Back from Indiana Dunes

I worked 7 days a week during this past school year, which aside from holiday breaks, left me no time for mini-vacations. This summer, I've got all my work clustered into 4 days, which means that in theory, I have time to take some little trips. In practice, I've got loads of critiquing/writing/other projects going on, and am not making as much money as I might have hoped due to declining enrollment in private students.But Stephan left yesterday for a week in Puerto Rico visiting Chris, and I decided I'd be darned if I didn't get in a little trip of my own. Plan A was to go to southern Indiana and camp at O'Bannon Woods State Park, do some short hikes, and check out the trail heads for the 24-mile loop Adventure Trail, which Stephan and I are hoping to backpack sometime. But the weather wouldn't cooperate. I should mention that this was a place we hoped to go last week, but utlilized plan B, which I wrote about here, due to uncooperative weather.Northern Indiana seemed less likely to stay in the rain, so on a whim, I drove up to the Indiana Dunes, where I'd only been once before. Stephan and I took a day trip up there years ago, when I had first moved to Indiana, my first state with no ocean border. I recall liking the Lake Michigan coast, but not liking the way the water felt for swimming, and the drive up there is flat and boring. Still, I can't imagine why it's taken me so long to get back. Possibly because the drive is a trifle long for a day trip and I don't get many chances for an overnight trip. Well, now that I have a tent, a cheap overnight trip is a possibility! I dropped Stephan off at the airport around 5:00 a.m., then headed north through a light rain. By the time I got close to the lake, it had all but stopped.The Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore spreads along the coast between Gary and Michigan City, with Indiana Dunes State Park somewhere in the middle. It is bordered by a power plant in Michigan City and a steel mill close to Gary, and the South Shore passenger rail line goes right through the area. So it's a surreal mix of industrial and natural areas.The beaches are beautiful, and aside from the fact that the waves are more gentle, you wouldn't know from looking that you're on a lake and not the ocean. It was way too cold to swim, which is just as well, because I recall not liking the feel of the lake water the one time I went before. I had the beach practically to myself. I watched a blue heron stalk its dinner in the shallows, and any number of seagulls wheel around. I walked on the beach and picked up interesting rocks. I took a couple of shorter trails.I camped at the Dunewood Campground, which was just great. The campsites are surrounded by trees so even with neighbors on both sides, I felt pretty secluded and out in nature. But it was just a short walk down a path to the bathhouse. I pitched my tent, built my fire, and heated up a can of chili. I even did a few critiques. I slept like a log in the tent, though I find the mummy-style sleeping bag takes a little bit of getting used to. You can't just roll yourself over, you have to make sure the whole bag rolls with you or you get into a horrible twist. I got used to waking up every few hours and rotating myself and my bag a quarter turn, then going back to sleep. I woke up to the sound of rain falling on my tent and lay there a while hoping it might lessen or stop. No such luck. I finally got up and hastily broke camp in the pouring rain, spreading my wet tent out on a tarp in the trunk. I didn't even change out of the clothes I had worn the day before and slept in, but hit the road back for Indy.I really want to go back later this summer and take Stephan. There are so many trails and I love the beaches and definitely had a good experience with the campground. Now I just need to hose down my tent and find a place for it to dry!I'm a novice camper. I just bought the tent last year, not sure how often I'd be using it. But now I've camped three times, twice alone and once with Stephan. I love the feeling of the outdoors being my living room, and the feeling of freedom that I can travel cheaply and spur-of-the moment. So I'm very happy that the wild impulse, mid-life crisis, or whatever, made me decide I had to get camping equipment! Now I just need to make some backpacking plants that work out.