Bike trip to Beverly Shores and Michigan City (and back!)
Back in October 26, 2010, I made my first visit to Mount Baldy, the legendarily large dune on the eastern edge of Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore. And I visited it the longest way possible- getting off at Beverly Shores, walking to the town of the Town of Pines, then to Mount Baldy, then back to Beverly Shores, first along the beach, then along the roads.
One of the things I took away from this trip is, while the Indiana Dunes are awesome, the trip sure involved lots of and lots of walking. There's got to be a better way to do it, I thought. I saw that there were plenty of people biking, but South Shore Line didn't allow bikes on trains, so I couldn't bring my bike with me.
A year later, I found out that a small supply store near Beverly Shores train station rented out bikes, which resolved the transportation problem. But actually making it happen took a few more years. First, it was simply beyond my price range. Then... well, cancer happened, leaving me in not-exactly ideal shape (and cutting down the number of free weekends severely). And this summer, I got fired, forcing me to go into extreme conservation mode. But in August, I found out that I was going to be employed again, and there was no need to conserve quite as much... After that, it was simply the matter of finding a Saturday when I won't have any assignments - and that Saturday came on August 22.
I took the earliest train possible, arriving at Beverly Shores a little after 10:00 AM. Renting the bike was a relatively straight-forward process - I got to choose a bike out of the few they had available, let them make a copy of my state ID (a copy they destroyed after I brought the bike back) and simply go. You could rent bikes at $5.00 per hour, $12.00 for free hours and $20.00 all day. While 3 hours seemed tempting, I decided to rent it for an entire day just to be safe.
The girl manning the counter gave me a map of bike trails, but that was some long-distance, advanced stuff for bicyclists with serious training and stamina. My goals were more modest. I was going to get to Mount Baldy. If I managed to do that, I would keep going to Michigan City and bike along Lake Michigan. If I managed to make it as far as Michigan City's eastern border, I would keep going all the way to Indiana/Michigan border.
To be honest, I wasn't sure I would be able to even make it as far as Mount Baldy. I haven't really biked since Spring of 2012, and I was worried that I was too hopelessly out of shape to manage even that.
Yet, I found that there is something to the whole "it's just like riding a bicycle" thing. The bike I rented was different from the model I was used to - most importantly, you hit the brakes by turning the pedals in the opposite direction of what you're supposed to - but, for the most part, it was close enough that handling it felt natural.
(I should also add that I chose that bike in particular because it had a cupholder. This will become somewhat important later).
Abandoned Beverly Shores
I made my way along Beverly Road easily enough. As I cleared Beverly Shores village limits, I decided to get off my bike for a bit and check out something I stumbled across five years ago.
Back in 2010, the road was already showing signs of wear. I had no idea how long it was abandoned - at the time, still showed up on Google Maps as a proper street, but Google Maps tend to lag behind a few years. Back then, at least, it was still recognizably a road. But as I walked along it, I found it so badly overgrown that I wondered if I made the wrong turn somewhere.
But eventually, I started recognizing familiar terrain.
And soon, I saw the abandoned house I came across five years ago.
At the time, I wasn't sure if it was abandoned, so I didn't explore it too much. But now, it was pretty clear that the owners left years ago
I discovered that the building had an overgrown deck
Which offered pretty awesome views
From my visit last time, I knew that there was a pathway to the beach (where I ran across a couple who clearly didn't expect anyone to show up, and I kept walking rather than get into an awkward conversation). I didn't walk to the beach this time - but I walked long enough to get a view of the deck.
Honestly, it was hard not to feel sad. This must have been a great little summer home, and the beach is lovely. But now, it's hidden deep in the forest, with nothing but an overgrown road to hint that it was ever there.
After passing the house, the road turned west... but it only went a few meters before it simply stopped.
I went back to the back that brought me there - only to notice another overgrown path pointing east. I decided to keep going.
At first, it was just dirt. But after a while, I started to notice patches of pavement covered with moss, out of all things
After that, it wasn't long before I saw another abandoned house.
A few peeks inside
Once I got back on what was left on the road, I realized that it pretty much stopped near the house - and the terrain wasn't exactly smooth. If I didn't have a bike, I might have tried to climb the hills and keep going, but since I didn't... I figured that was a sign. I turned back the way I came and returned to Beverly Drive.
I continued biking to Mount Baldy, pausing only to take a photo of another abandoned house I saw five years ago (this one was along the road rather than deep in the forest)
Before long, the quiet Beverly Drive merged with the much busier highway that would take me to Mount Baldy.
I've seen people bike along the highway before - and I did this time - but I was nervous about biking when cars moved this fast. So I dismounted, walking along the shoulder.
