Work Day 9/28 Cancelled!

Trails and Campground Status Changes 9/23/19

Upcoming Friends of Shimek Events Newsletter for Sept. through Nov. 2019

Friends of Shimek

would like to announce

upcoming events


Sept 21st Fall Potluck has been CANCELLED!!

We have truly been blessed with wonderful weather last few weekends.  There have been many people camping, enjoying long trail rides, and even a little cooking over the campfires.  It has been fun to visit with old and new friends from near and far.  We can only hope the these temperatures along with beautiful sunshine will last until late in the fall.  May each of you enjoy the trails you ride!

As summer gives way to fall many events scheduled by the Friends of Shimek are about to take place.  FOS are about to get very busy.  Any and all volunteers are welcome to come share in the work, visit around the campfire, or just enjoy good conversation with a fellow Friend of Shimek.

Let's have a little fellowship around the campfire to start things rolling.

Saturday, September 21, 2019

A Pot Luck dinner with friends at the Lower Campground. Gary Schieffer's BBQ Chicken to be served! Everyone---Bring a dish to accompany the chicken. Meal served at 5PM at Camping Spot #46 where Doug and Bonnie Moothart will be. Donations will be accepted to cover the cost of the chicken and thank the Chef! Bring your chair! Table service and water and tea provided by FOS board members

Meet friends and ride earlier, campout, ride on Sunday -- weather permitting. Everyone is invited! Reserve your camping space now! Bonnie and Doug plan to arrive on Friday afternoon, ride Saturday and spend the night after the potluck. They will be available to assist anyone that has questions. You can also e-mail FOShimek@gmail.com with questions.

The painting will begin and new hitching rails are to be up-righted:

Saturday, September 28, 2019

FOS is participating in the Iowa State Parks Annual Volunteer Day, set as Saturday, Sept. 28. Volunteer activities will focus on prepping for the upcoming 100th anniversary of the Iowa state park system in 2020. Meet with Lora at 8:30 am in the Upper Campground at Camping Sites 20 and 21 to get instructions on the work details.

Items to be accomplished:
a- bag and sort redemption cans with Ann Bennett,
b- assist Patrick Thomas to install a couple of new hitching rails in the Lick Creek Upper Campground, (The post installation will begin at 10:00 AM-- two individuals that can help handle those heavy posts are needed.)
c- help Lora Conrad and Jo Watson paint the inside of pit toilets at Bitternut and White Oak campgrounds, and
d- paint posts in Lick Creek campgrounds as directed by Patrick.

(Note: Since this is a Saturday and lots of riders will be there, we will not be going out on trails.) How about working a couple of hours on Saturday while you are there camping and riding? We would appreciate the help. )

We expect to finish about noon. Please bring a sack lunch for your meal if desired. Water will be provided.

Please let us know you will be coming by e-mail to FOShimek@gmail.com or message here . That way we will know who to expect and can notify you if there is any change in the plans--such as rain!

Fun at a Fundraiser:

Saturday, November 9, 2019

Friends of Shimek will host a Fund Raiser on Nov. 9, 2019 at River Valley Lodge (29080 Hawk Drive, Farmington, IA). The activities will include dinner, entertainment, wine tasting, silent
auction, corn hole games, and treasure tables. Can you come have a fun evening and help FOS raise money for improvement of Shimek Forest trails and campgrounds?





Advance tickets are required for the meal (includes all activities) for a $25 donation. These are only available until November 2nd.

  

                                                                       

Entertainment tickets will be available at the door for $10.00. For tickets contact Bonnie Moothart, phone 319-653-5323, or e-mail bonniemoothart@me.com. Tickets will also be available at the Sept. 21st Potluck in the Lower Campground at Shimek or at the Sept. 28th Work Day from Ann Bennett in the Upper Campground at Shimek.
 Dinner in the Lodge. Advance Ticket holders will have dinner, served between 5:30 and 6:30 PM. A full meal including barbecue chicken, pork ribs and several sides will be catered by Gary Schieffer, BBQ Master Extra-Ordinary! Home-made desserts, water, tea and coffee will be available. Advance tickets will also have access to the entire evening of activities including the Silent Auction, Wine Sampling, and Musical Entertainment.
Also inside the Lodge, with the Advance Ticket or with an Entertainment Ticket obtained at the door will be Entertainment, Wine Tasting, and the Silent Auction.

