The lakes out here in the midwest are blowing my mind! I swam in Lake Michigan in a small town called Beverly Shore near the Indiana Dunes National Park. The swim was great – refreshing but not cold, not too much boat traffic and just a few people sprinkled along the beach. I also swam in Lake Michigan in Door County, WI at Peninsula State Park. The beach was packed and the water filled with bodies, floaties, and stand-up paddle boards, making it a nice cool down but not particularly pleasant. It was kinda cool, though, to be in the same lake in a different state.
The Indiana Dunes offered a variety of hikes – the one I took was 3.5 miles and felt like 5 as it was heavy sand almost the entire way. In contrast to the dunes at Lake Ontario in Henderson, NY which consisted of a fore dune and a back dune, there were four layers of dune. The furthest from the shore is the oldest, the closest the youngest…obvious, I suppose, but I wasn’t aware of the difference between layers until I visited Lake Ontario. The oldest dunes at this park date back about 11,000 years when the Wisconsin Glacier rolled three, creating the Great Lakes. The oldest dunes are an oak savannah.
The Indiana Dunes only became a national park in 2019. Prior to that it was named a national shoreline in 1966, following the 1926 establishment of the Indiana Dunes State Park. I was inspired by the story of Dorothy Buell who recruited 19 other women to fight for the protection of the dunes instead of building a port. I’m sure there’s a lot more to this story, but it was notable to me that the women were dismissed as a “tea club” of “harmless birdwatchers.” To the doubters and the critics I say: BOOYAH! Always remember what Margaret Mead said – “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed, citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.”
An interesting feature of Beverly Shores was a collection of five houses that had been part of the 1933 World’s Fair in Chicago reflecting the theme “A Century of Progress” and the future of housing. One was a modular home intended to be affordable; others were fancy and pricey.
Next stop was Milwaukee where I had dinner with former colleague/friend Chris and then spent a couple of hours checking out the town the next day. I stopped in at the Basilica Saint Josephat and was wowed by the story of how they built it and its role as a center of the large Polish community (of special interest as my kids are half Polish). The post office and custom house in Chicago was being torn down because the ground wasn’t strong enough to hold its weight, so the priest, Father Grutza, made a deal to buy the materials for $20,000. 500 traincar loads of bricks and other salvaged materials made their way to Milwaukee and they built the church in five years, from 1896 – 1901. How’s that for sustainable practices?!?
Several people had mentioned Door County as a great place to visit; I’m sorry to say I was underwhelmed. I think that was mostly because I had booked too late and ended up at a KOA Kampground quite a ways south from the places I planned to visit. That meant I had to drive both days I was there. Also, the bike path through Peninsula State Park was only about ten miles and like I said earlier, the beach was packed. I had a good time kayaking the next day, though, going into a small cave that offered the chance to navigate rough water with virtually no risk. After that I hiked a trail that followed the kayaking route, passing by a spot where you can jump off the rocks about 15 feet into the water ,which is only about 6 feet deep. I did not jump. I actually don’t understand how legs weren’t broken in such shallow water. I wandered around Egg Harbor, one of the small towns, and it was cute…just not really my thing.
When I was on the gulf coast in Texas I met a fellow traveler, Helene. We were both headed toward Mobile, so we traveled together before going our separate ways. I planned on visiting her when I got to the Twin Cities, and that was my next stop after a visit to Eau Claire, WI.
Once again, the heat was too much and my plan to stay at a Harvest Host, Schuetzy’s Tavern, wasn’t viable. I found a super cute hotel, the Oxbow, in downtown Eau Claire…it had a turntable in the room and records to borrow! My selections were Phoebe Bridgers and Any DiFranco. I also met a couple from Olympia making a quick trip to bring their daughter to college there. I enjoyed the murals and sculptures in town and met an author promoting his book at a cafe I stopped in at. Of course I bought the book. I haven’t read it yet, but his approach to writing about the lives of trans kids was compelling.
Helene gave me a true insider’s experience in St. Paul and Minneapolis, but first we lucked out when a friend of hers was able to score free tickets to the John Mellencamp concert. It was a good show and a lot of fun.
There were lots of ICE Out signs all over the Twin Cities and I didn’t see any ICE activity while I was there. We also went to George Floyd Square, which was moving and chilling. Residents greeted us, provided information about the efforts to build strong communities, and pointed out specific parts of the memorial. It covers more than a block and includes a “Say Their Name” cemetery of tombstones with the names of people killed by police, names painted on the street, poetry, paintings, a garden, and sculptures.
There was so much to see! The Bob Dylan and Prince murals were captivating and the African American Heritage Museum and Gallery (https://maahmg.org/) offered a snapshot of the civil rights movement in Minnesota from the 1800s through the 1960s as well as paintings and poetry reflecting the theme “I Am America Too.” I was wide-eyed as we traveled through several huge parks offering hiking, biking, paddling, and venues for music.
We had planned on going to one of the many parks to listen to Ukrainian music, but the smoke rolled in and it was cancelled. Then we found a bar with an Irish band, so we headed there but found that they had to move the music inside and there was no more space. We finally ended up at a bar with a punk band, but it was not good and we left as soon as we finished our drinks. I did get to practice my Spanish with a guy wearing an Argentina futbol jersey who had railed on that compared with Seattle, the music scene is MN is lacking. He also claimed the Seattle chill is alive and well in Minneapolis. I don’t know about that – could have just been his beer talking; in any event, the interaction helped dull the disappointment in the band.
I made my way to the Blue Mounds State Park stopping off in New Ulm to do laundry and look around. This is a German-themed town and even the laundromat had a Wilkommen sign.
I got to my campsite, delighted that it was completely shaded and hopeful that meant I wouldn’t be too miserable when it got into the 90s the next day. There’s a terrific bike path from the park that goes right into Luverne, the town adjacent to the park. The name of the town seemed familiar, so I texted my friend Peggy to see what town she grew up in…sure enough, right here in Luverne! There’s a bison reserve in the park and I hopped aboard a safari-type truck for a tour, learning about the bison and even more about the prairie. The natural world continues to fascinate me…or maybe I’m fascinated by how little I know! I was reminded of Antelope Island State Park on the Great Salt Lake in Utah, where bison roamed freely, including in the campground. Between the fact that these bison were fenced in and the video of the bison tossing the man in Yosemite into the air last week, I wondered if I might have been a bit cavalier about them in Utah, even after seeing a fresh pile of scat near my van in the morning. This area has about 3 feet of soil and then layers of Sioux Quartz which sometimes rises above ground.
Tomorrow I hit the road for South Dakota. I’ll be staying at a Harvest Host that offers natural mineral plunges – this sounded great when I first saw it. Now that I’ve been wilting in 90+ degrees, though, I’m not sure how nice that’ll feel. Going into the bathroom at this campground in the evening has been like a sauna…and not in a good way. I just checked the weather in the town I’m going to…100 degrees. Ugh.
Karen in the Gap 
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