Indiana Dunes West Beach, Portage Lakefront and Riverwalk is a Pleasure for the Senses

I'm trying some different places along the shores of Lake Michigan. The swimming at New Buffalo, Michigan, is some of the best I've encountered along the Lake Michigan waterfront. The way in which the beach slopes off, deep enough for swimming without yards of wading, and the rolling semi-surf: it made up for the wait for parking at the crowded town waterfront. Be prepared to grab all your chairs, coolers, towels and bags - and walk in. There at the mouth of the Galien River, a natural harbor led to the town and marina, where many pleasure boats launch to go out around the breakwater. There's a little boardwalk sidewalk out to the beach area.

2000 residents live in New Buffalo, which has a lovely old-fashioned street shopping district. Amtrak runs three trains through the station daily, and tribes of native Americans run the Four Winds Casino nearby. There are bathrooms, showers and lifeguards at the beach area, and a good playground area for kids.

This is also a good spot for boat watching, as the beach is adjacent to the river and channel where the boats are shunted out to the Great Lake. People climb on the rocks on the pier here, and it doesn't look made for that, so I say caution should be used walking out. We also saw an unfortunate incident in which a boat was blown into the rocks trying to get out the breakwater, and the crew needed emergency assistance. As we know, not all boating conditions in wind are favorable.

34 miles to the west, closer to Chicago, I traveled to West Beach of the Indiana Dunes. It's featured in my second and third photos above. This beach sits near Gary at the southern-most tip of Lake Michigan. It has nice trails, including a 6-mile bike loop. I believe this is the Marquette trail, a repurposed rail line. For walking trails, one is along a flat area with an oak savanna, and another is a more strenuous dune climb with steep stairs. The walks are potentially beautiful, with forested dunes and views of the great lake and Chicago skyline in the distance. Through a spot that had been sand mined in the 1920s, prickly pear cactus can be seen along with green herons and other waterfowl in a re-established wetland.

It does cost $6 to park at West Beach, and there are 600 spots. There's a website with West Beach surf reports: air and water temperatures, surf heights and wind, etc. It wasn't surfable when I was there but that's fine. Be careful with all the rail crossings in this area. I-80/94 is nearby too, making travel easy from Detroit and Chicago.

One random note: I'm amazed at the way people don't know better and let their kids scramble all over the dunes and beach grass. Other places, California or Florida, the public seems better educated about this. I repeatedly saw a park ranger have to tell kids not to climb on the grass because it kills it. The grass holds back the sand and keeps the dunes from blowing away. The kids are just looking for somewhere to jump off, but I do hope all people get the message.

The last beach I'm writing about today is the Portage Lakefront and Riverwalk. Reclaimed in an industrial area, it sits right next to the massive US Steel in Portage on the great lake. The top photo above shows its fishing pier and harbor exit. It formerly held settling ponds, industrial byproducts and sewage treatment facilities. It became a brownfield reclamation in 2008 and reopened with a beach, trails, pier, and 900 restored feet of breakwater.

A 3500 square foot public pavilion is a key feature of the lovely place. Its modern design and use of glass resembles a sail in the wind. It's a Gold LEED certified building, meaning it's been awarded for leadership in energy efficiency and environmentally sound design. The whole redesigned area was planned by the city of Portage and the National Parks Service.

To get in to this park, one drives along the Burns Waterway. This is a channel from the Portage Marina that runs alongside the massive US Steel plant complex. The park has free parking and 125 spaces. It's open daily sunrise until 1/2 hour after dusk. One can see the Chicago skyline in the distance here, of course, too. All these places are just over a two-hour drive from Fort Wayne. So, these are easy day trips, or good overnight and weekend excursions. I highly recommend it. The scenery, the colors, the sunsets are wonderful.

Riverside Gardens in Leo-Cedarville Park offers a fun variety of activities

It's bring-your-own horseshoes, but there's a beautiful park all ready and set up for it at Riverside Gardens in Leo-Cedarville, Indiana. All the rules are listed on the sign in the above photo. The pits are nicely groomed, as if they don't get a lot of use there. But other interesting features of the park, recently finished for the most part in 2014, are very popular. These include a kids' splash pad (pictured left), sand volleyball courts (very well used), kids' playground equipment (popular), and paved walking trails.