Mount Baldy
Now, as you may remember from my previous posts, the iconic dune has been closed to the public since 2013 because of mysterious holes that science can't explain. This year, National Park Service has done limited guided tours, but it hasn't done anything beyond that, just to be on the safe side.
I thought, naively, that it still allowed access to the Mount Baldy beach. After all, there was a trail that bypassed Mount Baldy entirely. But I guess, given what happened, National Park Service didn't want to take even a tiny chance that people would come anywhere near Mount Baldy. All access to the shore was very much closed.
It turned out that not only were the beachhouse restrooms closed, but the drinking fountains were turned off as well. Which was a problem, since I was starting to run out of water.
Since there wasn't anything I could do about that, I simply took some shots of Mount Baldy from the distance and headed back to the highway
As I left, I saw that the Park Service did put up the sign saying that Mount Baldy was completely closed - but you'd only see it if you were coming in from the east.
Biking throughMichigan City
Ever since I first visited the city of Michigan CIty all the way back in 2009, I've been fascinated with it for reasons I can't entirely explain. There are some interesting businesses, a lively art district, nice beaches and some nice architecture, and there is the whole "the only place in Midwest where trains run in the middle of the freaking street" thing. But I think, ultimately, it comes down to the underdog thing. It is the city that gets overlooked. Underestimated. it doesn't get as much attention as it deserves. But the city government is working to change that, and it's hard not to root for them.
As I approached Michigan City, I saw what has, for better or for worse, become a city landmark - the NIPSCO power plant. Contrary to what the cooling tower shape may suggest, it's not a nuclear power plant - it uses coal and natural gas. (and no, I have no idea why it looks the way it does)
Which makes the poster I saw as I walked my bike toward the city all the more... interesting
The train cars that (I think) are carrying coal to the plant
But I didn't follow it for too long. After walking my bike a bit more, I turned onto one of the side streets - which, if nothing else, was a lot less busy than a highway. Even though I only had a vague idea where I was going, but I could ride a bike again, damn it.
And so, I made my way through the West Side section of Michigan City - the part of the city that I mostly saw from South Shore Line windows. Per census data, the area is mostly black and one of the city's poorer sections. So, nothing I haven't seen before. In fact, when I came across this building - which had both a corner store and a storefront church - I couldn't help but think "this look wouldn't out of place on the South Side."
Here is a thing, though - to the best of my knowledge, the violent crime rates in Michigan City are only high compared to some of the nearby towns and villages. By Chicago standards, they are incredibly low. The issue of Michigan City News-Dispatch I bought later that day had an article about a woman who moved to Michigan City with her young child to escape Chicago violence. That says a lot.
I wish I could take more pictures but, as I quickly discovered, taking pictures while riding a bike was way more complicated than taking pictures while walking. You had to stop if you wanted to get any good shot. And I didn't stop a whole lot.
One good shot I managed to get from my bike was a shot of me riding down 10th street, right by the South Shore Line tracks. I never had an opportunity to get a shot like this before, and I wasn't about to waste it.
Here is where the South Shore Line track left 10th Street
And headed toward 11th Street
As it turned off 10th Street, the South Shore Line track crossed a track that belongs to Norfolk Southern railroad and is used by all trains heading to the state of Michigan. The track is one of the many reasons why NICTD isn't particularly happy with its current arrangement in Michigan City. There have been a few times when a train I was on had to wait while an Amtrak train - or, worse, a 100+ car freight train - cleared the intersection.
I wanted to keep following South Shore Line track on 11th Street - but as soon discovered, it was in the middle of some significant roadwork. Most of the intersections that fed into it were blocked off.
So I kept riding along 10th street, until I reached a neighborhood that had fancier historic homes.
And buildings that are just architecturally interesting
Eventually, I arrived at Franklin Street - and, of course, I simply had to stop by the downtown Michigan City South Shore Line station on 11th Street.
(For those who haven't seen my previous posts, the train stops in the middle of the street. There is a shelter on the sidewalk and some signage nearby, but that's it. The building that used to serve as a station has been closed for decades)
Last time I was in Michigan City, the retail spaces near the station were vacant, and a coffee shop that used to serve the riders went out of business. Turned out that, since then, not one, but two new businesses opened in that building - a Middle Eastern restaurant and a Jamaican restaurant (that also had a food truck in front of it). I'm still sad that coffee shop is gone, but this is pretty cool.
I also discovered that there are now bike racks behind the station shelter
After taking a small detour from the Elston Historic District (which, by the way, is a mixed-race neighborhood - a rare thing in any city), I went to check out Franklin street's art district.
Up until this point, I was riding the bike on the street. But I quickly realized that this wouldn't work here - all the street side parking didn't leave me with a lot of room to get out of the way of passing cars - so I went onto the sidewalk. Which the few other bicyclists I ran across in that part of the city were doing anyway.
