A Quick Stop In Northwest Indiana

Our travel journey took us to Elkhart, Indiana. I’ve traveled in, around, and through this state, and even lived in it for a short time or two. There are a couple of places I’ve missed seeing, but I don’t have the fondness for Indiana that I do for Ohio. With that in mind, our stop in Elkhart was only two nights. I had a plan for our one day here, which involved a small museum and a place to have lunch.

I’m generally our trip planner, but Cal surprised me in the morning of our stay by asking me if I wanted to go to Indiana Dunes National Park, some 65 miles away. I wasn’t going to turn that offer down.

The Visitor’s Center was open when we arrived. I stamped my National Park book, watched a video about the park, and purchased a couple postcards. As I was checking out, the cashier – who was also helpful park staff – asked if I needed assistance in planning our time in the park. I told him we were looking for a trail to hike after our long drive, maybe a combination of woods and dunes? What he suggested was absolutely perfect.

I had learned in the video that the park is working hard to restore the woodlands after decades of abuse. It lies in an industrial area, and indeed, we passed the road to a steel mill on our way to the trail. The woodlands are the final result of sand dunes that have been blown out by the wind, forming ponds and marshes first, and then a savanna after the marsh dries.

So, the view in the picture above was an ancient pond which is now a marsh. Lake Michigan would have lapped at my feet eons ago. This process doesn’t happen quickly.

We found West Beach and the Dune Succession Trail easily enough. First, there were boardwalk steps to climb —

–after which we were rewarded by our first view of Lake Michigan and the dunes.

Down into the woods we went–

— and finally, out to the dunes and the lake.

Dipping my feet into the lake was mighty fine.

This had been about a three-mile hike.

Our morning over, we headed back past Elkhart to Middlebury and Das Essenhaus, a restaurant that had been recommended to me by my sister-in-law Heidi. Indeed, I’m not even sure I hadn’t been there before. It’s in Amish country and not too far from Shipshewana, a shopping mecca that I enjoyed with her on a couple of occasions long ago.

This was a late lunch and our appetites were up. When our delectable broasted chicken arrived, we had already inhaled the dinner rolls. We even had pie for dessert because it was too tempting to resist.

Das Essenhaus is huge. A sign up in their hallway stated that they can serve 1,100 guests at once. They have their own bakery store, plus other shops outside of the restaurant. Afterward we purchased more dinner rolls (they are great for lunchtime sandwiches) and other baked goods for the freezer.

They have their own car show every Thursday. It doesn’t start till 4:30, but that didn’t stop folks from setting up several hours early. We had seen plenty of old cars in the drive by in Ohio, but stopped for a quick look.

The Elkhart area is the RV capital of the United States, since most of the big brands are built here. As we drove around, we saw some names we recognized and names of makers of the parts that go inside of them. Early in our planning process, I had hoped to tour the factory that made our Keystone Montana, but we weren’t here on their Tour Day.

Instead, we visited the RV Hall of Fame and Museum. I don’t know who or what is in the Hall of Fame, I just wanted to see the old RV’s. It was a fun stop to end our day.

This is the oldest one, a 1913 Earl, which could go behind a Ford Model T.

A trailer from 1916 made me want to go camping. Out in the woods or mountains somewhere.

It is one of the first manufactured trailers. Most to this point had been homemade.

An RV built for a famous movie star is here, too. It was built in 1931 for Mae West. Paramount built it for her to entice her to make movies for them. It has a small hot plate and an icebox, plus a porch out back to sit and enjoy a fine day. What more could any movie star want?

Moving forward in time, this “Scotty” trailer was manufactured in the late 1950’s. It just looks so cozy.

Mobile homes are here, too. Cal lived in one for many years as a child, so I asked him if this looked familiar. He was very young then, so didn’t remember.

There wermotorhomes and many varieties of trailers and campers, as well as park models – the ones that go into RV parks and don’t move. It wasn’t until we left that I realized – why were there no 5th wheels, like our RV? I didn’t think to ask until after we left. This RV may look a little bit like one, but it is really a trailer.

The RV I like best, however, is our own, and that’s the one we go home to after all our adventures on the road.

Next time – north to Michigan