Indiana Dunes – Rainy Days
Spring showers bring May flowers, right? I sure hope so because it has really been raining in Indiana and Wisconsin! We rolled in to sunny skies and great temperatures for a couple of days. The kids were able to check out one of the big dunes called “Devil’s Slide”. They had a lot of fun climbing the massive thing and then running back down. They did this at least three or four times while we were here.
Then there was a few hours of play on the beach, bathing suits and all. Well, a bathing suit on the youngest, the rest of us aren’t that crazy. It was a pretty warm day out and perfect for hanging by the shore. Over the weekend, there was a vintage RV event at the campground. There were some really cute RVs. And of course I have a few pictures for your viewing pleasure.
But alas, the weather didn’t last long. We did manage to get in a hike on Friday so we could complete some of the Junior Ranger badge for Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore. We visited the Chellberg Farm which was built in 1885 and went through three generations of Chellbergs. The farm was preserved by the National Park Service as representation of a Swedish-American settlement. The farm includes a family home, water house with windmill, chicken coop/bunkhouse, and the original barn. There is also a cemetery on the property.
Then we hiked out to the Joseph Bailly Homestead. It was the home of Joseph Aubert de Gaspe Bailly de Messein. Now that name is a mouthful! He was a fur trader and there was a fur trading cabin on site. The family came to the shores of Lake Michigan in 1822. There were a few other buildings on site to include his granddaughters home. I allows love to go to these places and imagine what it must have been like to live there. The house was in pretty good shape on the outside. We could peek into the windows but we didn’t see much. The park ranger told me the fireplace has a hand-carved mantle that’s really beautiful.
As soon as we finished hiking and got in the car, it started to rain. And it rained and rained and rained. It rained the next day on the vintage camper event and all night into Sunday. We originally were supposed to stay in Indiana until Monday but alas I goofed on our upcoming stop. I accidentally double booked us for Sunday. Since there wasn’t much to do in the rain and the kids already received their badges, we decided to head on down the road.
Cool vine on a tree
It rained nearly the entire way to Wisconsin. We’re now parked in the Wisconsin Dells in the middle of nowhere. We had hope when we passed through a larger town with a Costco. But alas, we still had about forty miles until we reached our destination. We started seeing fields and tiny towns with signs that read “population 1,378”!
We pulled into Spring Green without the slightest hint of a McDonald’s in sight. But there were lots of fields, tractors and cheese signs. It’s pretty chilly here at 39 degrees, the wind is blowing and of course it’s raining. As I type, I’m listening to a rattling noise under the RV. I always here the same noise whenever the winds pick up – not sure what it is but hopefully we’ll be all intact in the morning!
With Lake Erie and Michigan checked off, we can focus on our next adventure. Our destination here is a place called House on the Rock. Then we’re off to a little pit stop for two nights in Wells, Minnesota as we head towards South Dakota. Yellowstone isn’t too far off in the distance now. I’ll keep you posted as we roll along. Hope this finds all of you enjoying dry, warm weather, unlike the crew!!
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{HUGS} from the Crew!