The first time I visited Michigan City, I was impressed with Franklin Street galleries, and artists' enthusiasm for Michigan City/LaPorte County art scene. Since then, Michigan City has been trying to encourage the burgeoning art corridor. One of the major project was turning Warren Building (which has been vacant for many, many years) into artists' lofts. The conversion is currently underway
And I'm very excited to see how it will turn out.
Honestly, from my admittedly limited perspective, it seems like the corridor is doing well. There are plenty of shops, and some new eateries I don't remember seeing before.
I also managed to do something I wanted to do for years - get a shot of the offices' of News-Dispatch, Michigan City's (mostly) daily newspaper. The fact that there was a huge sign pointing to it helped.
Otherwise, I never would've guessed that it was hidden in the back of the building.
Next, I headed toward the Michigan City Public Library to refill my by-then-completely-empty water bottle and check my e-mail. The first part was easy enough to do. The second didn't work out because, for some reason, my field laptop stubbornly refused to pick up library wi-fi.
I did walk away with two free magazines, because of course I did.
As I mentioned before, the library serves as a hub of Michigan City Transit bus system. I noticed that, since the last time I was in town, they seemed to have switched to different buses.
The new buses looked pretty cool... But I was disappointed that, unlike the buses I rode last time, they didn't have bike racks.
Another new feature was that there were now bus maps and schedules prominently displayed in the library lobby - as well as bus schedules for the new Triangle Transit intercity bus system.
I ate the sandwiches I packed with me for lunch, drank some water, refilled the water bottle and set out to my next destination - Michigan City's Lake Shore Drive.
But before I could get there, I had to cross the Trail Creek. Normally, that's simple enough. But as I approached the bridge, bells rang and it started going up.
I wasn't surprised that it could do that - it had to let yachts through somehow. I just never seen this function in action before. What's funnier is that the boat seemed fairly small. So small that I think it could've safely passed under it... but I guess it's better to be safe than sorry.
Once the bridge returned to normal position, I crossed the bridge and went past Washington Park - Michigan City's lakefront park. I've been there a few times before, so I didn't see the need to take pictures. But I did stumble upon something I somehow managed to miss completely during the previous visit - the Oasis Splash Park. It's a kids' park full of things that sprayed water in every direction. I didn't take any pictures - parents, I find, tend to be leery of strangers taking pictures if their kids are in the shot - but there are some pictures on Michigan City Park District's website.
After that brief detour, I went back to Lake Shore Drive.
The sidewalk only lasted as long as Washington Park. Once it stopped, I followed other bicyclists' example and rode on the street.
Beverly Shores' lakefront has some of the town's nicest-looking buildings. Michigan City shoreline was no different.
Like this lighthouse-themed building. I'm honestly not sure if it was there before. You'd think I would remember something like this...
But my ultimate destination was a bit further east.
Beachwalk Resort
Located near Michigan CIty's eastern border, the Beachwalk Resort has an interesting history. It was originally a sand quary. At the dawn of the 21st century, developer Tom Moss decided to turn it into a vacantion rental community. The quary became the lake, and colorful vacation homes were built around it. The resort has its own restaurant, a pool, plenty of golf carts, a playground and a nice path to the beach.
The first time I visited it, weather was cloudy, so I have hoping to get some good shots this time around. The weather wasn't quite as cloudless as I hoped, but it was still way's better this time around.
The entrance
The golf cart parking lot by the entrance
The resort's main "street"
The central square of sorts, with the visitor center/vacation rental office/main administrative building peeking from behind the trees
I actually wound up gong inside before I felt the resort. It turned out that it also doubled as a souvenir shop that, along other thing, sold South Shore Line advertisement style posters that were note-perfectly vintage. And it's a place where resort residents could rent DVDs (mostly kids' movies and cartoons)
By the way - as I was looking around, I saw a man literally walk in to reserve a house for Labor Day weekend. One of the employees at the front desk quickly gave him a few options, talked about amenities... By the time I felt, they were in the process of signing the rental agreement.
The restaurant/bar
I wasn't about to figure out what that building was, but it sure had a lot of golf carts in front of it.
Some of the Beachwalk Resort houses.
The houses on the shore of the former quarry (which was dubbed "Lake Kai") looked smaller and humbler
But that's just an illusion. If you look from the other side of the lake, you realize just how big and elaborate they actually are.
Speaking of which - here's the view of Lake Kai.
From what I understand, you can't swim in Lake Kai - but you can kayak and fish (yes - fish). If you want to swim, the resort has a pool, and Lake Michigan is only a short walk from the resort entrance.
As I left the resort, I looked east. Should I try for my third goal and pedal to Indiana/Michigan border?