Entertainment will be provided from 7PM to 8:30PM. Already planning on providing the evening's entertainment are: The Tubador (Gary McCurdy) who brings good tunes and good times on the tuba and euphonium; Brian and Jewel McDonald (Brian often sings and plays guitar at Cafe Paradiso in Fairfield) , and Regan Loula Estes, a skilled vocalist and actress from Washington, IA.

Wine Tasting. Vintner Dean Greiner will provide guests with samples of Hot Wassail as well as tasting samples of his wines. He will be selling his Wagon Wheel label wine by the bottle.

Silent Auction. Silent Auction items will be available to browse and begin bidding at 4PM. Silent Auction will close at 8pm to begin announcing winning bids, and allow people to start paying and collecting items.

 Outside the Lodge. Everyone Invited! Corn Hole Games, open to anyone, will begin at 4PM behind the lodge. Anyone can play for a $5 fee to the pot. The winner is awarded 1⁄2 the pot for each game. The games will close at 5:30. Also beginning at 4 PM, the Treasure Table items for sale will be on the front veranda of the lodge. Anyone can purchase items until all are sold or the evening is over, about 8:30 PM.

Items to Donate? Can you provide FOS items for auction or the treasure table? Bonnie Moothart will be present at River Valley from Friday evening all through Saturday. If you can donate items for sale,please bring Silent Auction items and Treasure Table items anytime Friday evening or Saturday before dinner. Individuals who donate Silent Auction items will fill out a bid sheet for the item with a description and a minimum bid. If a Silent Auction item is not sold, it will be returned to the donor at the end of the evening. Treasure Tables items are low value items and any not sold will be donated to other non-profits later. Remember your donations of items for the auction or cash donations to FOS may be tax deductible under state and federal law as FOS is a federal 501c(3) non-profit. All income above costs will go toward helping improve the campgrounds and trails at Shimek Forest.

May the trails you ride, and the paths you cross be a new adventure each time you visit Shimek Forest.

Happy Trails,

Kathy

Editor

 

 

Rescheduled Work Day on Saturday, September 28th

Work Day scheduled for Saturday, September 28, 2019



One small correction: Meet at the Upper Campground Camping Spots 20 and 21 at 8:30 am

Work Day on Sept 28th (Sat) at 8:30Am at the Kiosk in the Upper Campground.    Lora will serve as the FOS Coordinator.  This will be a focused activity.  There are some particular items that Patrick would like to get accomplished listed below.

1.  Two guys who are physically able to assist Patrick with the installation of one or two hitching rails that morning in the Lower Campground.   This project will start around 10 am in order not to disturb any of the campers in the campground.
2.  Two people each for Bitternut and White Oak campgrounds to paint inside the toilet facilities. Jo and Lora will be either one team or each  will take someone  to a campground to do painting. The small campgrounds are not expected to be  busy at this time.  Brushes and supplies will be provided.

3. One person to assist Ann to sort and load cans and bottles into her trailer for recycle (we have not done that for several months)

4. Any additional people may paint posts per Patrick's direction that morning.
Since this is Sat Morning, there will be lots of campers so we will not be cleaning up campsites, mowing, cleaning stalls or going out on trails.

John and Crew will not be there.  We will work until these jobs are finished, then have a watermelon break and go home or back to camping and riding--no meal this time.

Please bring a sack lunch if you would like for your meal.  There will be water available.

Please send an e-mail to FOShimek@gmail.com if you plan to attend.  In case of rain, we will cancel and Lora will notify all that have said they are coming via e-mail or phone. 

Would you like to receive e-mail notices of updates to the Friends of Shimek Blog?