There's a lovely wildflower garden with native plants at the south end of the park along the walking trails. Another wonderful feature is a paved stone creek with running water for play. Kids climb and splash through it, and it's so popular, I've seen photographers taking pictures of graduates or seniors next to the rambunctious kids.

Once native American lands for people such as the Miami and other tribes, this part of Indiana was slowly taken over by white settlers in the 1800's. Mastodon bones were discovered nearby in 1879, hence the origin of IPFW's mascot name for the Fort Wayne college campus and teams.

Leo-Cedarville's Riverside Gardens is located on the banks of the St. Joe River in northern Allen County. Just off Schwartz Road, Leo-Grabill Road and State Highway 1, it's a short drive north out of Fort Wayne along the tree-lined river and some Amish country. At that spot in the river, the Cedarville Dam was built in 1956 to help supply water to Fort Wayne. The Cedarville Reservoir filled up and retained 500 million gallons which could be treated for the city's water supply.

The Hurshtown Reservoir was later built to further back up supply: it holds 1.7 billion gallons. By 2001, a survey of local residents revealed most didn't want commercial development at this juncture of the river and Schwartz Road, so plans for the park and other town master planning began. The town had incorporated in 1996, so the park is a result of a park board, which was formed and which draws up park rules and collects fees for pavilion rentals.

The large octogonal pavilion with its connecting parts rents for $125/for a resident and a little more if one is not. The smaller pavilions, also very nice for picnics and get-togethers, go for $75/day for non-residents and a little less if the renter is local. There have been many special events this summer, such as kayak rentals along the shore. A farmer's market offers local goods every Tuesday in the summer, and live music concerts encourage folks to come and set up their lawn chairs Friday nights in the summertime.

We got a kick out of a car drive-in show, featuring plenty of cool classic cars and also some awesome newer things: I think the Tesla stole the show with this crowd. And then there's the Fourth of July Freedom Fest every year - the fabulous fireworks display and festival over and along the river. Lots of thoughtful planning goes on, and the work has paid off. You can google the town's website to learn more, or just drive there and check it out for yourself.

Warren Dunes along the Lake Michigan shoreline is a great day trip from Fort Wayne or Chicago

I get really excited when I am able to swim in Lake Michigan in July or August. Earlier than that, I'm afraid it's just going to be too cold. Why do I like to swim in the Great Lake instead of a pool? Here's what I say - it's a wonderful combo. The water looks sparkling, clean and crisp, unless you go when a storm or something has stirred up the bottom. There are no sharks to think about. There is nothing sharp or dangerous on the bottom on which to step. When I go, I prefer days with enough heat and wind to make waves form. These are usually short waves in which one can glide and even bodysurf. Something about the moving water feels great. People are there with their body boards or short foam rafts. Lots of folks have other beach games, volleyball, frisbee, paddleball or are tossing balls - that sort of thing.

The swimming in the big lake - I describe it as being buffeted, sort of like being in a washing machine. It can be a little difficult to do a long crawl stroke, if a person turns the head to breathe and a wave breaks, but a nice backstroke or side stroke works well in the waves. Just treading water is so pleasant. On a sunny day, the water is so blue, the beach grass so lovely green, the dunes are a garden of sand.

There's a parking lot here big enough for lots of patrons, but in the water itself, one doesn't feel crowded. There's an impressive stand of tall dunes here - people flock up them, panting, and lurch back down, or run. The tallest, called Tower Hill, is a mountain of sand 240' tall. Other nearby hills are named Mt. Fuller, Pikes Peak, and Mt. Edwards.

In Berrier County on the eastern shore of Lake Michigan, Warren Dunes State Park and woods covers 1950 acres. There are three miles of shoreline in the park and six miles of hiking trails. Although often full in the late summer months, the park offers 221 modern or rustic campsites and 3 modern mini cabins. Reservations are available online. The park is open year round, and maintains several nature trails. Most are a mile or so long, but keep in mind also would be strenuous if one is climbing a dune. A six-mile long cross-country ski trail is also listed on a map.

