Wednesday, July 3, 2024

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. 






Monday, July 1, 2024

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!


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 drivin...