Indiana Dunes National Park

The dunes are situated along the southern shore of Lake Michigan. In 2019, they became the country's 61st National Park and Indiana's first.

Jumping in

Everyone's first question when learning of this dream of mine is "Where are you going first?" Finally, a few months ago, it was decided it was going to be Southern California. The plan was to spend 3 weeks driving there and meeting up with 2 friends for a little vacation at an airbnb right outside a National Park. The weekends were likely going to be long driving days and the weekdays mostly filled with work leaving little time to explore.

Two weeks before we planned to leave, I was laid off from my job (that I had started just shy of 4 weeks earlier 😒). I was devastated but I took this as an opportunity to ease into this adventure, take it slower, and be able to explore more along the way. And we're doing exactly that.

The Dog's First National Park

Instead of jumping straight on 70 and heading west, we went north to the shores of Lake Michigan to visit our first National Park!

We woke up Sunday at the Visitor Center and then checked out Portage Dune via the Riverwalk trail. We also stopped over at West Beach. The dogs didn't come to the beach with me but they did get to experience sand between their paws and so many sniffs.

Next up

We've made it to the next state. Stay tuned for our next stop as we continue westward!