Day 26: Indiana Dunes National Park (Eric)

Day 26 (June 24, 2021): Our next destination was a visit to Indiana Dunes National Park. This was just recently made a national park in 2019, and while not one of the more majestic parks as far as scenery goes, it was still a fun place to visit when the weather cooperates. Unfortunately, we were only there for a day, and it rained almost the entire time we were there. 

It still didn’t stop us from checking out the state beach park which is inside the national park (I know that sounds strange). This is a very nice beach park on the shore of Lake Michigan. We probably would have spent more time here, but we had Bitey with us as we hadn’t checked into the hotel yet. Also, the lifeguards closed down the beach for swimming due to the weather. It was still cool to see, and it seemed that Bitey enjoyed his first trip to a beach. 

After checking into our hotel in Portage, Indiana, we dropped off Bitey and returned to the park. The rain had stopped for a little, and we decided to hike the three-dune challenge which is also in the state park part of Indiana Dunes. This is a relatively short, but strenuous hike up three different dunes. While we have been more active during this trip, this hike was still difficult. Jenny and I both found ourselves huffing and puffing as we climbed up the dunes. At some point, it also started to rain again. Despite all of this, it was still a fun experience with beautiful scenery and views of the lake. 

Next, we completed a scenic drive along the lakeshore. This was interesting to see as this is another national park with private residences scattered around parts of the park. There were some really nice homes in the area, but it was a little bit of a disconnect when one of the reasons for going to a national park is to experience natural beauty. Still, we enjoyed seeing this part of the park. 

We also headed over to West Beach which is part of the national park. The rain was still coming down, but we walked down to the beach and briefly explored some of the area around the beach. In addition to the beach, there are some additional dunes and bogs. This would have been nicer if the weather was cooperating, but we still had fun, and it certainly kept the crowds away. 

After exploring the park, we drove to the nearby town of Gary, Indiana to eat at the Miller Pizza Company. It was a fun little pizza place with good food and friendly staff. It was a nice way to end the day.