Indiana Dunes and the Last Crusade before Chicago

Michigan’s ‘Gold Coast’ (I’m not sure many people call it that but we did read it somewhere!) is a long stretch of shoreline down the eastern side of Lake Michigan. Because it faces west, it gets lovely sunsets over the lake and is sometimes compared to California (again, probably not very often!) We spent five days making our way southbound from the town of Ludington (where we disembarked the SS Badger) to Indiana Dunes National Park, one of the United States’ most newly designated national parks.

Stop 1: Muskegon

Muskegon is a classic lakeshore holiday town with a beautiful white sand beach, a lighthouse, and plenty of ice cream options. Before heading to the beach, we picked up picnic sandwiches at a traditional deli. “I’m going to blow their minds with my pronunciation of tomato,” Oli joked before we went inside. Sure enough, he did!

A little later, we decided we had just enough room for an ice cream each. Now, we’ve all spent enough time in the States to know the two golden rules of food ordering:

  1. Ask for the smallest size
  2. Never, ever, ever add any extras

But still, our single scoop ice creams had SIX scoops each! Everyone else had theirs in a cup so they were still in a pickle but not nearly as much of a pickle as me – it melted well before I could eat it and I had to go in the lake to wash the chocolate ice cream off my face, arms and legs! It wasn’t until I got in and it felt a bit different that I realised that of course this was freshwater rather than saltwater – I still can’t get over that this is a lake and not the sea. Probably better for cleaning off ice cream, though!

Just before ice cream-gate

That evening, we took a walk along the breakwater to the lighthouse for sunset. The atmosphere was so hazy from the wildfires that it reminded us of the red sun we saw when watching sunset over the Mekong. It was quite strange watching boats disappear from view when they were just metres from the shoreline – Oli compared it to being in The Truman Show.

Stop 2: Little Paw Paw Lake

Our original plan had been to make a stop in either the posh resort town of Grand Haven or boaty Saugatuck, but we soon realised (as often happens) that our ambitions didn’t quite fit with our habit of last-minute bookings – or our budget. So instead, we stopped for breakfast in Grand Haven (below left) and a walk in Saugatuck (below right) on our way south.

In the end, our budget-friendly stop in a holiday house neighbouring Little Paw Paw Lake turned out to be the unexpected highlight of our journey along the Gold Coast. If it weren’t for the house, which we picked mostly because it was available last-minute, we never would have visited the lake as it was pretty tucked away. But we had a couple of lovely swims from the tiny beach, caught two gorgeous sunsets and we even saw fireflies each evening – magical!

Stop 3: Indiana Dunes National Park

Despite its frankly excellent, puntastic name, Indiana Dunes is a bit of a funny national park. Its re-designation was apparently opposed by the National Parks Service because of its small size and similarities more with national lakeshores than national parks, and we’d read that we should temper our expectations before visiting: Yellowstone this is not. But it was on our route around the southern tip of Lake Michigan towards Chicago, so we thought it was worth dropping in for the day.

As this was the beginning of the Fourth of July holiday weekend, most people seemed to be using the park as a way of accessing beaches within reach of Chicago – not a bad idea as it was HOT! However, being sandwiched between two industrial areas, the beaches weren’t nearly as beautiful as those we’d visited further north.

Instead, we began our visit at the Century of Progress homes, which had been built to showcase innovative building techniques for the 1933 World’s Fair held in Chicago. Five of them were then moved in 1935 to a clifftop location within the park ready for us to nose at them. My favourite (because I am shallow) was the flamingo-pink, Florida Tropical House, which was based on an ocean liner, but I also liked the shiny, porcelain-enamel Armco-Ferro House, which was constructed from prefabricated panels and inspired designs for post-war prefab housing.

  • The Florida Tropical House
  • The Armco-Ferro House
  • The House of Tomorrow, which was undergoing restoration when we visited

Lastly, we took part in Diana’s Dare, which the park’s information emphasised was a hiking challenge. Dutifully, we stocked up on water and put on our walking boots before discovering that no, we hadn’t misread the distance – it really was a 0.8-mile loop on a boardwalk! This reminds me of something…

Our next destination after our Gold Coast road trip was a long awaited one: Chicago! This city has been on my list for a very long time (I know I say that about everywhere) and we’ve been within striking distance around Lake Michigan for over a week. But first, we had to get there, which was an adventure all of its own. I’ll let Oli fill you in on that next time…

Crossing Lake Michigan on a steam ship 🚢

After our time spent in Door Country, we headed slightly south to take the car ferry across Lake Michigan and into Michigan state. This was partly for the novelty of crossing a lake that looked more like a sea, but also because it saved us 500 miles of driving. What we didn’t really notice beforehand was the fact that this was listed as a historic ship – the SS Badger is the last remaining coal-fired passenger steam ship in the United States. This sounded cool, but the black smoke coming out of the funnel into the already-hazy atmosphere was less so!

Before setting sail, we went to visit the friendly badger sculpture who was on the dock ready to wave off the ship. We then left our car for a member of staff to drive onto the ferry, since this is what they insist on doing – you’re not allowed to load your own vehicle.

Once on board, we sat out on deck for the whole four-hour crossing, despite the crew member who was insisting that it would be too windy to stay outside – “You’ll see! You’ll ALL see!” she was shouting to no one in particular before we set sail. (Ok, she didn’t quite say the second bit but it was still very theatrical).

We couldn’t see far at all as it was so hazy (due to smoke from the wildfires in Canada), so Dad settled down for a nap as he was recovering from a cold. That was, he napped until a crew member bypassed us and gently woke Dad to ask if his name was Leon. Half asleep, you could see the cogs turning – was he in fact Leon? No, he concluded, he was not, so they left him alone. We spent a while speculating whether the real Leon was on the run, until we overheard that his wife had lost him on the ship and the staff were helping to search for him. They didn’t do a very good job because it turned out he’d been snoozing right behind us the whole time – I just hope he didn’t overhear all our speculation about him!

