Days 51 and 52: Chicago and Indiana Dunes NP

 Tuesday, July 2

We had a shower! The little luxuries in life that home dwellers take for granted! Then we were off for a long day of driving from the UP down the western side of Lake Michigan to Chicago. We had rain most of the drive. It helped wash the dead bug stains off the windshield! We arrived at the Chicago Cubs free parking lot with free shuttle right when they opened at 4 PM and took the shuttle to Wrigley Field. Gates opened at 5:35 for the 7:05 PM game of the Phillies vs Cubs. We had nose bleed seats on the third base side with a partially obstructed view but it was literally a perfect night for baseball. The sun came out and it was 83 degrees with that Windy City breeze out to left field and we were protected from the sun. Trea Turner had three hits, including two home runs and the Phils won 6-4. We left after 7.5 innings to get a head start on the drive east an hour to boondock at the Bass Pro Shoppe in Gary, IN.

Wednesday, July 3

We slept late and had a quiet night at the Bass Pro Shoppe parking lot. Another cloudy day but no rain today. We drove 10 mi to Indiana Dunes NP, the newest national park and one that Jessica still needed to check off her life list. Not much to see at this park—some green covered sand dunes on the shores of Lake Michigan with a steel company on one end of the park and oil refinery on the other end. Clearly, it was a politically conceived park and not really worth a listing but we have now been to 60/63 national parks. We then headed east primarily on Rt 30 to avoid tolls and boondocked at a Cracker barrel in Youngstown OH. There isn’t much good free camping on the East coast like out West and we already miss the wide open landscapes. Tomorrow we should arrive home for the Fourth of July after 52 days living in a van on the road. And let me tell you, this is the life. You would think living in 70 sqft with only your partner for 52 days and with no toilet and only 2 showers a week on average that the honeymoon is over. But quite the contrary! The freedom of vanlife, the ability to go and do whatever whenever, and the way we worked perfectly together as a team actually reinvigorated our relationship and I think brought us closer than we have been in many years. We probably averaged $150 a day expenses, which isn’t bad. Vanna now has 97k miles to her name (well over 12k from this trip alone) and performed amazingly well on some pretty sketchy gravel roads and mountain passes with hairpin turns. The sheer joy of being on the road and out in nature and with TOTAL FREEDOM is something everyone should experience at least once in life. We don’t need much to be happy—just a van, an old pair of hiking shoes, and each other. Until next trip, thanks for following along on our journey. 

Days 49 and 50: Michigan’s Upper Peninsula

 Sunday, June 30

We left camp at 8:30 and drove more or less all day, stopping at a dog park for lunch, and arriving in Munising on Michigan’s Upper Peninsula at around 6 PM. We were just in time to see the low angle light sun on Munising Falls and Miner’s Castle in Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore. Then we drove a few miles down H58 into the Hiawatha State Forest and found a short grass covered forest service road where we could park up for the night hidden away from the main road.

Monday, July 1

6:30 wake up call and a 90-min drive through the forest to Tahquamenon Falls State Park, where they have an Upper Falls and a series of smaller Lower Falls of the Tahquamenon River. Also known as the Rootbeer Falls, the dark brown color of the water is due to tannins from decomposed cedar, hemlock, and spruce trees.

After a cheesy grilled cheese with pickle for lunch and another 90-min drive back to Munising, we split up for the rest of the day. Jessica had a five-hour kayaking adventure on the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, exploring sea caves and the coastline from 3:30-8:30 while I got gas and our KOA campsite, took a brief swim, and then had a two-hour NPS guided boat tour of the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore. I could see some of the kayaks but wasn’t sure which one Jessica was in. 

Miner’s Castle

Bridal Veil Falls

Painted Rocks

Lover’s Leap

Grand Portal

Battleship Row

Drunken Flower Vase

Chapel Cove

Chapel Rock

Spray Falls

Spray Falls

East Channel Lighthouse 

Then we settled into our KOA campsite just outside Munising and had our first shower in five days!

Day 48: South Dakota to Minnesota

 Saturday, June 29

With much reluctance, we left our lovely boondocking site on Nomad View in the Buffalo Gap National Grasslands and drove into the nearby kitschy town of Wall SD, home of the original Wall Drug store and now a tourist mecca off I-90. Here you can always get a free cup of ice water if a five-cent cup of coffee and see Western art for free and explore the bizarre city block.

Then we headed east across I-90 to Chamberlain SD and the impressive 2016 Dignity of Earth and Sky statue and the Lewis and Clark rest area. 

We continued our eastward journey to Sioux Falls SD and parked at Falls Park to see the falls from the free observation tower and by climbing on the rocks at the side of the river. 

Finally, we headed east again on I-90 another couple hundred miles into Minnesota. We treated Vanna to a well-needed shower (she needed it even more than we do) and got most of the mud and dead bugs off of her. Then we settled into our Walmartdocking spot at the Walmart Supercenter in Austin MN for the night.

Day 47: Badlands and Mount Rushmore

 Wednesday, June 26

We pretty much just drove all day (over ten hours) from Hinton, Alberta (west of Edmonton) to Lyndon, Saskatchewan (near Regina), where we stayed at a municipal park for $25 Canadian, I actually ran a mile or so, and got showers!

Thursday, June 27

Another driving day from Lumsden, Saskatchewan and crossing back into the USA and ending outside Badlands NP near Wall, SD on the most amazing boondocking site called Nomad View. Here, I flew my drone to show pictures of the area and lost remote control connection so was unable to land or find it. I am still mourning the loss of my drone. And the Phillies lost Harper and Schwarbwr to injuries, not to mention that debacle of a Presidential debate! Some good sunset views from our site though.

Friday, June 28

We got up at 5 AM for sunrise over the badlands at our Buffalo Gap National Grasslands site on Nomad View just one mile from the entrance to Badlands NP. Driving the park roads at this hour is amazing as all the wildlife are out without any crowds and with cool temperatures. The prairie wind and sounds of the birds were so soothing to my soul. We saw bison, pronghorn, prairie dogs, and bighorn sheep all very close to the road.

Then there are the views of the badlands themselves. And we did several short hikes called the Window, the notch, the Door, and Shelf Nature trails. One involved climbing this really long ladder on the side of the hill.

After a picnic lunch at the Visitor Center, we drove 1:45 west to Mount Rushmore and walked the Trail of the Presidents. So different from 1992 when we could just drive right up and there wasn’t so much fanfare and staging.

Then we drove back 1:40 to our boondocking site on Nomad View again. Another beautiful night!