Day - 5 Chesterton Rotary

We had an absolutely fantastic breakfast at the Sand Creek Golf Course. The team went their separate ways today with Matt and I pairing up with Steve to have a vocational day for us. Steve drove us around the grounds and houses which were amazing with very large houses and grounds and security gates to enter.

After this we met Kris and headed out to Penny Purdue farm to have a look at their facilities and cropping techniques. It was quite interesting to here about their native animals eg gophers which are a problem to their planting crops especially vegetables. They follow along the lines and eat the seeds.

Our next stop was the Bison Ranch with Bud, Judy and Wally. There is at least one ranch per state in the US and we were able to get very close to them in the safety of a trailer on the back of a tractor. They are highly sensitive to overhandling and can get very stressed. It was great as there were two little calves on the ground. After looking at the herd we were treated to a Bison burger lunch. It was very tasty. Very similar to beef, a lot leaner though so it is cooked at a lower heat for less time.

After this off to the Indiana Dunes National Park to hear about problems with deer and their management program. It is a very interesting use of hunters in the area and their monitoring and triggers for control were very well thought out. The Park is beautiful and we got to see squirrels, a groundhog, numerous birds including the woodpecker and two baby water snakes basking in the afternoon sun. Steve and Kris said this was unusual to see especially the woodpecker as it was quite rare. We saw 4 and 2 were doing spring displays of mating so we were very fortunate!!!!!. Lastly we went down to the beach on Lake Michigan and chilled out for a little bit before Steve dropped us back at Val's Pizzeria for a team meeting and dinner.

The evening finished up experiencing the local pub scene going to Hooligans and Leroy's a biker bar. Very interesting clientele and they still have smoking in bars!!!

Signing off
Cath