Day 11 September 6: Evanston, IL to Stow, OH

 

This morning we walked around Evanston in the rain. Goal was to see Northwestern and we were able to walk through the Quad, see a lot of the class room buildings and get to Lake Michigan for a view of downtown Chicago in the fog. After breakfast we took Lake Shore drive, which is one of the most iconic drives in the US with views of the lake and the city as we headed south. 

Our National Park of the day was Indiana Dunes National Park. I stopped here on my 48 days trip and then, as today, it’s just amazing to see a National Park in the middle of Urban Sprawl. We drove through Gary Indiana where steel plants and huge power lines dot the landscape. In this midst of all that is the National Park with beaches and sand dunes, as if you were on the ocean shore. The reason to stop here is to see beach in the middle of industrial America. I had a hard time finding out exactly where I came 3 years ago on my 48 days trip, but I was able to show Michele the beach in the middle of industrial US.

Our stop for the night is Stow, Ohio. Cuyahoga National Park will be our last National Park of the trip and it’s another surprise because we are very close to Cleveland and Akron Ohio which makes you think of factories and not natural beauty.