I’m leaving today for my family reunion in Ohio, but along the way i will be stopping at the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore for a night.   Indiana Dunes is 150 miles from Brookfield, but is conveniently located on the other side of Chicago.

The campsite is a bit off from the beach, but I’m hopeful I can hear the sounds of waves crashing throughout the night.

I miss my yard and garden (and my bed), so I am pretty excited to get back into nature.  I spent most of last year cultivating a nice garden in my front yard.  I ripped out two massive hedges and replaced it with a french drain, terracing, and a garden of perennials.  What amazed me was I put in one butterfly plant and the garden attracted all sorts of butterflies, bees, and other good insects.  I don’t believe butterflies or bees are attracted to hedges, but I was amazed at their coming in such amounts within the first year of my planting the garden.

The Indiana Dunes claims to have waves crashing on sandy beaches, Karner Blue butterflies landing on wild lupines, peaceful silence lingering along winter trails, and bank swallows flying from their nest inside the dunes. 

They also have a marsh, which I’m sure Gus the MSH will find a way to invade.  I am prepared with the new tea tree oil shampoo for both the bugs and the awful marshy smell.  I also invested in a life preserver so he can go further out in the water.

The drive from Indiana Dunes is slated for 5 hours, barring traffic or construction, so I should arrive in Ohio with plenty of time on Thursday to get setup.