Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore

After visiting the bog, we traveled back to the visitor's center and watched the movie.  Afterwards I said how sad that a huge portion of the dunes has been destroyed in the name of 'progress'.  Only after citizens realized that the dunes were being destroyed quickly did they band together and today they are protected.  What's even more sad - big business is the culprit, especially the steel mills.

We would find ourselves coming down those steps later

Between dunes are marshes 

Got to bathhouse - view on walkway to beach

Looking east towards Michigan City

Looking west - Chicago is barely visible to right, groups of people
getting baptized

Went to the West Beach area where the ranger had said there were a couple of nice hikes where you get to see the dunes, the different categories of the dunes - how they creep, become stable, the different types of dunes, and then the beach where you could swim.  When we first got to the parking lot and got out and looked to the east - we saw a huge staircase heading down from one of the dunes. Little did we know that we would be on those steps later.

Oh good, on a boardwalk

Can see the different layers of sand right at water's edge 

Chicago in center

No more boardwalk, just sand 

And on we walked 

Into the trees

Walked down to the beach, saw lots of people and also could see Chicago across the lake.  Looked like a storm coming, so we decided to do walk the Succession Trail which goes through the different areas of the dunes.  As we looked at the people down in the water, we could tell there was a group being baptized.

Good, back to boardwalk

Oh boy, steps - a lot of them.  Good, at least we are going up, good on knees

And up

And now, we start down

Hard to walk on sand.  For half of the walk (1 mile long) it was on sand, I think we walked double because of the slipperyness of our feet in the sand.  Worked up a great sweat heading up the stairs and then if you go up, you must go down!  Going up didn't bother us, coming down did - not good on your knees.  But we made it and was back at the car by 4:45.

The plant at top left - it is the plant that starts the stabilization
of a dune.  Once it takes root, the dune stops shifting.

Looking back towards lake

And back up again 

We looked up from the parking lot to the top of these steps.

Got back to the RV and Dave cooked chicken on the grill and we were so famished, we ate it all!  Normally he cooks enough for 2 meals, one is a warm dinner, the second time the chicken is cut up in salad, but not that night!  Looked at my walking tracker - we did just a shave under 3 miles.  No wonder we were hungry!