This was our first destination after our August departure. On the way out of New York we had a first: our camp host in Ohio grew vegetables for his customers and gave them a way. We were the surprised beneficiary of his kindness and garden skills. On the other side of the coin, no seasonal departure is complete without a debilitating RV problem, but fortune was on our side and I was able to get parts and repair it.
Admittedly, we only went to Indiana Dunes National Park because it was on our way to Teddy Roosevelt NP and it didn’t have a check mark on our Park list. It turns out it was …. interesting. Interesting In the same way that Cuyahoga NP is interesting. It is a patchwork park in an urban environment with some cool unique features. In the case of Indiana Dunes, it’s incredibly high dunes at the south end of Lake Michigan and a unique ecosystem that surrounds the area. The system includes a wide variety of plants, birds, and animals that only exist there. Like Cuyahoga NP, it was ultimately turned into a National Park to preserve the area from the commercial interests that were consuming it.
The park weaves through a rail line, steel plant, shipping port, several residential housing developments, villages, and a state park. Despite all this, it has nearly 15 miles of beautiful beaches with crystal clear aqua water, super high sand dunes, lots of really nice hiking trails, a train that can take you to Chicago.
It’s not what you normally think of as a National Park, but it was loaded with people that were beaching, picnicking, and hiking. We were there for only a few days, but we took a few hikes, drove the park end-to-end, visited a couple of historical landmarks, took in some history of the area, and really enjoyed ourselves.
