August 2 Lower Platte Cleanup
Lois Goldstein | Published on 8/2/2022
We have been cleaning the Lower Platte for seventeen years, and given the number of folks we saw on the river today, it's obvious why we will probably never be done. Most of the things we found were old, though there was some fresh beef jerky, flip flops, and some ancient beer cans, unopened water bottles plus a giant wood pallet (Dave hauled it on his kayak!) and plastic nunchucks.
People: host Lois, shuttle bunnies Wayne, Sue and Jacqui, new members Carrie and Dave, carpool buddy / tandem partner Leslie, and 3 Czerwonkas (with two paddles)
On the way home, Leslie asked me if anyone else ever cleans the river. There is another group that did it in June, but they are not as thorough as we are. Our group doesn't just float; we go very slowly and look in every nook and cranny, and we're not done until mid-afternoon. It gives us a good feeling to help out the folks at Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore.
Here's the note I got from Matt Mohrman, the ranger I work with at SBDNL:
Great job, Lois and crew -- 17 years and going strong -- the pallet is impressive!!
Thank you!
--Matt
Report by Lois, photos by Lois and Jacqui
Sue checking out the shoreline
Leslie and Wayne
Halftime at the Fish Weir: Zack, Greg, Wayne, Leslie, Sue, Jacqui, Lois, Dave (Carrie and Beck were somewhere else)
Wayne and Jacqui near the end
Leslie and Sue preparing to haul Sue's kayak
Lois and the trash at the end.
