft Fair,
• a performance by the Crystal Lake Water Ski Club on Crystal Lake,
• a Treasure Hunt (real gold coins and other prizes buried in our beach!),
• food vendors from some of your favorite local restaurants,
• a beer/wine garden and
• a live music performance by the popular Mr. Myers.

Through this partnership, ADMISSION IS FREE.

Specks way out in the lake turn into people when if you watched the Greater Chicago Juniors Rowing Championships at the Crystal Lake Park District’s Main Beach yesterday.

Before I show you a series of photos of a beach view look at the Women’s Varsity 8 Race, let me observe that this type of even cries for a hot air balloon anchored over the lake with a camera whose views are broadcast to a big screen on the Main Beach.

Now, that would be exciting.

Combine it with cameras from Gate 21, 13, 7 and 3 and it would be really worth watching.  Any photo may be enlarged by clicking on it.

The race is probably passing Gate 21 here.

The skiffs don't get large quickly.

Could specators tell who was ahead from the beach?

Getting closer, but still too far for identification for most people.

Closer they come. Are they at Gate 13 yet?

The spots are getting bigger.

Halfway home?

A bird entered the picture here.

Those viewing the race could identifiy where their friends were by now.

Swallows were eating lunch in the foreground.

Later photos show there were more than three entrants, but that's all that can be seen here.

There was loud cheering next to me when I took this picture.

And the leaders approach the finish line.

The rowers are coming into focus.

Estimate the speed from the wake of the chase boat.

Which team will win?

Looks as if the race is over. The oars of the skiff on the left are being feathered.

At the left side of the image one can see another skiff coming into view.

A wider view shows there was still another boat (seen at the right) in the race.

I discovered that the winners of the Women’s 8 Varsity race was the Lincoln Park Juniors.

The Lincoln Park Juniors won the Women's 8 Varsity race.

Here's a better view of the first two rowers on the Lincoln Park Juniors team.

Spots three and four of the Lincoln Park Juniors Varsity 8 are highlighted here.

The camera focused on spots five and six of the Lincoln Park Juniors Varsity 8 Women's team in this photo.

The seventh and eighth members of the Lincoln Park Juniors Women's Varsity 8 can be seen here.

More often than not, this is what I see on the way home.

It’s a view of Crystal Lake through the wrought iron fence of the Crystal Lake Park District’s Main Beach.

End of the summer at Crystal Lake's Main Beach has three sailboats on the shore.

The last time I went through the intersection, I saw three sailboats beached on the shore.

Certainly the temperature of the air would lead one to believe that summer is over.

There were 4 1/2 inches of rain in Crystal Lake on Thursday and Friday.

That’s what a rain gauge on Woodland Drive read.

The drainage area behind the baseball field at the Crystal Lake Park District's Main Beach was flooded almost to capacity after the two-day deluge.

The former marsh behind the baseball field at the Park District’s Main Beach was flooded pretty much to capacity.

Water pretty much covered the triangle near Crystal Lake's Main Beach, as well as covered more of Dole Avenue than the new bike paths.

The triangle park next to Dole Avenue was also flooded.

Joseph's Market was closed for repairs mid-day Saturday.

And the rain was so heavy that Joseph’s Market in the Crystal Lake Plaza was forced to close.

The normally full parking lot at Crystal Lake's most popular grocery store--Joseph's Market--had fire department and service vehicles behind yellow tape Saturday.

One Plaza merchant said that the roof had collapsed, although there was no sign of damage from the parking lot.

The Crystal Lake Band performed during the 4th of July Parade and also reminded folks they will hold a concert Sunday night at the Main Beach.

Tonight there will not only be fireworks at Crystal Lake’s Main Beach, but the Crystal Lake Band will have a concert at 7:30.

The tents were up last night for a number of the clubs competing in the Greater Chicago Junior Rowing Championships.

Crystal Lake was calm on the morning of the regatta.

This morning about 7:15, Crystal Lake was calm and morning sprinkles had ended.

Team members were unloading their skiffs.

The rowers were unloading their boats that early.

These girls were carrying their boat after 8:30.

The process continued until after nine although some were still being prepared as the heats were beginning.

As one fireman opened the gate, a blinking arrow helpfully pointed to the entrance.

Crystal Lake Fire Department arrived, just in case they might be needed.

The Crystal Lake Park District was formed in 1911.

With the home team advantage, the Crystal Lake Rowing Club set up its tents closest to the entrance.

Tents were to the left as one entered the Main Beach gate. Crystal Lake’s were first.

Tents were on both sides of the gravel path into the park.

Others stretched toward the lake’s outlet as far as the second set of swings.

