Two weeks ago, the Mikes and I went on what I can only describe as the ultimate summer hike. If you remember, in January, we hiked Cowles Bog on a particularly warm weekend. As soon as we made it down to Lake Michigan on that rare warm weekend, we vowed to go back in the summer.

We made good on that vow and neither the hike nor the weather disappointed. All three of us agreed, it was our best hike yet.

Cowles Bog is part of the Indiana Dunes State Park about and hour and twenty minutes south of Chicago. We took the long way down to Lake Michigan where we hiked about two miles, with the last 3/4 of a mile being a steep hike up and down a sandy dune.

Hiking down the dune is truly enticing as you approach a beautiful white sand beach, fairly secluded. There were a couple of boats anchored just off shore, the water was surprisingly clear (even with the factory as a backdrop to the north). We made it down the beach about an hour after arriving, and sat down to eat our homemade tuna salad sandwiches and drink a savory Hibiscus ale called Rosa from Revolution Brewing Company. (Trust me, it’s the best summer beer there is.) After our second attempt at eating Tuna Salad sandwiches mid-hike, we all agreed that, while delicious, tuna salad sandwiches were not the easiest or best food to take on a hike.

After lunch was done, it was all we could do to put on sunscreen and dive right into that great big blue lake. Never has anything felt more satisfying than spending two hours playing in the water mid-hike on a 90 degree day.

The weather was so nice, we hesitated leaving this secluded paradise, even with the sand blowing the down the beach, burying our towels and bags. We picked up a paddle board that had been lost at sea, riding the playful lake waves and finally beaching it before taking off for our 1.4 mile hike back to the car.

The worst of it the hike back came straight away, when our sun-kissed legs had to hike up the sandy dune at a devastating incline. As we walked back the familiar ground, filled in with leaves and flowers and plenty of bugs, the three of us mostly kept quiet and just put one foot in front of the other, perhaps due to our state after a few hours at the beach or perhaps just taking in all the magnificent nature around us. For me, it was definitely some of both.

We piled ourselves into the car and Michael drove us back to the city where our now-traditional bottle of bubbles awaited us in our fridge. We drank to our health and to ourselves.