The Indiana Dunes are comprised of both state and national parkland in Chesterton, Indiana. It’s an incredibly diverse area and includes lakefront, swamp, marsh, and forest. It’s surreal to pass so quickly from one to another, especially a mere hour and a half from my house on the northwest side of Chicago.

Welcome to the park!

We started off on Trail 10 and hit the marsh. I need to figure out when the water lilies bloom so I can make a point to see them.

I can’t say the word “swampy” without thinking of Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf.

The extremely swampy parts have boardwalks so you don’t have to wade through the muck.

However, the irises were in bloom, which was a treat. I’ve never seen irises doing their thing out in the wild before.

The marsh gave way to forest, and then dunes.

It’s so odd to see pine trees, scrub, and beach all at the same time.

After this we got to a blowout, which is basically what it sounds like–a valley created by wind blowing the sand away.

Either Big, Furnessville, or Beach House Blowout. I have no idea which one.

NB: Going down is MUCH easier than going up.

My dog pretty much had the time of her life on the beach, which was fun to watch after slogging up and down the dunes.

Minka with Auntie Linda

Just before cutting back over to where we started, we were treated to a beautiful view of  rustbelt Indiana. Win some, lose some, I guess.

Let’s just pretend that smoke is a cloud.