
Subject:
[cohp] Digest Number 5158
From:
cohp@yahoogroups.com
Date:
9/29/2015 1:34 AM
To:
cohp@yahoogroups.com

County High Pointing in all 50 states
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Digest #5158
1
Kenosha WI; Will IL Trip Reports by jlhcpa

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1
Kenosha WI; Will IL Trip Reports
Mon Sep 28, 2015 1:32 pm (PDT) . Posted by:
jlhcpa
CoHP  KENOSHA COUNTY, WISCONSIN 990+ ft.
Sunday, 9/27/2015
For a brief time, this trip almost didnt happen. I was north of Chicago when I stopped to grab a quick lunch. I pulled up to the drive-through window to pay, and I was suddenly met with a frantic situation  I did not have my wallet! I had my checkbook, but they did not take checks. So I explained the situation, apologized as I canceled the order, and drove away.

Now, here is a predicament. I am a couple hundred miles away from home, with gas nearly empty, without my wallet, without money to fill the tank to even get back home. I began thinking of places that might cash a check; but who could I expect to do that in this day where ID is required of every strange character in suspicious conditions. I decided to take another moment and look through the car to see if it was with me.

You have to appreciate the humor of the situation  or maybe not. I looked in the back seat, and I looked around the passenger-side front seat. Nothing was found. I was praying seriously because I was in a bind. Finally, I caught something out of the corner of my eye. Looking down between the driver seat and the door, there it was!

The wallet had fallen out of my pocket and lodged itself in this unexpected place. How did it fall out, you ask? Well, my jeans have a hole in the pocket  not a small hole, but one large enough to fit an entire wallet through. You wonder how a wallet ever stays in that pocket? I do too. I need a new pair of jeans. I thanked God at that moment for His answer to my prayer. I got some gas, used a free ATM machine to get some cash, and returned to the restaurant for the same meal as before. The next stop was the orchard.

I want to thank Ken Oeser for recommending the Oriole Springs orchard to the group. I had never visited a U-pick orchard before. By the time I left, I wasnt sure if I had just been to a spiritual event or to an amusement park. Apple season is serious business!

I arrived at the orchard building, but I was quickly informed that this was the Exit from the orchard. To obtain a bag and pick my own apples, I would need to Enter about a quarter mile further west on the state line road.

I arrived at the entrance with 3 apple varieties in mind. I thought I would like some golden delicious, some red delicious, and some empire apples. I decided on a smaller (one peck) bag since I live alone. I was handed a small bag by one of the many high-schoolers  there must have been a hundred of them volunteering throughout the orchard  and I was directed to the correct rows for my desired apples. I parked by the golden delicious apples, and I was amazed at the number of folks who were in the orchard picking their favorite fruits! There were people and cars everywhere. I quickly picked about a dozen apples; then it was back in the car, on my way to the empire apples. I was directed through the woods, and another person was on the other side when I emerged. After 3-4 points to the next turn, I arrived at a person in front of a sign that identified empire apples. There were 4 rows, and I was told to turn the corner and drive up the hill to park and choose my fruit.

I drove up and literally parked near the top of the hill. I noted that this appeared to be the highest ground in the whole orchard. So I picked another dozen empire apples and was gifted with having visited the HP of Kenosha County. I quickly wandered about just to make sure, and I noted my cars GPS position of N42.49671 W88.23303. Upon later inspection, I found that I was right where the topo maps show the HP contour. I believe these coordinates actually improve on the coordinates found on cohp.org; looking at mine on Acmemapper give a truer representation of where the highest ground is to be found.

I followed signs to the exit, and I paid the $15 for the small bag. But I was not yet done. To finish this apple-ooza afternoon, I drove a bit further west on the state line road to arrive at the Harvest Time Orchards. I watched them press cider, and I bought some apple cider and an apple shake. The shake was quite tasty; it had so much spice in the formulation that it just as easily could have been called a pumpkin shake  the nutmeg, cinnamon, and whatever else that made it so good.

Having succeeded on this first goal of the days journey, I headed off to another first for me  a visit to a pet cemetery in nearby Will County, IL.


CoHP  WILL COUNTY, ILLINOIS 830+ ft.
Sunday, 9/27/2015
This single contour is large and extends across both sides of north-south Ridgeland Ave. but totally north of Bruns Road. In addition to the cemetery, there are two communication towers and some high ground in a field to the northwest. This year, the field was mature with corn.

I arrived in the area and drove into the cemetery between the two brick signs that demarked the entrance. I drove back near the building and parked. I immediately noted the rise in the lawn to the southwest. This was the highest ground as I scanned the area in all directions. I walked over to this high ground and claimed this rise.

I continued across the lawn to the road, and I turned south to search for BM Hickory. I was blessed with finding the reference BM first. It was found about 12 feet off the road, on the east side  the same side as the cemetery. The standard-looking marker was labeled BM Reference 6, and it was stamped with the dates 1959 1967 1975. An arrow pointed generally south. I continued my search in that direction for the actual BM.

BM Hickory is easy to find. It is about 15 feet south of the reference BM, about 10 feet off the road. It is next to a high white witness post sign, on a large, elevated concrete base. It is stamped with the years 1959 1967. It is just outside the barbed wire fence that surrounds the tower complex.

I spent additional time looking for other reference BMs  the one I found was #6? But I did not find any other reference BM. I also walked to the high fence surrounding the east tower, adjacent to the cemetery. Nothing remarkable was found there. Finally, I walked across the street to look at the west tower, but the land surrounding it was clearly lower.

The lone other area of interest was the corn in the field to the northwest. It appeared to be high ground. But then I rejected the area because: 1) the corn was 6-8ft tall, and it did not appear to be THAT much taller; and 2) I relied on the Mitchler report that ruled out the area after using a hand level.

I returned to the pet cemetery and spent a few minutes wandering around the gravesites. In general, I found the entire cemetery to be in disrepair. Many flat headstones were becoming completely covered by encroaching weeds and grasses. The community building itself also needed repairs, with siding seen peeling off over the entrance to the building. The most recent date I noted on ANY of the headstones was 2009. As I drove away, I thought this apparently was a concept that had died (pun intended).


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