Just click on this link, then follow the directions to get signed up to automatically get an e-mail link to each update on the FOS Blog. Subscribe to Friends of Shimek by Email

September 21 Potluck

 

 

 

Come enjoy the evening around the campfire, visit with old and new friends, and there will food to share.

 

A Pot Luck dinner with friends at the Lower Campground. Gary Schieffer's BBQ Chicken to be served! Everyone---Bring a dish to accompany the chicken. Meal served at 5PM at Camping Spot #46 where Doug and Bonnie Moothart will be. Donations will be accepted to cover the cost of the chicken and thank the Chef! Bring your chair! Table service and water and tea provided by FOS board members

Meet friends and ride earlier, campout, ride on Sunday -- weather permitting. Everyone is invited! Reserve your camping space now! Bonnie and Doug plan to arrive on Friday afternoon, ride Saturday and spend the night after the potluck. They will be available to assist anyone that has questions. You can also e-mail FOSHimke@gmail.com with questions.

August Newsletter

Friends of Shimek Update       August 8, 2019
Friends of Shimek has lots of news and events to share with everyone. Let's take a look at the happenings within the forest.
Forester John Byrd's Corner I take great pleasure in announcing the opening of a new addition to the Wet Weather Trail System! The Wet Weather Trail System (WWT) is now safer with the completion of about 1.25 miles of trail that allows riders to avoid riding next to Highway 2. This WWT trail addition was made possible by a cooperative effort that included a Lee County Charitable Fund (LCCF) grant in 2018, the volunteers of Friends of Shimek, and Iowa DNR Shimek personnel and equipment.
Have fun on the trails and always, please carry out what you carry in to the forest.

 

         Grant Awards to Friends of Shimek for Wet Weather Trail Upgrades.
As part of a two Phase project, Friends of Shimek (FOS) has been awarded a grant of $5,000 by the Lee County Charitable Fund to correct problem areas that have developed in the over 6 miles of Lick Creek Unit Wet Weather Trails. The erosion developed over this past winter and spring due to repeated rainfall extremes, especially the fast downpours of several inches over a few hours. The Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Shimek staff have committed to using their time and equipment to make the repairs but the DNR Shimek budget was inadequate to provide the rock needed. FOS is committing $2,000 in rock toward the project from funds donated by friends. The project will begin later in July, if the rains have slowed, and continue until the major problem areas are corrected, probably by late fall. This project follows the 2018 grant awarded by LCCF to FOS which was used by the DNR staff to create 1.1 miles of additional Wet Weather Trail inside the forest, a safe area off the Highway 2 right of way. This project is now being completed Forester Byrd explained above.
This is the first Phase in a multi-year plan to re-surface the entire Wet Weather Trail System. The increasing load of riders, especially on the Wet Weather Trail from both campers at Shimek and riders from adjacent equestrian facilities has combined with the increased amounts of rainfall to mean more wear on the Trails. This has caused the firmness from the rock surface to give way to a softer surface which becomes more susceptible to erosion.
FOS has been awarded $10,000 by the William M. and Donna J. Hoaglin Foundation to complete Phase II of re-surfacing the WWT! For this phase of the project, beginning later this summer and running through next year, the FOS has pledged an additional $3,000 toward rock and the DNR Shimek staff have committed to use their time and equipment to complete the re-rocking and any corrections needed after this coming winter. The William M. and Donna J. Hoaglin Foundation has made the WWT possible--this is the third grant they have provided --two for the initial development of the two major segments of the WWT and now this one to re-rock the entire trail! All of us who ride at Shimek owe them much appreciation---which is best demonstrated by the successful completion of the project and taking care of all the trails by following the closure/open rules.
FOS will be holding a fund-raising Meal and Auction in November to raise funds for this and future match requirements.
These projects are all designed to provide safe, free, accessible public use of the trails by equestrians and others while protecting the resources of the forest from erosion and ditching damage, thus helping preserve Shimek Forest and its trails for future generations.

