By: MJ + PJ
[We did pass thorough the corner of Illinois. Be prepared to pay TOLLS on the highways between Chicago and Cleveland!]
The Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore was our target for the night in Indiana. We had never heard of it, but it popped up on the list of potential campsites. Since it is a National Park we knew AJ could probably obtain another Junior Ranger badge. Looking back, he had not earned one in Arches NP or Zion NP at the start of the trip because we were so pressed for time and it wasn’t on our radar. (Strangely enough he had never earned one at Rocky Mountain either – his “home National Park”!) Since he had been collecting quite a few badges, we got him a Junior Ranger vest while at Glacier NP to try to keep track of them all.
Since we knew so little about the Lakeshore, we called ahead to enquire about our chances camping. The ranger told us it should be no problem as most people left on a Sunday afternoon, which was when we were arriving. Upon arriving we selected a site in what was probably a 25% full campground. This site was one of the best of the trip so far, having:
- Flat graveled tent spaces that were neat and well kept
- Hardwood for firewood (plenty left by other campers) and a level fire pit
- Well spaced sites with good variety to match the terrain
- Easily pitched hammock and slack line trees and points
- A pole to hang things on out of reach of critters
- Single room hot showers
- A large sized wash sink for cookware cleaning
- A drinks vending machine with water and Gatorade etc (we did not need it)
- Minimal insects
These things are not taken for granted or expected, so when they are all at once it feels like luxury! It was a quiet spot and we had arrived fairly early (6pm) so had plenty of light remaining to enjoy it.
The camp host stopped by. She was a retired teacher and we had a lengthy conversation about how the camp host role worked… because we could totally do that (or park ranging). She had started with a few volunteer positions at campsites but also at visitor centers, moving around the country long enough to develop a good reputation and knowing what to choose and when. There is a national registry for this sort of role, so if you are interested, see this link.
MJ went for a run early the next morning, getting a shoe soaked in the swampy trails, catching sunrise over Lake Michigan, running the beach for a while, and then weaving through some sandy trails. He figured out that this Lakeshore was a lot bigger than it looked but had a lot of variety.
Regrouping for an easy paced morning, we packed up camp and headed to the visitor center to look into all things Junior Ranger. The camp host had mentioned that it was a very good visitor center so it seemed an ideal place to start. After getting sorted by the helpful rangers there, it was time to have a closer look at the quite amazing murals of wildlife that surrounded the visitor center. The artist took half a day to create each of the five with spray paint. He hides a stencil shape of Mickey Mouse in each one. Can you find it?
We then headed to the shoreline to do some of the book activities and have a swim/wade in the lake. The wading and AJ splashing around took over from anything too academic as it was quite hot but enjoyable with the fine weather and cool water. Reluctantly ending his beach time, AJ agreed to return to the visitor center to read the Junior Ranger oath and obtain his badge. We all learned what a glacial moraine was, and how far the glacial sheet had moved south in North America!
Grabbing some lunch supplies we hit the road for Ohio, where we had the following day scheduled with one of PJ’s best friends at Cedar Point. We had spent about 22 hours in Indiana, but had packed a lot in and enjoyed the area.