No, I decided. By that point, I was already starting to feel tired. And I still had to get the bike back to Beverly Shores.
So I turned around and headed back toward downtown Michigan City.
Pedaling back to Beverly Shores (with a few stops)
Of course, I didn't just bike back. I had to take the pictures of the houses on the south side of Lake Shore Drive. Now that I was going in the opposite direction, I had much better angle.
Beverly Shores has beautiful homes sitting on the hills by the lake shore. On Michigan City's Lake Shore Drive, even the hills are elaborately decorated. Sometimes.
No idea what's going on with the windmill by this house, but it sure is eye-catching
As I got closer to Washington Park, I made a spontaneous decision to take a brief detour through the blocks north of Lake Shore Drive. While the houses on the south side were perched on the cliff, the houses on the north side were even lower than Lake Shore Drive. Turned out there were only about a block or two between them and the dunes that line the shore of the lake.
And because they were on an incline, I almost slammed right into the part where the street ended and the trail through the dunes began.
The houses on the south side of Lake Shore Drive have great views, but the houses on the north side are less than a block from the beach. To have this picture-esque trail practically in your back yard... that's kind of awesome.
I biked around those few blocks a bit more
Until I ran into a dead end and returned to the Lake Shore Drive
Oh, and as I approached the Trail Creek bridge, I saw it opening again to let a sailboat pass through.
Before I headed toward Beverly Shores, I made one last detour.
When vladiatorr, my mom and I went to Michigan City five years ago, we stopped by Lakeshore Coffee, an independent coffee shop. My mom really liked it. Since, unlike me, she treats coffee as more than Waking Up Liquid and insists that coffee has flavor, I've been kind of sad that she hasn't had a chance to go there since - so I decided to stop there on her behalf.
It hasn't really changed much since then - and that's a good thing, IMHO
I wound up getting a tea, because getting water in a coffee shop felt weird. Though, in retrospect, I probably should have asked for iced tea, what with the weather being hot and all. I also took advantage of the shop's wi-fi to check the Internet for the first time since early morning.
I was also amused to discover that the building that used to house a cigar shop five years earlier now houses a yoga studio. Said studio's owner told me that it only opened a few months earlier, and talked a lot about what it offered... and I wished that my mom was here, since that would actually be relevant to her interests. Still, the owner was impressed that I biked as far as I did, and wished me good luck getting back.
"Be sure to get plenty of water," she advised me.
That would haunt me for the next half an hour. Because, once I got underway, I realized that the rest at Lakeshore Coffee didn't do a thing. All the pedaling was finally catching up with me.
You know how I was worried about highway traffic on my way to Michigan City? I no longer cared. I just wanted to get to Beverly Shores.
I only made one stop - to get a photo of Pullman Park. I don't know why Michigan City has a Pullman Park, but as a Chicago resident, I couldn't pass it up.
Pullman Park is home to the city's only skate park
But that diversion aside, I basically focused on pedaling. About 1/3 of the way to Beverly Shores, I realized that I finished up all my water. After that... I swear, it was only the fact that I knew that there was a water fountain at Beverly Drive/Broadway Street intersection that kept me going.
When I got to the water fountain. I drank for what felt like forever, refilled my water bottle... And even though the remaining distance was ridiculously small (less than 10 minutes walking) I just couldn't bike anymore. I walked the rest of the way.
As I approached the train station, a group of bicyclists rode past me, as if taunting me.
"Whatever," I said to myself. "I biked to Michigan City."
The rest was kind of a blur. I returned my bike and went to grab an Polish sandwich at a food truck parked in the store parking lot.
The payment procedure was weirdly elaborate - the cook wrote down my order, I brought it back to the store, paid, the girl manning the counter gave me a receipt and I brought the receipt back to the food truck to get the Polish.
The Polish was... alright. Not anything I would recommend, but nothing I would warn people about, either. It's perfectly decent Polish, well-cooked, and fresh onions were a surprising touch. The guy manning the truck was pretty enthusiastic, in a way that didn't seem all that forced, and he was happy to pose for a picture.
I ate my Polish on the bench right then and there (because, honestly, I was still feeling pretty tired and didn't want to move any more than I had to). But after I finished, I went to the station to wait for the train.
In Conclusion
And so... the trip ended in me being tired and hurting all over. But boy was it ever worth it. I spent years wondering what it would be like to biek through the Dunes and Michigan City, and the reality more than lived up to expectations. I'm not sure I would do the Beverly Shores to Michigan City and back again thing... Though part of me wants to see how it would work with less detours and distractions. I certainly would like to explore Beverly Shores on a bike, pedal through all the winding streets off the major roads. Maybe bring a swimsuit and stuff next time.
