Beverly Shores Off The Beaten Path

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South of Michigan City is the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore's Heron Rookery. Here in the spring, nesting pairs of herons raise their young. The dense tree tops hids their nest and it takes time and a trained eye to see them.

Don't let the lack of finding birds send you away, there are acres of spring wild flowers to enjoy.

The Rookery is south of town. From either US 20 or US 12, Find Country Road 500 E, take it south across the tracks (careful on the tracks, trains and it's a bad intersection/crossing [US 20, 550 E, and the railroad]. Road changes to Brown Rd (still 500E). At 1400 North, the road ends, go left (east) to 600 East. South about a mile. The parking lot is on the right (westside) of the road.

The sand is rising and the view becoming harder to see, but a trip along Lakefront Drive is a chance to see the lake and the historic Century of Progress Homes from the worlds fair.

Described as Spanish Eclectic, the Chicago, South Bend, and South Shore Electric Railway station is unique. Built in 1929, it houses displays about the town of Beverly Shores, artwork and a small gift shop.

Location: On Broadway, just off U.S. 12.

In the summer, this stretch of East State Park Road is cool and dark. The leaves overhead let and occasional dapple of light through. The smell coming in your car window is damp and pungent with decaying vegetable matter (leaves).

Under the theme A Century of Progress these five homes were displayed at the 1933 Chicago World's Fair. They demonstrated modern architectural styles, futuristic concepts and new technologies. Two years after the fair a real estate developer, Rovert Bartlett, had the homes trucked and barged to Beverly Shores in hopes of attraction potential property buyers to the community.
   The houses are not open to the public and the park rarely offers tours. They are located on Lake Front Driver, near the Dunbar Parking Lot. See my travelogue for more.