We left Tennessee and headed for Indiana. Along the way we were driving on the interstate over a bridge and saw a billy goat walking towards us on the side of the berm. He was doing a merry jaunt with his ears twitching and his nose sniffing the air as he walked……….. it looked as though he was actually smiling. The traffic and loud trucks didn’t seem to bother him as he trotted along, I think he was on a mission. It was a long bridge so no one could stop………..I hope the little fella made it okay.
Our second stop was at Brookville Lake right over the IN state line. A beautiful area on a 55k acre lake. At least half of the campers were in tents and it was really hot. One couple near us came in with three small kids, spent the night in a tent, and packed up and left the next day. The husband said it was their first time camping; I don’t think the wife was very happy. Two of the mornings we were there we came across a skunk walking though the campground looking for food. Some of the tent campers said it wasn’t pleasant listening to the skunks rummaging around in the middle of the night while they were trying to sleep. Luckily, our dogs were on leashes so we didn’t have a scene that would have evacuated half the park.! We did get to walk them several miles down to the boat ramp and let them jump in the lake. Oh yes, we took our first bike ride, too. We biked 5 miles to the beach area which was down the road from where we were staying. Did I say down the road? I mean downhill. We had a great time getting down there but the walk back up pushing the bikes was a little more taxing especially with the temperature in the high 90’s and very humid.
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| (That's not a stain on his shirt.....it's moisture from the beer can ! S2) |
On the trip we spent a good deal of time viewing scenery consisting of corn fields and soybean crops. I remember 30 years ago when you could walk through the corn rows without any trouble and the farmers had to cultivate between the rows to keep the weeds down. Not anymore….the corn is much taller and slimmer, close to 7 feet tall and very compact. You can’t see through the rows anymore but we understand the yield has increased from 80 bushels an acre to 240 bushels an acre. Along the way we also saw a little diversification……a buffalo farm and an elk farm.
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| A canyon of corn in Indiana.......will it ever end ? |
While in the area we stopped in Lizton, IN, and visited with a family friend we hadn't seen in many years. This is Betty Jo Krout who was like a mother to me for many years. It was so good to spend time with her and reminesce. Betty Jo I hope you start feeling better real soon !
In the center of Crawfordsville is Wabash College. It is a beautiful campus that was founded in 1832. Today, it is one of only three remaining all-male liberal arts colleges in the country, and has a student body of around 900.
Our daughter Beth, son-in-law Rob, and grandkids, Katie and Lee were in Indiana visiting Rob's folks. While there we met up at a wonderful state park called Turkey Run. One story about how Turkey Run got its name was that wild turkeys, finding it warmer in the cannyon bottoms, or "runs", would often huddle there to avoid the cold. Pioneer hunters would herd the turkeys through these natural funnels into a center location for an easy harvest. The pictures below will give you an idea of how that worked.
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| Before we got started. |
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| Heading down into the trails. |
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| Notice Brett's shirt after carrying the dogs down several series of ladders as we moved further down into the funnels. |
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| We were tired but we got through the trails. |
That was one of the best state parks we have ever been in. Even though it was a hot, humid day in Indiana, there was so much moisture and water areas in the funnels that we felt cool and comfortable for almost the whole walk. What an awesome place!
Finally, what would Indiana be without a few pictures of covered bridges. We found them along several creeks outside Shades State Park.
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| Billie Creek |
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| Sugar Creek |
And now for you trivia buffs:
Did you know Crawfordsville is the home of Ben Hur? In 1880, prominent citizen Lew Wallace produced Crawfordsville’s most famous literary work, Ben-Hur, A Tale of the Christ. It became a successful MGM film adaptation that received 11 Academy Awards.
Also, if you want to see additional pictures, