The Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore is a beautiful 15 mile stretch of Lake Michigan that is roughly 50 miles southeast of downtown Chicago.  We love this area and have a Indiana Dunes Date Day every 3-4 months year-round.  This time we came on a cloudy Thursday in August and had a wonderful time.  Joining us was our two-year-old labradoodle, Nova.  The Dunes is pet friendly if you keep them on a leash and avoid the swimming beach area (where they are not as welcome).

We’ve fallen into a routine when we go to the Dunes.  We park in the main parking lot, which is just off State Rd. 49, go on a 3 to 6-mile hike and then enjoy a late picnic lunch.  The Dunes has many hiking options, but we usually choose to go west along the lakeshore to admire the nice beach houses, east along the lakeshore where it is pretty deserted or east through the woods where Nova gets into everything.

Since it was cloudy with a chance of rain, we opted for east through the woods to try to stay under cover of the trees.  As luck would have it, we got about 1 mile from the car when the rain started.  At first it was just a sprinkle, so we agreed to press on.  Then the rain stopped so we decided to climb a giant sand dune and cut across to the lakeshore to return to the car.  We arrived at the top of the dune, above the cover of the trees and were greeted with a downpour.  Not just a downpour, but a good old-fashioned deluge.  In the few seconds it took for us to scrambled back down the dune we got soaked.  On the way back, we found out that our theory of staying under the trees to avoid the rain had a few holes in it.  Holes that were letting water pass through to continue our soaking.   During all of this, Nova seemed oblivious to the rain and the accumulating muck on the trails.  If anyone ever tries to convince you that sandy trails don’t get mucky in the rain, DO NOT BELIEVE THEM!

It took about 20 minutes of forced marching to get back to the car, where we needed towels and Nova needed a bath.  Of course, the sun took this exact moment to return and chase away the rain.  Having no towels, nor any ability to give Nova a bath, we decided to make the best of it and find a picnic table to enjoy our Subway sandwiches and dog food.  We ate, laughed about our misfortunes in the rain and fended off Nova’s begging for scraps.  Despite the rain, it was a great date and we look forward to our next trip to the Dunes.  And Nova’s trip to the groomer tomorrow.