Honestly, a big part of me was glad that I managed to bike to Mount Baldy, let alone eastern edge of Michigan CIty. I really, really wasn't sure I could.
So... We'll see if i manage to do something later this fall. Or maybe next summer.
One of the things I took away from this trip is, while the Indiana Dunes are awesome, the trip sure involved lots of and lots of walking. There's got to be a better way to do it, I thought. I saw that there were plenty of people biking, but South Shore Line didn't allow bikes on trains, so I couldn't bring my bike with me.
A year later, I found out that a small supply store near Beverly Shores train station rented out bikes, which resolved the transportation problem. But actually making it happen took a few more years. First, it was simply beyond my price range. Then... well, cancer happened, leaving me in not-exactly ideal shape (and cutting down the number of free weekends severely). And this summer, I got fired, forcing me to go into extreme conservation mode. But in August, I found out that I was going to be employed again, and there was no need to conserve quite as much... After that, it was simply the matter of finding a Saturday when I won't have any assignments - and that Saturday came on August 22.
I took the earliest train possible, arriving at Beverly Shores a little after 10:00 AM. Renting the bike was a relatively straight-forward process - I got to choose a bike out of the few they had available, let them make a copy of my state ID (a copy they destroyed after I brought the bike back) and simply go. You could rent bikes at $5.00 per hour, $12.00 for free hours and $20.00 all day. While 3 hours seemed tempting, I decided to rent it for an entire day just to be safe.
The girl manning the counter gave me a map of bike trails, but that was some long-distance, advanced stuff for bicyclists with serious training and stamina. My goals were more modest. I was going to get to Mount Baldy. If I managed to do that, I would keep going to Michigan City and bike along Lake Michigan. If I managed to make it as far as Michigan City's eastern border, I would keep going all the way to Indiana/Michigan border.
To be honest, I wasn't sure I would be able to even make it as far as Mount Baldy. I haven't really biked since Spring of 2012, and I was worried that I was too hopelessly out of shape to manage even that.
Yet, I found that there is something to the whole "it's just like riding a bicycle" thing. The bike I rented was different from the model I was used to - most importantly, you hit the brakes by turning the pedals in the opposite direction of what you're supposed to - but, for the most part, it was close enough that handling it felt natural.
(I should also add that I chose that bike in particular because it had a cupholder. This will become somewhat important later).
Abandoned Beverly Shores
I made my way along Beverly Road easily enough. As I cleared Beverly Shores village limits, I decided to get off my bike for a bit and check out something I stumbled across five years ago.
Back in 2010, the road was already showing signs of wear. I had no idea how long it was abandoned - at the time, still showed up on Google Maps as a proper street, but Google Maps tend to lag behind a few years. Back then, at least, it was still recognizably a road. But as I walked along it, I found it so badly overgrown that I wondered if I made the wrong turn somewhere.
But eventually, I started recognizing familiar terrain.
And soon, I saw the abandoned house I came across five years ago.
At the time, I wasn't sure if it was abandoned, so I didn't explore it too much. But now, it was pretty clear that the owners left years ago
I discovered that the building had an overgrown deck
Which offered pretty awesome views
From my visit last time, I knew that there was a pathway to the beach (where I ran across a couple who clearly didn't expect anyone to show up, and I kept walking rather than get into an awkward conversation). I didn't walk to the beach this time - but I walked long enough to get a view of the deck.
Honestly, it was hard not to feel sad. This must have been a great little summer home, and the beach is lovely. But now, it's hidden deep in the forest, with nothing but an overgrown road to hint that it was ever there.
After passing the house, the road turned west... but it only went a few meters before it simply stopped.
I went back to the back that brought me there - only to notice another overgrown path pointing east. I decided to keep going.
At first, it was just dirt. But after a while, I started to notice patches of pavement covered with moss, out of all things
After that, it wasn't long before I saw another abandoned house.
A few peeks inside
Once I got back on what was left on the road, I realized that it pretty much stopped near the house - and the terrain wasn't exactly smooth. If I didn't have a bike, I might have tried to climb the hills and keep going, but since I didn't... I figured that was a sign. I turned back the way I came and returned to Beverly Drive.
I continued biking to Mount Baldy, pausing only to take a photo of another abandoned house I saw five years ago (this one was along the road rather than deep in the forest)
Before long, the quiet Beverly Drive merged with the much busier highway that would take me to Mount Baldy.
I've seen people bike along the highway before - and I did this time - but I was nervous about biking when cars moved this fast. So I dismounted, walking along the shoulder.
Mount Baldy
Now, as you may remember from my previous posts, the iconic dune has been closed to the public since 2013 because of mysterious holes that science can't explain. This year, National Park Service has done limited guided tours, but it hasn't done anything beyond that, just to be on the safe side.