Some of the competitors younger siblings were enjoying the preliminary show put on by a water skier.

Unfortunately, the big raft used to launch fireworks and the floating fishing pier were prohibited viewing spots.

Yellow cautiion tape blocked entrance to the rafts.

Young men were preparing for the start of the first heats.

The skiffs are launched at the Main Beach, they are rowed to the West End, where the races begin.

Row to the West End along the North Shore, the woman points.

As I left, the Chicago Training Center Rowing team was preparing their skiffs for the competition.

A Chicago team prepares for their races.

The Main Beach parking lot was full before nine.

A Crystal Lake Jaycee directed people to parking spaces.

The axillary one across the street to the west was almost full when I left at 9:15.

Parking was at a premium for the Turnberry Garden Club's flower sale.

Across the street was the annual Turnberry Garden Club flower sale.

Good seats for the regatta can be found at the Gate 3, Gate 7 and Gate 13 beaches on the South side of Crystal Lake. There is no parking available for non-residents, but the location you see is only about 6/10 of a mile from the Main Beach.

A flock of coots on Crystal Lake.

Unlike these coots that I saw on the way to vote at the Crystal Lake Park District Main Beach House, this old coot had a mission besides survival.

It was to participate in the democratic process.

Turkey vultures, which as a kid I called buzzards, were flying around the Main Beach House.

As I was leaving the parking lot, however, I saw turkey vultures circling the Main Beach.

A turkey vultue flying over the Main Beach in Crystal Lake.

Was that significant?

Inside, I found the voter participation was as dismal as at other precincts in the Crystal Lake area.   Both Algonquin Township Precincts 7 and 19 voters cast their ballots in the little back room of the Beach House.

I voted about 5 o’clock.

Was it crowded?

Judge for yourself.

Besides myself and the judges, only one voter was exercising what I would consider his patriotic duty when I was at the polls.

One of the judges asked if i had seen the coyote on the beach.

Vultures, coyotes…what going on?

On Crystal Lake Main's Beach stands a fake coyote. A sign says, "Property of the Crystal Lake Park District. Do not remove."

It seemed to be working.

If you were a goose and saw this from the air, would you want to land nearby?

The only geese I noticed took off flying away from the beach.

So, did the lack of competition in the Crystal Lake High School Board, City Council, Park Board and limited competition in the Grade School District deter people from voting?

Did they think nothing was at stake when officials that will levy 90% of our property taxes were being elected?

Was the vibrant, but under publicized, McHenry County College Trustee race not enough to bring people to the polls?

Or was it, at least in these two precincts, the lurking scavengers that scared people off?

The two precincts have 1,097 voters.  At 5 PM, 89 had voted.

That’s 8.1%.

Of course, that does not include early and absentee votes.

Truly, as I pointed out earlier, anyone could have won any race.

This picture was taken about 2:30, a half an hour before the official beginning of the blizzard. It is of Crystal Lake facing west from the Main Beach's boat ramp.

Here’s the announcement:

“All County of McHenry buildings open to the public will be closed on Wednesday, February 2, 2011.   Travel Safely.

Crystal Lake is a quarter of a mile wide. This is what it looked like at 2:30. Lake Shore Drive, about 15 feet above the frozen lake was in the process of drifting over.

“With heavy snow, high winds and blizzard conditions anticipated for the next 24 hours, McHenry County facilities will be closed Wednesday, February 2, 2011 for normal business.  Please check the County website at www.co.mchenry.il.us in the future for additonal information.”

From what I could gather from a former North Shore resident, the entrance to the cave that goes under the Main Beach is about where you see the edge of the ice. He was diving in warmer weather, of course.

A retired Navy Seal told me this Christmas that he had scuba dived into a cave that he figured went pretty much to St. Thomas Church.

He said he swam until he was at least under the Main Beach.

Anyone else ever done such underwater exploring in Crystal Lake?

One of the “joys” home ownership is getting the property ready for winter.

That’s what I was doing today and a good bit of the rest of this week.

More leaf raking, buttoning up the tree house where we had removed a dead limb, putting away the grill, cutting down the mums, getting rid of the chip monk chewed hold in the corner of the garage door. Stuff like that.

As I was going to pick up my son from school, I drove past a very calm Crystal Lake. Part was calm because it had frozen over. The rest was calm because of the lack of wind.

As you can see above and below, the reflections were wonderful.

This home is on the North Shore of Crystal Lake near the Main Beach House.

Another North Shore home.

Two homes between Gates 11 nd 13 on South Shore Drive in Lakewood.

Will the lake be completely frozen tomorrow morning or will open water eat the snow that falls on it?