A group of us from Prairie State Canoeists did a cleanup sweep on Salt Creek where it borders my home town, Elmhurst.

Ten people in six boats put in at Cricket Creek Park and floated down to Eldridge Park, collecting trash all the way. We filled several big trash bags and found many interesting and amazing things.

The first treasure was buried in a debris field at a strainer. It turned out to be a nice, straight-back, kitchen chair. We left it on the bank for the ground crews to collect.

The next one, we had to leave. I cannot imagine why someone would go to all the trouble and work to haul an airconditioner all the way to the creek bank and throw it in. It would be lots less work to put it on the curb and let the garbage pickers take it.

Then one of the guys found something completely submerged. He got a rope on it and, with lots of help, it slowly emerged. A grocery cart!

What next? A bicycle. A multi-speed, mountain bike no less.

Then Steve found a lawn chair. We suggested he use it to sit in his canoe, but he didn't think so.

And another grocery cart. This one in much better condition than the first. It was a fresh catch.

Road signs were well represented. Leftovers from a road construction job most likely.

Here's part of my take. A realtor sign and a nice cordura computer bag - full of mud.

And there was lots more. Tires, a weed-sprayer tank, kids toys - in fact we had to leave a very large, plastic boat big enough to hold two kids. Don't know if it was a sand box or giant pool toy. It was trapped by a large tree so we couldn't free it.

Here's most of the take. Others were still carrying more garbage bags from the takeout.

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15jun08