I thought, naively, that it still allowed access to the Mount Baldy beach. After all, there was a trail that bypassed Mount Baldy entirely. But I guess, given what happened, National Park Service didn't want to take even a tiny chance that people would come anywhere near Mount Baldy. All access to the shore was very much closed.
It turned out that not only were the beachhouse restrooms closed, but the drinking fountains were turned off as well. Which was a problem, since I was starting to run out of water.
Since there wasn't anything I could do about that, I simply took some shots of Mount Baldy from the distance and headed back to the highway
As I left, I saw that the Park Service did put up the sign saying that Mount Baldy was completely closed - but you'd only see it if you were coming in from the east.
Biking throughMichigan City
Ever since I first visited the city of Michigan CIty all the way back in 2009, I've been fascinated with it for reasons I can't entirely explain. There are some interesting businesses, a lively art district, nice beaches and some nice architecture, and there is the whole "the only place in Midwest where trains run in the middle of the freaking street" thing. But I think, ultimately, it comes down to the underdog thing. It is the city that gets overlooked. Underestimated. it doesn't get as much attention as it deserves. But the city government is working to change that, and it's hard not to root for them.
As I approached Michigan City, I saw what has, for better or for worse, become a city landmark - the NIPSCO power plant. Contrary to what the cooling tower shape may suggest, it's not a nuclear power plant - it uses coal and natural gas. (and no, I have no idea why it looks the way it does)
Which makes the poster I saw as I walked my bike toward the city all the more... interesting
The train cars that (I think) are carrying coal to the plant
But I didn't follow it for too long. After walking my bike a bit more, I turned onto one of the side streets - which, if nothing else, was a lot less busy than a highway. Even though I only had a vague idea where I was going, but I could ride a bike again, damn it.
And so, I made my way through the West Side section of Michigan City - the part of the city that I mostly saw from South Shore Line windows. Per census data, the area is mostly black and one of the city's poorer sections. So, nothing I haven't seen before. In fact, when I came across this building - which had both a corner store and a storefront church - I couldn't help but think "this look wouldn't out of place on the South Side."
Here is a thing, though - to the best of my knowledge, the violent crime rates in Michigan City are only high compared to some of the nearby towns and villages. By Chicago standards, they are incredibly low. The issue of Michigan City News-Dispatch I bought later that day had an article about a woman who moved to Michigan City with her young child to escape Chicago violence. That says a lot.
I wish I could take more pictures but, as I quickly discovered, taking pictures while riding a bike was way more complicated than taking pictures while walking. You had to stop if you wanted to get any good shot. And I didn't stop a whole lot.
One good shot I managed to get from my bike was a shot of me riding down 10th street, right by the South Shore Line tracks. I never had an opportunity to get a shot like this before, and I wasn't about to waste it.
Here is where the South Shore Line track left 10th Street
And headed toward 11th Street
As it turned off 10th Street, the South Shore Line track crossed a track that belongs to Norfolk Southern railroad and is used by all trains heading to the state of Michigan. The track is one of the many reasons why NICTD isn't particularly happy with its current arrangement in Michigan City. There have been a few times when a train I was on had to wait while an Amtrak train - or, worse, a 100+ car freight train - cleared the intersection.
I wanted to keep following South Shore Line track on 11th Street - but as soon discovered, it was in the middle of some significant roadwork. Most of the intersections that fed into it were blocked off.
So I kept riding along 10th street, until I reached a neighborhood that had fancier historic homes.
And buildings that are just architecturally interesting
Eventually, I arrived at Franklin Street - and, of course, I simply had to stop by the downtown Michigan City South Shore Line station on 11th Street.
(For those who haven't seen my previous posts, the train stops in the middle of the street. There is a shelter on the sidewalk and some signage nearby, but that's it. The building that used to serve as a station has been closed for decades)
Last time I was in Michigan City, the retail spaces near the station were vacant, and a coffee shop that used to serve the riders went out of business. Turned out that, since then, not one, but two new businesses opened in that building - a Middle Eastern restaurant and a Jamaican restaurant (that also had a food truck in front of it). I'm still sad that coffee shop is gone, but this is pretty cool.
I also discovered that there are now bike racks behind the station shelter
After taking a small detour from the Elston Historic District (which, by the way, is a mixed-race neighborhood - a rare thing in any city), I went to check out Franklin street's art district.
Up until this point, I was riding the bike on the street. But I quickly realized that this wouldn't work here - all the street side parking didn't leave me with a lot of room to get out of the way of passing cars - so I went onto the sidewalk. Which the few other bicyclists I ran across in that part of the city were doing anyway.
