Mystery Park Guest(s) Revealed!
Okay, so in my July 5th post I promised you a mystery guest on this next adventure. Well, I got surprised myself on this trip with an additional mystery guest even I was not expecting.
More about that in a minute. One of my favorite parts about visiting this park was the "sweet ride" I was upgraded to for free by a lovely woman with long, blue, sparkly nails at Midway airport named, Monica. If you ever see her, thank her for me. Here it is:
Yes, my friends, that is indeed a HEMI engine. Monica's exact words after handing me the keys were, "We are not responsible for any speeding tickets that you may incur." I feel like Monica knew me personally. Lucky for me no tickets, but it wasn't for a lack of trying. I should NEVER own this car, but I LOVED driving it.
Back to my guests!
My mystery guest #1 was my sister, Erika, who made the trip with me into Chicago. Just before we left I told her of my plans to head over to park #61. She was in! (actually, I didn't really give her much of a choice)
Our primary reason for the Chicago trip, however, was a family one, and in the course of our visit and hearing of my side adventure, my cousin David (mystery guest #2) decided to come along.
So, we hopped in the charger and off we went!
The park is near Gary, Indiana and hugs the Lake Michigan shoreline. Actually some of the park extends out into Lake Michigan. The dunes there were formed by receding glaciers.
Upon reaching the park's visitor center and while I was discussing patches with the ranger in the gift shop, my cousin David asked another ranger what we should go visit in the park. Sadly, I think the ranger thought we were interested in the beach area packed with people because that's where they sent us.
Having wasted our time there, we didn't have time to see some of the sites I really wanted to check out like, Mount Baldy, the park's most dynamic sand dune, or the century of progress homes that were actually built for the 1933 World's Fair.
We did however get to see something pretty cool which was an 1820's fur trading post and 1900 era Swedish farmstead. Here it is:
The Bailly Homestead, hugs the Calumet River and was part of an extensive fur-trading network that spread from Montreal to Louisiana, and ultimately to Europe. Joseph Bailly was one of the earliest settlers in northern Indiana. He provided a meeting place for Native Americans and Euro-Americans. Except for White Pigeon, Michigan, Bailly's trading post was the only stopping place for travelers and missionaries between Chicago and Detroit. Later 3 generations of Swedish settlers nearby tapped the maple trees for syrup on their farm. The park every March has an annual Maple Sugar Time event where they demonstrate multiple ways of making syrup. They are the only National Park to make their own syrup!
I will check out the east end of the park and the dunes another time! Maybe next time they will have their patches in...or a sign. We'll see!