Indiana Dunes National Park

May 23 We crossed the Mississippi River today! We're camping tonight in a pretty little municipal campground in Adrian, MN where I have barely enough wifi to catch up on our visit to the Indiana Dunes.

 Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore became a National Park in 2019. It spans 15 miles along the southern shore of Lake Michigan. The park is made up of dunes, sandy beaches, wetlands, and forests. Our first stop was to its signature dune, Mount Baldy, which is 126' above Lake Michigan. It is so named because it is one of the few dunes that aren't covered with vegetation. The trail to the top wasn't open, but we took another short, but steep trail through the woods next to Mount Baldy to get a view of the lake.

Mount Baldy from the back. The other side faces the lake. 

View of Lake Michigan from our hiking trail.

There are several hiking trails of varying lengths throughout the park to choose from. We drove next to the area called The Great Marsh. The flat trail winds through wetlands for about three miles. It's a popular birding trail. 

We spotted a lone Sandhill Crane in a field, and a little while later, we spotted a pair wading in the marsh.

You can always tell an Eastern Kingbird by the little touch of white on the tip of the tail.

After our hike through the marsh, we found a picnic table overlooking the lake. Down the street from the picnic area were five houses that were built for the 1933 Chicago World's Fair. "Century of Progress." Click on the photo to read about it. 

 

These two were my favorites. Both look out onto Lake Michigan.

After lunch we hiked the Dune Ridge Trail. In .75 mi, we encountered several different ecosystems. As we climbed, we went through desert, forest, and wetlands.

We spotted this little lizard in the sandy start of the trail.      

                           

Lupines were in bloom along the sandy dune trail.

Views of the wetland portion of the trail, including a beaver lodge.

Later we stopped at the Visitor Center to watch a short, very informative film about the park. The rangers recommended another area called Cowles Bog, so we headed over there. We were surprised to spot an Indigo Bunting by the parking lot. I had never seen one before this trip, and this was my second one in a week! As it turned out, we didn't see much wildlife along the trail except for this little turtle crossing our path, but after the bird in the parking lot, I wasn't disappointed.

       

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After a total of about seven miles of hiking up and down sandy trails, we were beat, (especially since I was carrying my six pounds of camera gear all day!), so we called it a day. On our way back to our campground in Michigan City, we stopped for take-out bbq ribs at Smokey's and enjoyed them with a cold beer!

We'll be getting to the Badlands of South Dakota next where there probably won't be any wifi or cell service. I'll post again once wifi is available.