  FRIENDS OF SHIMEK FOREST (FOS)

WORK DAY

August 21st

CANCELLED DUE TO RAIN 8/20/19

Come join other friends of Shimek at 8:00 AM at the Lick Creek Lower Campground on Wednesday, August 21st at the gravel circle as you first arrive at the campground. Forester John Byrd will give us an update on what is happening at Shimek. Then he will assign work day tasks, volunteers will sign liability forms ( if needed) and volunteer log. After a morning of work, all will return to the Lower Campground at noon to report back on progress, then rest a while with friends. Lunch will be provided to all Volunteers and DNR Shimek staff by Gary and Denise Schieffer!!! Mmm good— those of us who have volunteered when Gary cooked for us before know how tasty lunch will be! Water provided. Remember—no previous volunteer experience necessary. The FOS Workday Coordinator is Marsha Achenbach.
Please RSVP to FOS by email FOShimek@gmail.com so we have an idea of who is coming and what you are bringing for tools and equipment. If pouring rain, then the work day may be canceled. Any change in work day status will be promptly posted on FB and the FOS Blog as well. If there is a change, anyone who has advised us they are coming will be contacted via e-mail or phone. Both campground and trail work is needed. Campground work includes clean up of fire pits, campsites and stalls, can and bottle sorting, and some painting yet to be done. Some rails in the lower campground need painting brown. The toilet facilities need to be painted white inside at both the White Oak and Bitternut Campgrounds, with the paint awarded by Vogel Paint. Trail work needed that can be done using your ATV, on foot or on horseback includes trash/can pick-up, cutting back multi-flora that intrude on the trails (can use loppers, weedeaters, or walk-behind mowers), clipping back overgrowth on narrower trails with loppers, and removing any trees that have fallen since the last work day. Please talk to Forester Byrd at the Shimek Office about what you might be doing if you plan to bring a 4-wheeler and/or chainsaw. Let us know what you want to work on and we will discuss what supplies you might need to bring and what DNR or FOS can supply. Paint, paint supplies, vinyl gloves and trash bags will be provided by DNR or FOS. FOS has loppers. Don't forget your blaze orange Friends of Shimek work vest if you have one. There will be some loaners available to identify all of us as volunteers.

Mark your calendar's November 9, 2019 at River Valley Camp Lodge, Farmington, IA
Fund Raising event is in the planning stages. Stay tuned! There will more details released in the coming months.
　
Any Questions?  Send an e-mail to FOShimek@gmail.com
For more information:  See  http://friendsofshimek.blogspot.com/ or check out our Facebook page. 
Kathy Weber - Editor
Picture by John Byrd

Work Day Scheduled - August 21, 2019

FRIENDS OF SHIMEK FOREST (FOS) August 21st WORK DAY 

CANCELLED due to rain. 8/20/19

Come join other friends of Shimek at 8:00 AM at the Lick Creek Lower Campground on Wednesday, August 21st at the gravel circle as you first arrive at the campground. Forester John Byrd will give us an update on what is happening at Shimek. Then he will assign work day tasks, volunteers will sign liability forms ( if needed) and volunteer log. After a morning of work, all will return to the Lower Campground at noon to report back on progress, then rest a while with friends. Lunch will be provided to all Volunteers and DNR Shimek staff by Gary and Denise Schieffer!!! Mmm good— those of us who have volunteered when Gary cooked for us before know how tasty lunch will be! Water provided. Remember—no previous volunteer experience necessary. The FOS Workday Coordinator is Marsha Achenbach.