We spent the rest of the crossing joking about the car conveyor belt that might meet us at the other end – because how else would we collect our car than as if it were baggage at an airport? In the end, this turned out to be uncannily similar to what actually happened.

We had a good laugh as each car was driven off the ferry by the staff and left with keys in the ignition and doors unlocked for people to claim, seemingly with no security checks that they were indeed the rightful owner. We thought this was bizarre but pretty funny until we realised two things:

  1. How easy it would be for someone to steal our hire car
  2. How easy it would be for us to accidentally steal someone else’s car, since we noticed only at this point that we had no idea of our car’s registration plate and couldn’t even agree what colour it was!

Our laughs gradually turned to cold sweat as the group of other waiting passengers dwindled and the flow of cars from the ferry slowed. It was at this point that we realised that none of us actually saw the staff drive our car onto the ferry before boarding. Our minds quickly jumped to the conversation we might soon be having with the hire company, covering how we simply left the keys in the vehicle, window open, and boarded a ferry. And then, finally, our hire car rolled off the ferry as one of the very last vehicles. Phew!

I assume that the whole thing is a pretty good illustration of the low crime rates in Ludington, MI…

Car collection roulette

After our jaunt on the lake, we spent the next few days sampling lots of beach towns while working our way down the east coast of Lake Michigan.

(shut the front) Door County

From Milwaukee, we picked up a car and drove north into Door County, a peninsula jutting out into Lake Michigan. This area is known for its natural beauty, as well as being part of greater “dairy county” – Wisconsin is the second largest milk-producing U.S. state, after California.

Weather conditions weren’t the best during our visit for two reasons; first, it rained quite a lot, and second, winds had blown smoke from the forest fires that have been ravishing Canada across a huge area of the Midwest. While this slowed our progress around the peninsula slightly, it did leave us plenty of time to appreciate some of Door County’s man-made attractions.

Trains 🚂

On our way to Door County we stopped in Green Bay, the region’s “big city”, which happens to be home to the National Railroad Museum. Now Sara and I both like trains (well, to varying degrees), but we clearly have rivals as this wasn’t even Helen and Mick’s first visit to this museum! It told the story of early rail transportation in the USA, as well as preserving some absolutely pristine locomotives, including “Big Boy” (yes, that’s really its name). We were even allowed to clamber aboard some, pretend to operate the controls, and scare the living daylights out of some other punters who didn’t realise there was anyone in the dark carriage they were entering 👻.

  • British locomotive and passenger cars converted for use by Dwight D. Eisenhower during WW2
  • The 20m long engine of the “Big Boy” required articulation to negotiate the curves of the Union Pacific Railroad
  • Only three Aerotrain locomotives were ever built, due to its uncomfortably rough ride above 97 km/h
  • The Gratitude Train sent by France to the USA in thanks of donations of food and other supplies

Breweries 🍻

It’s been a while since Sara and I last visited the US, and I swear the breweries weren’t this good or plentiful before. The days of choosing between Coors, Miller and Bud are long gone, and instead brewery menus regularly featured beers inspired by Belgian blondes, Czech pilsners, hoppy IPAs and milk stouts. And the food wasn’t even an afterthought, either. At Copper State Brewing Co in Green Bay, we paired our brews with more delicious fried cheese curds, which went down an absolute treat. Add in some alfresco dining and the semi-regular passings of some nearby freight trains for entertainment, and it added up to a near-perfect meal. Even Mick found a place in his heart for a peanut butter stout alongside his real-ale favourites.

Nature 🌳

A short drive up the coast from Sturgeon Bay (where we were staying) was Cave Point County Park – a protected area right on the edge of Lake Michigan. Here, dense forest meets the lake’s choppy waters at a line of dramatic limestone cliffs. The absence of salt in the air was the only perceivable clue that the lake wasn’t open sea, and I’m sure we didn’t even see the water at its wildest. We stumbled over tree roots along the lakefront path to reach Whitefish Dunes, a totally deserted strip of sand along the lakeshore. The water was way too wild for swimming however, with the riptide signs and shipwreck information panels offering plenty of warnings of the dangers of taking to the water.

It was only on our way back along the cliffs that we noticed some deep cracks in the rock underfoot, many of which went all the way through to the sea beneath. Some were even large enough to lose a dog or a small child through!

Frozen custard 🍦

With Wisconsin being dairy country and all, frozen custard quickly became a regular post-lunch occurrence. In fact, when we were planning this part of the trip, it was clear that frozen custard was a very high priority for Helen and Mick, and who were we to argue?! We visited Zesty’s Frozen Custard which is housed in a 50s-style diner, and the riverside Not Licked Yet. While we loved watching the ducklings and feeding the topiary outside Not Licked Yet, Zesty’s super-creamy custard and rich hot fudge sauce stole the show.

Navigational aids ⛵️

On the east side of the peninsula at Baileys Harbor, we came across two rangelights, which together formed a navigation aid for ships arriving at night.

The rangelights were located 270 m away from each other but at different heights, with the white light shining 5 m above the red light. By aligning the white light directly above the red light, ships could be sure of a safe route in and out of the harbour, even at night. If this sounds familiar, then maybe you’re also a fan of Arthur Ransome’s Swallows and Amazons, in which Captain John and his crew use rangelights to safely enter a harbour in the dark.

Next, it was time to cross the lake to Michigan’s own Gold Coast (its eastern shore), via the historic S.S. Badger ferry.