Happy 100 to the National Park Service! Here’s four parks we’ve visited in the Great Lakes Bioregion, starting closest to home as usual:
While the NPS celebrates a century, we Indiana dunepeople are marking the half-century of the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore. And very close to my home, we’re marking 40-years of the Miller Woods’ inclusion in the national lakeshore.
On the other side of the Indiana/Illinois is the most recent addition to the NPS in our region, created in February 2015. Visitor amenities are still undeveloped, but the recontructed Pullman Administration Building and grounds are occasionally open to the public. Neighborhood artists and their guests have been using the space for art builds and larger installations. I joined one hosted by the Break Free Midwest coalition in advance of our large action in May 2016. If you visit do check out the lovely wooded birding area east of the admin building.
River Raisin National Battlefield Park was created by law in spring 2009. It marks the site of the Battle of Frenchtown, a major defeat for the United States in the War of 1812. We haven’t visited the actual site but on our way to Detroit in 2013 we happened upon the Hull’s Trace unit of the park and enjoyed nice views of the Huron River, the Pointe Mouille State Game Area, and Lake Erie.
Until we visited the Sleeping Bear Dunes in summer 2013 I didn’t fully comprehend that sand dunes could be so tall, the lake could be so blue, and that sandy shorelines didn’t always have to be spoiled by heavy industrial vistas.
Great Lakes Bioregionalism 