sand dune beach at river walk

look for Chicago in background 

sand dune beach

stairway to Mt Tom

the highest peak in the Indiana Dunes National Park
 
more stairway


sand dune trail to Mt Tom

wish I knew how to delete when it downloads twice

snowy owl at nature center (stuffed)


Day 12 July 19 Indiana Sand Dunes

A belated happy birthday to Saniah Simms July 14.  Hope you had a great day Saniah!  And thank you Terra.  You are the only person who has been able to figure out how to leave comments on the blog.

Chesterton, Indiana was a pleasant surprise.  Dennis found the best coffee of the trip and we stumbled on a really nice paved rails trail called the Prairie Duneland Trail.  It was only 10 miles each way but covered by a thick canopy of trees, well maintained and not very crowded.  We did pass the track team twice.

On a high from riding that trail we were really excited to climb at least one dune in the state park so after several u-turns we found the nature center in the state park (We were looking for the National Park visitor center.) The nature center has some wonderful examples of local birdlife which is extensive given the biodiversity of the dunes.  Thus the photo of the owl.  I couldn't resist.  We picked up a map and some recommendations for seeing the dunes given our age.  Instead of the 3 dune challenge we opted to climb  Mt Tom, the tallest dune using the stairs partway (older and wiser).  Mt Tom has 56 million cubic feet of sand and moves 4 feet every year.  The dunes are continually burying the trees and bushes so they plant native plants where ever needed and rid areas of invasive weeds.  We watched the video in the visitor's center.

We found totally by accident the cutest little eatery for lunch called Joe's Bread.  We find that cute usually indicates healthier food and it was all homemade and delicious, especially the coffee.  Dennis said it was the best of the trip.  I was sorry that I ordered the iced tea.

We also took a scenic drive to see some incredible old and new homes on the Lake Michigan shore.  Two of the older ones, one entirely pink, (sorry no photo) had been moved to this location as historic landmarks, open to the public only one day a year.  We saw it in the video and from the car.

Another attempt to take in the National park led us to the Portage Riverwalk, where we saw the dune beach pictured above.  The "walk" was a bust however so we left for our next Best Western in Goshen, Indiana.  All in all another wonderful day blessed by perfect weather.  Possible rain tomorrow on the Pumpkinvine trail.

I was totally impressed with Lake Michigan and its shoreline.  Our trip has taken us completely around the Lake and filled us with awe both for its beautiful scenery and its tremendous biodiversity.  Just a fantastic Lake.
 

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