Island Fest to Dunes - this is the midwest?

Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore, Indiana

Continuing our drive across Michigan we were going to stop at Battle Creek and investigate Dr. Kellogg, the health advocate, and his weird inventions. On further research we found this point of interest was more centered around the contributions of the Seventh Day Adventist Church. We opted for another activity. Voila! A billboard magically appeared touting wonderful biking in Kalamazoo. Okay, we'll bite.

The Kalamazoo River Trail does indeed follow along the river and also takes you into town, a fun college city hosting both Western Michigan University and Kalamazoo College. Our ears perked up when we heard some great Reggae music so our bikes naturally veered off the path and followed the tunes. Turns out this weekend is the Island Festival, with a heavy emphasis on Bob Marley and all things Jamaican. The live band was awesome, there was lots of beer and rum drinks flowing, and too many Jamaican jerk stands to count. Ned and I opted for curry goat and jerk chicken over beans and rice. The music, people, food and community gathering was really fun. It reminded us a bit of being in Trinidad this past May, which seems like a lifetime ago.
At one point it started to lightly sprinkle so we thought it best to head back to the van rather than push our luck. Kalamazoo, good times.

Ned spotted another billboard, this one claiming to be the "Best Chocolate Shop in America", according to The Food Network. You think he would pass this up?! The country road took us past several wineries, some of which offered fudge along with their wine, obviously trying to capitalize on the tourists heading for the Chocolate Garden. We thought that was pretty amusing. For a small fee one can sample three small bites, i.e. a quarter of a truffle each. It was broken down by dark chocolate, milk chocolate and white chocolate. We opted for 3 of the darks. I inquired as to the chocolate the chocolatier uses, but they said it was a trade secret. We're pretty sure it was Callebaut, which is the largest chocolate maker in the world. They were okay, but we both definitely prefer good dark chocolate to truffles.

We left Michigan behind and crossed into Indiana. We were driving on backroads and hoping to be hugging Lake Michigan, or at least get a glimpse here and there. Turns out there's thick woods between the road and lake. We did enjoy driving through several arty communities and stopping at a local store. It definitely felt like a vacation spot on a Friday late afternoon. Everyone hustling to get their weekend supplies of ice, charcoal and brews.

Okay, this next question is for my Western friends and not my Mid-west family and friends. How many of you knew there was a National Park in Indiana? Yep, right on the shores of Lake Michigan, tucked in between the State Park, residential homes and several steel mills is the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore. It wasn't declared a National Park until 1966. You can imagine the politics and fight between the steel mills and power plants that raged on from the late 1800's until the mid 20th century over whether to preserve the dunes. What makes these dunes so unique is they are one of the most bio-diverse areas in the U.S. One can see everything from prickly pear cacti to marshes, woods and dunes in a very concentrated area. Ned and I spent some time at the Visitors Center taking in a film and talking with one of the park rangers. I was ready to go exploring.

After securing a campsite at the National Park, we hopped on our bikes for the second ride of the day. Another local ranger suggested a route and we were off. We rode through marsh land and woods then out to Lake Michigan. Of course we had to get our feet wet and test the waters. Not too cold, but I didn't jump in. If you've never been on Lake Michigan it feels more like an ocean than a lake. As far as your eye can see, off into the horizon, is just water. When I looked to my right, there were people swimming and a couple of small boats for renting. When I looked to my left, in the far horizon you can see smoke billowing out of the stacks of the steel mills.

Riding further down the shore we came upon several really huge, and somewhat opulent but dated, homes. Our first reaction was why are these residential homes in the National Park. Turns out they were part of the National Park and are the "Century of Progress" homes. They were featured at the 1933 World's Fair in Chicago and relocated here. One of the homes looked to me like a concrete octagon yurt. Turns out it was the "home of tomorrow", featuring pre-fabricated concrete and a airplane hangar for a garage. Apparently every family of the future would have their own airplane. (How's that working out for everybody?). Today private tenants lease these homes so they are not open for touring.

We're enjoying the laid back vibe of our campsite tonight. It's heavily wooded, the sites are spaced far apart and everyone seems to be on bikes. We're looking forward to testing out a local beer, Dragon's Milk, we picked up to go along with our chicken on the grill. My big challenge this evening is to try and get some sleep. I'm so excited to be visiting my family in Chicago. It's going to be a fun weekend!