Indiana Dunes and surrounding area

Aug 2014. After six weeks in Wisconsin, it was time to start moving south.  But we only moved to the southside of Chicago to Indiana Dune National Lakeshore.  With no reservations, we were lucky to get a spot over the Labor Day Weekend.  It is the perfect location for visiting Chicago and the surrounding southside area because it is only 1/4 mile from the commuter train into Chicago and just 1 mile to the beach.

We stopped at the visitor center in Hammond, IN, and I couldn't resist taking this picture depicting the character from the movie "Triple Dog Dare", which was shot in this area.

The campground was very nice and we stayed for a week.

The Bailey homestead was established in 1822 and the original home was started in 1835.  It has been restored to look as it did in 1917.  The Pottawatomie Indians brought their beaver pelts to trade with Mr. Bailey.

In the small town of Porter, IN, we saw this sign.  Now there is no need to waste your time while waiting for your laundry to get done, just get a tattoo.

At the corner of the turnoff to the campground was a mobile pizza maker.

We saw him set up several different places within a one block area.  He had picnic tables to set out and everything.  Good pizza too.

Max just had to go swimming in Lake Michigan.  I think it was a little cold.  Me?, I'm a woose,  the water needs to be at least 78 degrees before I'll get in.  The outside temps weren't even that high.

I even had a motel there, too.

We drove into Chicago one day, going to Wrigley Field and found a place nearby for a Chicago dog.

We took a scenic route back to camp, stopping for a few minutes at this famous fountain in downtown Chicago.  Buckingham Fountain was dedicated in 1927 and is one of the largest fountains in the world.  We would be coming back later to explore the area further.

East of the campground is Michigan City and we stopped to visit the Barker Mansion, built around 1900.  John F. Barker invested in the freight car industry and in 1922, his company merged with Pullman company.  They call this 'the house that freight cars built'.

Standing in the garden looking to the back of the house and the veranda.

Standing in the veranda with the gardens behind us.  

Down on the waterfront was the lighthouse built in 1858, which replaced the earlier lighthouse of 1837.

Southeast of camp was the town of Valparaiso and Valparaiso University.  When it was founded in 1859, it was only one of four coeducational colleges in the U.S.  It became affiliated with the Lutheran Church in 1925.

Inside the main chapel.

This building is part of the new campus, built in the 1950s.  The school has about 4500 students from 50 countries.

In downtown Valparaiso is the Memorial Opera House, built in 1893.