The first time I visited Michigan City, I was impressed with Franklin Street galleries, and artists' enthusiasm for Michigan City/LaPorte County art scene. Since then, Michigan City has been trying to encourage the burgeoning art corridor. One of the major project was turning Warren Building (which has been vacant for many, many years) into artists' lofts. The conversion is currently underway
And I'm very excited to see how it will turn out.
Honestly, from my admittedly limited perspective, it seems like the corridor is doing well. There are plenty of shops, and some new eateries I don't remember seeing before.
I also managed to do something I wanted to do for years - get a shot of the offices' of News-Dispatch, Michigan City's (mostly) daily newspaper. The fact that there was a huge sign pointing to it helped.
Otherwise, I never would've guessed that it was hidden in the back of the building.
Next, I headed toward the Michigan City Public Library to refill my by-then-completely-empty water bottle and check my e-mail. The first part was easy enough to do. The second didn't work out because, for some reason, my field laptop stubbornly refused to pick up library wi-fi.
I did walk away with two free magazines, because of course I did.
As I mentioned before, the library serves as a hub of Michigan City Transit bus system. I noticed that, since the last time I was in town, they seemed to have switched to different buses.
The new buses looked pretty cool... But I was disappointed that, unlike the buses I rode last time, they didn't have bike racks.
Another new feature was that there were now bus maps and schedules prominently displayed in the library lobby - as well as bus schedules for the new Triangle Transit intercity bus system.
I ate the sandwiches I packed with me for lunch, drank some water, refilled the water bottle and set out to my next destination - Michigan City's Lake Shore Drive.
But before I could get there, I had to cross the Trail Creek. Normally, that's simple enough. But as I approached the bridge, bells rang and it started going up.
I wasn't surprised that it could do that - it had to let yachts through somehow. I just never seen this function in action before. What's funnier is that the boat seemed fairly small. So small that I think it could've safely passed under it... but I guess it's better to be safe than sorry.
Once the bridge returned to normal position, I crossed the bridge and went past Washington Park - Michigan City's lakefront park. I've been there a few times before, so I didn't see the need to take pictures. But I did stumble upon something I somehow managed to miss completely during the previous visit - the Oasis Splash Park. It's a kids' park full of things that sprayed water in every direction. I didn't take any pictures - parents, I find, tend to be leery of strangers taking pictures if their kids are in the shot - but there are some pictures on Michigan City Park District's website.
After that brief detour, I went back to Lake Shore Drive.
The sidewalk only lasted as long as Washington Park. Once it stopped, I followed other bicyclists' example and rode on the street.
Beverly Shores' lakefront has some of the town's nicest-looking buildings. Michigan City shoreline was no different.
Like this lighthouse-themed building. I'm honestly not sure if it was there before. You'd think I would remember something like this...
But my ultimate destination was a bit further east.
Beachwalk Resort
Located near Michigan CIty's eastern border, the Beachwalk Resort has an interesting history. It was originally a sand quary. At the dawn of the 21st century, developer Tom Moss decided to turn it into a vacantion rental community. The quary became the lake, and colorful vacation homes were built around it. The resort has its own restaurant, a pool, plenty of golf carts, a playground and a nice path to the beach.
The first time I visited it, weather was cloudy, so I have hoping to get some good shots this time around. The weather wasn't quite as cloudless as I hoped, but it was still way's better this time around.
The entrance
The golf cart parking lot by the entrance
The resort's main "street"
The central square of sorts, with the visitor center/vacation rental office/main administrative building peeking from behind the trees
I actually wound up gong inside before I felt the resort. It turned out that it also doubled as a souvenir shop that, along other thing, sold South Shore Line advertisement style posters that were note-perfectly vintage. And it's a place where resort residents could rent DVDs (mostly kids' movies and cartoons)
By the way - as I was looking around, I saw a man literally walk in to reserve a house for Labor Day weekend. One of the employees at the front desk quickly gave him a few options, talked about amenities... By the time I felt, they were in the process of signing the rental agreement.
The restaurant/bar
I wasn't about to figure out what that building was, but it sure had a lot of golf carts in front of it.
Some of the Beachwalk Resort houses.
The houses on the shore of the former quarry (which was dubbed "Lake Kai") looked smaller and humbler
But that's just an illusion. If you look from the other side of the lake, you realize just how big and elaborate they actually are.
Speaking of which - here's the view of Lake Kai.
From what I understand, you can't swim in Lake Kai - but you can kayak and fish (yes - fish). If you want to swim, the resort has a pool, and Lake Michigan is only a short walk from the resort entrance.
As I left the resort, I looked east. Should I try for my third goal and pedal to Indiana/Michigan border?
No, I decided. By that point, I was already starting to feel tired. And I still had to get the bike back to Beverly Shores.
So I turned around and headed back toward downtown Michigan City.
