Wilderness Wandering

10/09/2024

We left Lake Mills early in the morning and arrived at Indiana Dunes Visitor Center about 10:30 AM. We talked with the Ranger, which was a good thing, because several things we wanted to do were closed for the season. We watched the excellent park movie. We didn’t know this area was so rich with biodiversity. It’s a migration pathway for birds and has many unique plant species. 

There is a state park within the boundaries of the national park, and one of the hikes we wanted to do was in the state park. We decided to begin there. 

We paid the $12 out of state visitor entrance fee to Indiana Dunes State Park. 

We drove to the trail head and had lunch at a picnic table. 

We set out on the Three Dune Challenge. The trail winds 1.5 miles through breath taking views and exhausting inclines up and down the dunes around 200 feet high. Some of the inclines were up to 40 degree slopes. We were told it was the most challenging hike in the park. Hiking in sand is always a good workout. 

When we returned, two DNR volunteers were replacing an information sign. Tim started talking to them. Kenny and Paul were related to each other somehow. They both are retired and volunteer in the park 3 days a week. They passionately recommended another hike that were should do in the state park. I kind of wanted to head over to the national park, but when people who have been spending that much time in the park make a strong recommendation, you should probably take their advice. 

The hike started on trail 2 and then went to trail 10 and ended on trail 9. Trail 2 was a long section on a beautiful boardwalk across a marsh. We saw a huge beaver dam.  There were birds everywhere. We were glad we took the hike. 

We also chatted with two gentlemen sitting at a picnic table and talking to others over a radio. They were participating in Parks on the Air. We learned The Parks on the Air program is  an international portable amateur radio operations program promoting safety and information in the parks. They had been talking with people from all over the country and Canada. 

We ended with touring the Nature Center. It was really well done! We found the state park to be very enjoyable. If you go to Indiana Dunes National Park, we encourage you to visit the state park as well! Please say “Hi” to Kenny and Paul for us. 

Now, on to Indiana Dunes National Park. 

We drove about 15 minutes to the 1933 Chicago World’s Fair Century of Progress homes. There are 5 homes right on the shore of Lake Michigan that were transported by barge at the end of the World’s Fair. The houses were extremely interesting and far ahead of their time. One home was built with a stucco type product that was supposed to require very little maintenance, but distantly didn’t hold up as well as the designer hoped.  Another was built mostly of glass and had a helicopter hanger incorporated into the home. A third was the only home that actually followed the rules of the exhibit, which was supposed to be affordable for an average family of the time. It was a prefab modular home.  The homes belong to the park service, but there are people living in them. The Flamingo House, which appears to be very open with large patios on each end of the home was designed to promote living in Florida. I discovered that the house is actually for sale! Only $2.5 million gets you ownership of the home and a 52 year lease on the land it sits on. At the end of 52 years, maybe you have to move the home to your own property? The last home is a cypress log cabin that just became available for rental. It’s a 5 night minimum and $850 per night. As cool as the home looked, I don’t see us staying there in the near future while we have our trusty Calypso. It does sleep 12 people, so if you had a group, it wouldn’t be so bad. 

Next we drove to the east end of the park to Mount Baldy, a sand dune over 120 feet tall, where a little boy was buried by sand when he fell into a sinkhole in the dune and  nearly died in 2013. The dune remains closed unless you take a Ranger guided hike. Unfortunately, the hikes are suspended until next spring. We walked .3 miles down to the beach area though. You can faintly see the Chicago skyline in the distance. You can see some steel mill smoke stacks up close!

We drove back west to the campground and checked in. The campground is quite nice. AND campfires are allowed!! Tim started a campfire and made Old Fashioneds while I made dinner. I made a new dessert, campfire apple crisp. It was very well received! It was very dark by 7:30 PM. 

October 10, 2024

We took our time getting ready this morning. Our first activity of the day was The Cowles Bog Trail. It is a 4.7 mile moderate trail. It begins as a sandy trail meandering through an oak forest and climbs until you overlook Lake Michigan. We heard and saw many birds and really enjoyed the developing fall color of the trees. 

We stopped by to look in St. Ann of the Dunes church and were glad we did! It was a beautiful tiny church. The wall behind the altar was all glass and there were bird feeders outside. The furniture on the altar had driftwood bases. I loved it. 

The last thing I wanted to do here was have lunch at Lake View Beach. 

We pulled into a parking spot and Tim went and sat at a picnic table overlooking Lake Michigan while I made lunch. He began talking with a young man making his lunch with a jet boil. Tim learned that Nathan was a 23 year old recent college graduate. He will begin his career in San Francisco in November. He and his dad outfitted his Subaru Outback for car camping. He had a very cool setup for 1 person. He had been through Rocky Mountain NP and was headed toward Dry Tortugas NP seeing other parks that interested him along the way. We really enjoyed our conversation with him over lunch!

We were pleasantly surprised by Indiana Dunes National Park. We were sorry we didn’t have our bikes, as there appear to be several nice bike paths in the area. This may be a park to revisit since it’s not far from home.