Boilercat.
NP Roadtrip – Indiana – Michigan - Days 125 - 131
I am a Purdue Boilermaker. I am also an Arizona Wildcat. I'm a Boilercat. My husband used to ask me all the time which college I identified with more, Purdue University or The University of Arizona. The truth is, I identify with both, equally. I was born a Boilermaker, and died a Wildcat. Plain and simple.
I have a great friend from Purdue, who lives in Schererville, Indiana. I wrote her so many letters over the years, that I remember how to spell Schererville, without looking it up on Google. S-C-H-er-er-Ville. I wasn’t sure that we would be able to visit her on the trip, so our S-C-H-er-er-Ville visit was a little impromptu. Thank goodness for longtime friends. They welcome you on their doorstep, no matter how late the notice.
After crossing the Canadian border into Michigan, we headed south toward Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore. The really nice thing about traveling West is gaining hours! More time to explore! We arrived at the Dunes around 4 pm, secured our campsite, and headed to Lake Michigan to get our bearings. The NPS campground is sufficient, private, and fairly quiet. There is a store across the street from the entrance that has most provisions you might need, a couple of food trucks, and a liquor store right next door. We grabbed some firewood, went to the campsite to cook dinner, and headed right back out to the lakeshore to catch sunset.
I would recommend checking out the Century of Progress homes. These homes were originally constructed for the Chicago World’s Fair in 1933 in downtown Chicago, and were later transported by barge to the south Lake Michigan Shoreline in Beverly Shores in 1935. Apparently, they are open to the public only once a year in October. Tickets sell out fast so plan ahead if you are going to be in the Chicagoland area.
I would think the sunsets on the shoreline of Lake Michigan are spectacular most nights, but I suspect that the universe pulled out all the stops the night we were there. Un-freaking-believable. The doggies were allowed on the beach with us, we had our beach chairs, the weather was perfect, and the sunset was stellar. We took approximately 8,546 pictures and then headed back to camp.
In the morning, we checked out the great Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore Visitor Center and a cute little café in Chesterton called Red Cup Café. We arrived at the “J’ House around 10 am, unpacked, and started to unwind. My friend and I relaxed and soaked up the sunny weather, while G took the BMW in to get the 60,000 mile service and new tires. I don’t think I can convey just how amazing it is to see good friends on the road, especially ones who lived with you in your formative college years. She knows the good, the bad, and the ugly about me…and doesn’t care. We both chose to be each other’s friend throughout the years, and thankfully, it’s stood the test of time. To see her children grow into responsible, polite, and playful human beings is a wacky experience. I remember walking home from frat parties at 2 o’clock in the morning with her. The two scenarios are polar opposites!
My friend begged us to stay in her home. I think she’d be upset at me if I didn’t tell you she tried every single angle to try to get us to stay inside her house, as opposed to on the street in front of her house!! Hahaha! Honestly, it’s easier to stay in our trailer. It’s like staying in our own home, just on wheels. It’s not an inconvenience, it’s not uncomfortable…it’s just normal. Though, we most certainly appreciate the awesome shower, laundry, and kitchen facilities that our friends provide on the road! Without them, we would have had to stop at many more undesirable laundromats! To date, we’ve not been to even ONE laundromat, only using campground facilities a handful of times.
While we were in the Chicagoland area, we received a suggestion to visit the house that inspired the Glass House. Although it was technically built after the Glass House was constructed, the concept and plans were born before Johnson’s iconic Glass House. The Farnsworth House, designed by Mies van der Rohe, is very similar to the Glass House, but it is painted white. Sadly, the setting is much less private with the construction of a fairly major bridge just beyond the property line. I can imagine it was once a tranquil setting, but the road noise and lack of privacy makes for a less than stellar retreat. We debated trying to decide which we liked more, but ultimately decided that we liked the Glass House more, but were both so happy we had the opportunity to see the inspiration behind our favorite.
After touring the Farnsworth House, we drove into Chicago so G could see it for the first time. We braved the traffic, the hot weather, and all the people to enjoy an iconic deep dish at Gino’s Pizza, a walking tour of Millennial Park, Buckingham Fountain, and a few other pieces of public art. By the time we left Buckingham Fountain, though, we had had our fill of the city. We meandered back to Schererville, ordered pizza from State Line Pizza (another college friend’s family business) and called it an early night!
In the morning, we said goodbye to the “J” house and headed in the direction of Sleeping Bear Dunes on the Northeast shore. A little more than halfway to the dunes, we stopped in at Fetch Brewery. The main road was all torn up, the town basically looks closed, but Fetch was definitely open. I’m so glad we stopped in. Amazing brews and amazing service. We made it to Platt River Campground in the early evening hours, but it was still light outside. There was just enough time to unhook the bikes and take a couple mile bike ride over to the Lake Michigan Shoreline to watch another spectacular sunset. The great sunset was a little misleading, because by the time we got back to the trailer and lit a campfire, the rain started. A little light at first, but then huge, dense rain started along with thunder and lightning. This persisted most of the night, but thankfully had cleared by morning.
And boy did it clear up! We had a gorgeous morning exploring Sleeping Bear Dunes. We did a short hike just off the loop road with the dogs, but were really excited for the main event when we met up with G’s former college roommate for a hike at Pyramid Point. After getting our dogs and his dog to calm down (which was an exercise in and of itself), we completed the hike and had some sandwiches at the top. It’s a fairly short hike with an absolutely spectacular view at the top. The dogs all loved it and they pretty much got along after a little bit of a hairy start. G and I had unhooked the trailer in Glen Arbor to make sure we wouldn’t have any trouble getting into the small gravel parking lot at the hike so we headed back and checked out some of the shops. G got the trailer all hooked up, we stocked up on groceries, and headed to Fountain Point.
Fountain Point resort has been in G’s friend’s family since 1936! Ever since G has known about this resort, he has wanted to visit, and boy was it worth the wait. We sat on Adirondack chairs overlooking the lake, played with the dogs, and relaxed. It was heaven. I wish we had planned more time to be there, but like a few other times on our trip, this was not part of the original plan and a last minute imposition on yet another college buddy! Have I mentioned before we are so grateful for our family and friend’s flexibility!! We ended up boondocking in G’s friends driveway in Traverse City, cooked him and his wife chili and cornbread for dinner, and had a great time catching up and chatting about everything from architecture to beer and all that lies between. We had such a good time that we made plans to come back next year, but this time crash the Fountain Point Resort, rather than their driveway.
We headed up the Lake Michigan coastline and crossed the big noisy bridge (glimpsed Mackinac Island from a distance) and headed into the UP. We were excited to get to Munising Tourist Park where we had an awesome lakefront site! We had every intention of going to Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, but we were in major need of some downtime. After Quebec, Montreal, Niagara, and Chicago, we were yearning for some peace and quiet. Munising fit the bill perfectly. While there we made some awesome meals including local pasties, bibb lettuce salad with Michigan dried cherries and homemade spiced walnuts, Kitchen Sink Breakfast Burritos, and Pork Tenderloin Wellington (sadly overcooked). For 2.5 days we just enjoyed our campsite, our dogs, and each other. We played Yahtzee, waded in Lake Superior looking for Petoskey rocks, napped in the daylight hours, and G even did the polar bear plunge, much to the shock (and delight) of our neighboring campers. It was the perfect break we needed to refill our wanderlust tank. One of the many things we’ve learned on the road, is that we aren’t superhuman. When your body or mind says you need a break, listen and embrace it. We set out on this trip with the full knowledge that we could quit at any time when we were no longer having fun. We’re still having fun, we just need to refuel every now and then.