Pedaling back to Beverly Shores (with a few stops)
Of course, I didn't just bike back. I had to take the pictures of the houses on the south side of Lake Shore Drive. Now that I was going in the opposite direction, I had much better angle.
Beverly Shores has beautiful homes sitting on the hills by the lake shore. On Michigan City's Lake Shore Drive, even the hills are elaborately decorated. Sometimes.
No idea what's going on with the windmill by this house, but it sure is eye-catching
As I got closer to Washington Park, I made a spontaneous decision to take a brief detour through the blocks north of Lake Shore Drive. While the houses on the south side were perched on the cliff, the houses on the north side were even lower than Lake Shore Drive. Turned out there were only about a block or two between them and the dunes that line the shore of the lake.
And because they were on an incline, I almost slammed right into the part where the street ended and the trail through the dunes began.
The houses on the south side of Lake Shore Drive have great views, but the houses on the north side are less than a block from the beach. To have this picture-esque trail practically in your back yard... that's kind of awesome.
I biked around those few blocks a bit more
Until I ran into a dead end and returned to the Lake Shore Drive
Oh, and as I approached the Trail Creek bridge, I saw it opening again to let a sailboat pass through.
Before I headed toward Beverly Shores, I made one last detour.
When vladiatorr, my mom and I went to Michigan City five years ago, we stopped by Lakeshore Coffee, an independent coffee shop. My mom really liked it. Since, unlike me, she treats coffee as more than Waking Up Liquid and insists that coffee has flavor, I've been kind of sad that she hasn't had a chance to go there since - so I decided to stop there on her behalf.
It hasn't really changed much since then - and that's a good thing, IMHO
I wound up getting a tea, because getting water in a coffee shop felt weird. Though, in retrospect, I probably should have asked for iced tea, what with the weather being hot and all. I also took advantage of the shop's wi-fi to check the Internet for the first time since early morning.
I was also amused to discover that the building that used to house a cigar shop five years earlier now houses a yoga studio. Said studio's owner told me that it only opened a few months earlier, and talked a lot about what it offered... and I wished that my mom was here, since that would actually be relevant to her interests. Still, the owner was impressed that I biked as far as I did, and wished me good luck getting back.
"Be sure to get plenty of water," she advised me.
That would haunt me for the next half an hour. Because, once I got underway, I realized that the rest at Lakeshore Coffee didn't do a thing. All the pedaling was finally catching up with me.
You know how I was worried about highway traffic on my way to Michigan City? I no longer cared. I just wanted to get to Beverly Shores.
I only made one stop - to get a photo of Pullman Park. I don't know why Michigan City has a Pullman Park, but as a Chicago resident, I couldn't pass it up.
Pullman Park is home to the city's only skate park
But that diversion aside, I basically focused on pedaling. About 1/3 of the way to Beverly Shores, I realized that I finished up all my water. After that... I swear, it was only the fact that I knew that there was a water fountain at Beverly Drive/Broadway Street intersection that kept me going.
When I got to the water fountain. I drank for what felt like forever, refilled my water bottle... And even though the remaining distance was ridiculously small (less than 10 minutes walking) I just couldn't bike anymore. I walked the rest of the way.
As I approached the train station, a group of bicyclists rode past me, as if taunting me.
"Whatever," I said to myself. "I biked to Michigan City."
The rest was kind of a blur. I returned my bike and went to grab an Polish sandwich at a food truck parked in the store parking lot.
The payment procedure was weirdly elaborate - the cook wrote down my order, I brought it back to the store, paid, the girl manning the counter gave me a receipt and I brought the receipt back to the food truck to get the Polish.
The Polish was... alright. Not anything I would recommend, but nothing I would warn people about, either. It's perfectly decent Polish, well-cooked, and fresh onions were a surprising touch. The guy manning the truck was pretty enthusiastic, in a way that didn't seem all that forced, and he was happy to pose for a picture.
I ate my Polish on the bench right then and there (because, honestly, I was still feeling pretty tired and didn't want to move any more than I had to). But after I finished, I went to the station to wait for the train.
In Conclusion
And so... the trip ended in me being tired and hurting all over. But boy was it ever worth it. I spent years wondering what it would be like to biek through the Dunes and Michigan City, and the reality more than lived up to expectations. I'm not sure I would do the Beverly Shores to Michigan City and back again thing... Though part of me wants to see how it would work with less detours and distractions. I certainly would like to explore Beverly Shores on a bike, pedal through all the winding streets off the major roads. Maybe bring a swimsuit and stuff next time.
Honestly, a big part of me was glad that I managed to bike to Mount Baldy, let alone eastern edge of Michigan CIty. I really, really wasn't sure I could.
So... We'll see if i manage to do something later this fall. Or maybe next summer.