Despite flooding in the Midwest Skydive Chicago has stayed afloat!

                                                         Yes…this is a football field!!!

A few of us ventured out last Friday after the HUGE storm Thursday night, and the flooding was incredible!  It was amazing to see how high the river was!  The water came up so high that an entire cornfield was submerged under water and only the very top of the corn was sticking out!
 
At Starved Rock one of the picnic pavilions that normally has a nice scenic view of the river was submerged up to the roof.

All of the extra water also created a beautiful scene at Matthiessen State Park.  The water, which is usually no more than a trickle, was rushing by.  Enzo even had the opportunity to play in the gorgeous waterfall created by all of the water!

I guess that is just a little reminder what Mother Nature can do!  She was also gracious enough to do it during the week, and give us perfect sunny days on the weekend!  Between Saturday and Sunday we flew 61 loads here at Skydive Chicago.
 
About 13 people took part in the Belly Pylon Races this weekend organized by Mike Wittenburg.  Congratulations to the winners!  Laura Vago took 1st; Kris Tangie took 2nd,; and Bryan Perrault took 3rd!

Congratualtions to Eddie who is Skydive Chicago’s newest AFP graduate!  I’d also like to congratulate everyone who came out this past week to get his or her ratings!  Thanks for coming outand teaching the courses Bram!

The 2007 USPA Nationals are right around the corner!  We are starting to get everything set up for the teams and judges!  We still need about 11 more TV’s.  If you have one you can loan us for the event please e-mail either myself (Erin@skydivechicago.com), or Rook (Rook@skydivechicago.com).  Thanks to everyone who has already brought us equipment to use for the Nationals…each one helps out a bunch!!
 
Not only is this coming weekend Labor Day weekend, it’s also the last weekend before Nationals start!  Come out and enjoy a long weekend of fun and/or training!

This Sunday, September 2, Mike Wittenburg will be organizing Swoop Club.  It is going to be the last Swoop Club before the Championships (which are Sept. 30th).
 
There will also be the last water training of the year on Sunday.  So, if you still need to do water training (to qualify for a ‘B’ License) then this is your last chance!  You can signup in manifest.
 
I hope to see you all out for the long weekend!
 
Erin