Six Days and Five States

 

Illinois: I did a very quick trip through Chicago. The parking was very expensive and there was a lot of traffic and people. There were many beautiful buildings to view and I took many pictures during my quick drive through. Then it was on to my cousin's shop where I checkout out the Wicca and Voodoo shop. I got an evil eye pendent for the wall of my room. From there I drove on to Wisconsin. My time in Illinois was brief but fun, having only spent one day here. (7/28/22)

Wisconsin: Wisconsin was another quick trip in which I did a lot of exploring of little areas of the Green Bay. Here I went to a nature park right in Green Bay. I spent time looking at the waterfalls and seeing the different kind of herring that exist in this part of the country. This was a very nice area for a picnic and taking time to go down to the beach. Here the shores were very rocky but the water was beautiful. (7/29/22)

Indiana: After a quick flight into Chicago I drove a very quick trip to Indiana Dunes National Park along Lake Michigan. Here I got to hike along the dunes and explore the way this national park shaped a bit of the shoreline. Walking through the sand and up and down the designated dune areas was hot and hard but the views were very pretty. It is also cool to see a set of stairs sticking out of a dune. There I also did the Diana of the Dunes Challenge. After my hiking was over, I changed into my bikini (first time wearing one to a public beach and it was great) and walked down to the beach. There I spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing by and in the water. (7/28/22)

Michigan: Michigan was beautiful. In the morning of my day in Michigan I took a boat ride along the Pictured Rocks National Shoreline. This is the first national shoreline in the US. There were a lot of very interesting rock formations. There were plenty of places to hike here but I spent several very enjoyable hours looking at the coastline from the boat. I like being out on the water. The blues of the water and the greens of the trees made the land even more enjoyable. It was a very relaxing trip. 

My next stop was Presque Isle Park. Here I explored the park and did more walking along the shoreline. There were many places to swim and climb up and down the rocks. It was a beautiful way to spend the afternoon and since I spent the morning on the water it was nice to hike around similar cliffs and water edges to the one's I had been looking at from the boat earlier in the day. (7/30/22)

Minnesota: Minnesota is surprisingly fun for an unassuming state where you might not think there is much to do. I certainly did not think that I would have a lot to do or see here, beyond the national parks I planned on going to. I was very much surprised. My first part of exploring Minnesota was to go to Voyagers National Park. While it was rainy the day, I was there it was cool to see. It is very green and there are small mountains and hills to climb around while being surrounded by water. There were also some falls hidden within the park that I got to visit. After Voyagers I explored downtown Duluth which is a combination of industrial buildings, shipping, and a modern city. It is not very large and it is on the side of a hill overlooking a lake. 

The next day was more exploring. I was supposed to go to Isle Royale National Park but there was an issue getting the transportation to the island. Instead I spent the day exploring many hikes along Minnesota Route 61. Here there were a lot of hikes along waterfalls that were on one side of the road. On the other side of the road there was Lake Superior. At one point I was almost in Canada. All that separated me from the boarder was a small river. Many of the hikes could go on for miles but other times there were just short hikes to see the many falls. I ended up visiting about 4 or 5 state parks with falls. I also went down to the beach and explored some of the stony shoreline. I also saw one of the older working lighthouses in the area. It was an absolutely perfect and beautiful day. 

My last day in Minnesota consisted of going to more state parks. I saw more falls and did more hikes along various waterways. Minnesota has lots of waterfalls. They are not a large as many that I have seen in other states but they are just as beautiful and they are very fun to hike along. It was very hot this day and by the time I got to Minneapolis I did not want to do any more hiking. Downtown was cool because there was a beautiful old church that I got to see, then got to go to another cool park before heading to the airport. (7/31/22-8/2/22).