The park's listed activities sound like fun. A naturalist will be talking about astronomy and the Perseid Meteor shower on August 15. This will be followed by storytelling around the fire and roasted marshmallows/s'mores. Sounds like a good idea for parties of campers there.

I enjoyed the concession stand design, a big area with showers and access on all sides. Many people bring really nice shade set-ups these days: high-tech, purposeful equipment that is open towards the water and locked down tight on the backside. Seems like the portable chairs are better and lighter these days too. Remember the hats and sunscreen. Also, walking barefoot on hot sand doesn't work. You see folks doing the mad/ouchy dash. Pick your footwear carefully. Shoes are best, but wear ones with which you are willing to deal with sand. I prefer good sandals meant for the job; flip flops are awful and you won't see them on me. But Merrill and Orthoheel are good types of outdoor, rugged and attractive sandals.

We also saw a huge inflatable waterslide in the park. There sure is lots for the kids to do here! Edward K. Warren purchased the site from a struggling friend and by 1930, according to Wikipedia, the acreage had become a state park. It's a beautiful piece of America. When I go to Michigan City or Indiana Dunes or New Buffalo or here, I always see and hear folks speaking different languages, whether they are coming by train from Chicago or are foreign visitors here on a holiday. People of the world know a good beach when they see one.

Taking a group dance lesson made us feel sort of like being in middle school

We did something different from our usual Saturday night routine last week. I had read about community open dances held at the local college campus. An organization sponsors a group lesson with an instructor at 7, after which others are there for open dancing to music provided by DJs. The dance instructor is different every time, and the type of dance taught changes. Salsa dancing, waltz, West Coast swing - on our night the featured dance was East Coast swing.

So, we arrived at the Walb Ballroom at the IPFW campus in Fort Wayne. This is in the student union building, and in a spacious area to provide for a dance floor. We paid our $10 a person and lined up for the lesson. The female instructor, who teaches ballroom styles at a local Fort Wayne school, separated all men and women and had them facing each other in two lines. Her hair was an interesting mix of bright red and jet black strands cascading down her back. She was loudly mic'ed, and shouted her instructions at the class like a drill Sargent: "don't look at me, ladies with your back to me! Just listen!" (bad idea for me in a dance class). And making the lines continually change partners - frustrating for the couples who had come together to learn with their partners, not stag. Complicating things was the fact there were more women than men lining up, so not enough partners we're there for the girls. The girls were happy to cross lines and pair up to dance together, but the instructor kept breaking them up and having them wait for an available guy.

There was a hip bump step also located in this East Coast swing, that I can best describe as awkward since my partner is at least 6" taller than me. I guess this little turn-out step is this teacher's way of adding a little flair to her dance, but it strays from the basics, which are what we're there for. We need more practice to calculate the distance we need to stay from each other while turning, among other things. It's a work in process.

So we struggle through the rest of the lesson with some laughs and more or less success. Then the group lesson is over and others are strolling in before the open dance begins. We see folks have set out snacks, water and cans of sodas - a nice spread of simple stuff and youth friendly (non-alcoholic). In fact it is nice to see a wide variety of ages here, and there are many young folks; late teens or early-20s. Good for them, interested in learing how to dance with others!

So the dancing went on for a good two more hours. A song list was distributed as a play list for the featured songs and dance styles for the evening. 54 songs were lined up to be played by the DJs. Dance styles included tango, the hustle, cha cha, rumba, fox trot, and samba. I have to say there were some really excellent dancers present. Tango dancers with wonderful poise and flair strutted confidently. Line dancers, swingers (the dance kind), and waltz-ers were in full representation. We were out of our league but I enjoyed it anyway. I can see how people get into it.

Www.fwdancesport.org is the club which organizes these events. The next group lesson is September 12, with the hustle being the focus. I'm sure the club members would be thrilled to see all of you, experienced or not.