Please RSVP to FOS by email FOShimek@gmail.com so we have an idea of who is coming and what you are bringing for tools and equipment. If pouring rain, then the work day may be canceled. Any change in work day status will be promptly posted on FB and the FOS Blog as well. If there is a change, anyone who has advised us they are coming will be contacted via e-mail or phone. Both campground and trail work is needed. Campground work includes clean up of fire pits, campsites and stalls, can and bottle sorting, and some painting yet to be done. Some rails in the lower campground need painting brown. The toilet facilities need to be painted white inside at both the White Oak and Bitternut Campgrounds, with the paint awarded by Vogel Paint. Trail work needed that can be done using your ATV, on foot or on horseback includes trash/can pick-up, cutting back multi-flora that intrude on the trails (can use loppers, weedeaters, or walk-behind mowers), clipping back overgrowth on narrower trails with loppers, and removing any trees that have fallen since the last work day. Please talk to Forester Byrd at the Shimek Office about what you might be doing if you plan to bring a 4-wheeler and/or chainsaw. Let us know what you want to work on and we will discuss what supplies you might need to bring and what DNR or FOS can supply. Paint, paint supplies, vinyl gloves and trash bags will be provided by DNR or FOS. FOS has loppers. Don't forget your blaze orange Friends of Shimek work vest if you have one. There will be some loaners available to identify all of us as volunteers.

Many hands makes light work for everyone!  Thanks in advance!

　

Successful Work Day 7-10-19

Twenty-one FOS volunteers and 5 DNR Shimek crew put in a busy morning on a hot, sunny day. Thank you volunteers (Melanie Schaefer and grandaughter Jala,  Deedra Graber, Lynne and Howard Himmelreich, Doug Moothart, Becky  Hassman, Pat Pollpeter, Bill and Linda Fiordelise, Mary Doyle, Oriana  Ross, Pepper Smith, Bob Bender, Bob Achenbach),   Friends of Shimek
board members (Ann Bennett, Lora Conrad, Bonnie Moothart, Jo Watson,  Neal Hartman, Marsha Achenbach) and 5 DNR employees (Patrick Thomas, Ben  Hassman, Eric Martin, Heath Fraise, Ross O'Day) who came to the July 10  Volunteer Work Day. 

Work was done on clearing trails, installing another hitching rail, painting the insides of the Lick Creek Toilet facilities and the outside of two of them, cleaning fire pits and campgrounds. There was more that enough work for everyone.   

                                                                                  




Cans and bottles collected, sorted, and cashed in for a grand total of $105.00

Jo you are doing a great job in there!

The insides of the pit toilets were painted at the Upper and Lower Campgrounds with paint donated by a grant called Paint Iowa Beautiful.                                     

 

 Lora is getting ready to apply a fresh coat of paint to the outside of this pit toilet.

 

Oriana and Lora chatting as they work together on a very hot work day.

 

Doug  is working hard cutting up trees that have fallen onto the trails.  DNR and Volunteer Crews with four wheelers hit the trails to remove many down trees. 

Tie rails do wear out from time to time.  Another tie rail has been replaced with a new sturdy one. 

 

A potluck lunch was enjoyed with watermelon ad cantaloupe, taco layered salad, pasta salad, home made bundt cake, cookies, meat/cheese/condiments for sandwiches with home made bread plus other delicious items.

Happy Trails Everyone!

 

Please put the next work day on your calendar.

 Wed, Aug 21, 2019

 coordinated by Marsha  Achenbach.  

 

Things to be done include painting the inside of the White Oak and
Bitternut campground pit toilets, sort redemption cans and bottles,
clear trees off trails.

 

Many Hands Make Light Work! 

All Trails Open as of 7/5/19

We know that you will be glad to learn that Forester Byrd has announced that ALL Equestrian Trails at Shimek are OPEN as of 11am 7/5/19. His message : "All trails at Shimek are OPEN! They are not overly dry but looking pretty good. Once again, I want to thank all the riders (there were a few rogue riders) that stayed off the dirt trails for saving the staff at Shimek weeks of maintenance work. With the forecast calling for rain the next few days, please check trail status before riding."

For your reference:
DNR Status/Closure site: https://www.iowadnr.gov/Pla…/State-Parks/Alerts-and-Closures
(Remember: When Shimek is not listed here--all trails are open.)
DNR Shimek office phone: 319-878-3811 (Reminder: There are no office staff--a message will be left re trail status; If Forester Byrd is in the office, he will answer.)
FOS Blog page re WWT: http://friendsofshimek.blogspot.com/p/photos.html