2352. Conquer the Three Dune Challenge at Indian Dunes State Park

 Heather wanted to go to Pullman National Monument to get her stamp and I wanted to go to Indiana Dunes National Park. I figured the hubby would not want to hike or see the dunes because he doesn't like hiking or sand. He said he would like to check it out but I figured Heather and I would get to do some hiking instead of just whatever minimal sightseeing the hubby would insist on. Since it was only 30 minutes or so from Pullman to Indiana Dunes, Heather was game since she didn't get to see much of the park when she was there with the family.

Indiana Dunes National Park spans the northern coast of Indiana along Lake Michigan from Gary to Chesterton. The main visitor center is in Porter with a Nature Center in Gary. The hubby didn't want me to go to Indiana Dunes because we'd have to go to Gary. Then I had to educate him about the size of the park and told him we were going to Porter. 

New this year, Indiana Dunes National Park started enforcing an entrance fee -- $25/car for 7 days. Since I have the National Park pass this year, we had no fee which is another reason I wanted to go. You may your fee or show your pass at the Visitor Center. Also in the visitor center is the movie which we did not watch, the gift shop, passport stamp, and very informative rangers about what to hike.

After showing our pass and getting our stamps, Heather and I looked at the map and tried to decided where we wanted to explore. We kept coming back to the 3 Dune Challenge. The 3 Dune challenge is in Indiana Dunes State Park and would require a separate fee. I looked at it before we left and kind of wanted to do it. I said if you wanted to do it, I'll pay the fee. After getting some guidance from a ranger, we headed over to the state park.

The State Park is on the same road as the visitor center about a mile or so further. After paying our daily fee of $12, I directed us to the start of the trail which was at the nature center. 

The Three Dune Challenge is exactly that. You climb the three highest dunes in the area -- Mt Jackson, Mt Holden, and Mt Tom. It is a 1.5 mile loop. The trail is clearly marked which makes getting lost pretty hard to do.

We started out and there is a small dune that isn't even marked. I laid down. I thought it was Mt. Jackson. Oh no. It was just a small hill. 

We got to Mt. Jackson and it was a 176 foot climb in the sun on sand. I wore hiking sandals thinking I won't get sand in my shoes. Yeah but I had hot sand and sticks on the bottom of my feet. Not a wise move. The climb wasn't too bad. The hot sand made it worse than it really was. 

Then we came to Mt. Holden. O.M.G. I thought I was going to die. Mt. Holden is 184 feet in elevation at 38% grade. That's almost half a right angle. That's steep. The only saving grace was it was in the shade for the most part. There was also spots to stop and rest and catch my breath. I'll be honest, I didn't think I was making it to the top. It was that tough. Made I made it. 

Unlike Mt. Jackson, there were no benches to sit on at the top of Mt.. Holden so I found a shady spot on the sandy and rested. There was a path to the beach but what you climb down you must climb up. So we opted not to. 

We continue on way to the last dune, the tallest dune Mt. Tom. We come down the hill and Mt. Tom shows us his hand.. or more like a glorious stair case. Yup to get to the top of Mt. Tom you can climb a set of stairs. No near vertical climb for us. 

The stairs were easy compared to Mt. Holden and then you were greeted with views of Lake Michigan and the Chicago Skyline. 

To get back to the visitor center, it was more stairs, a walk through the campground and a short hike. Easy-peasy.

We did it. We conquered the Three Dune Challenge and lived to tell the tale. We also got a sticker and a bought the shirt. Now I can truly say, been there, done that, got the shirt.

If you are ever at Indiana Dunes National Park or northern Indiana in general, go do the Three Dunes Challenge. Just wear good shoes, take water (my saving grace), take your time, and go early. We did it mid afternoon and it wasn't too bad but it can be a scorcher especially climbing Mt. Jackson. 

Now maybe one day, I can go back and explore the rest of the National Park.

5034. Do the Door County Wine Trolley Tour

 My cousins always go to Door County every August and depending on my work schedule, I try to meet them up there for a day. Since they like to do wine and alcohol tastings, I thought it would be fun to do the wine trolley. They have never done it and never have I. I gave them the option of doing the regular wine trolley or the wine, beer, and spirits trolley and the chose the later which I was fine by me.

Like the ghost tour trolley that Stacy and I did earlier in the month, the wine, beer, and spirits trolley tour is offered by Door County Trolley. It was an all day event with us leaving at 10 AM and getting back around 3:00 PM with a stop at a winery, a brewery, and distillery along with lunch. We didn't know which winery, distillery, or brewer we were going to until we got on the trolley.  It cost each of us $85 with taxes and fees. 

Our first stop was Harbor Ridge winery. Since the winery is next to Wisconsin Cheese Masters we actually had a wine and cheese pairing outside. We sampled 4 wines, 3 of which was paired with cheese and the fourth a chocolate wine was paired with homemade toffee. It was delicious. 

After our tasting, we had time to explore the wine and cheese shop. We opted to come back to the cheese shop after the tour so we wouldn't have to carry cheese or wine with us all day. While at the wine shop, we opted to split a flight so we could try more wines. We tried Savvy Blonde,  What the Heck? Malbec!, Cherry Crush, and Moo-scato.  Nothing stood out as ooh buy me but they were all very good. The cherry crush was probably my favorite.

Our second stop was Door County Distillery where we tried four different cocktails made with liquors distilled on site. I was glad we had mini cocktails as I am not a fan of straight liquor. The old fashion was good. The Bloody Mary was spicy. The tropical cocktail definitely had a pineapple flavor. 

Like Harbor Ridge, we had time to explore the Distillery and winery after our tasting. Of course, we tasted more wine. We have been to Door Peninsula Winery many times before so this was just a fun tasting. I tried wines I normally don't go for since I really like fruity wines. I tried the cherry Mimosa (meh), White Chaos (definitely would buy), and Rose Soiree (not bad) among others. Jeanne did do a shot at the distillery. Cindy and I passed.

Our last stop was lunch and the brewery. We had lunch at Sonny's Italian Kitchen and Pizzeria. We had to place our orders before hand and it was ready when we got there. I had garbage pizza and just picked off the toppings I didn't like. Jeanne and Cindy split a salad and the Hot Nashville Sandwich. All were very good. We also had a good view of the harbor and ship docks. 

After lunch we went downstairs to Bottoms Up Brewery. We each got a pint glass of beer. None of the choice appealed to me and I picked a bad one. I barely drank any of it. That might had to do with how full from lunch we were and how much we've drank already. None of us really drank our beer.

It was a fun filled day with another great driver. We are talking about the during the Murder and Mayham tour next summer. If you have time in Door County, definitely check out a trolley tour. They are worth the money.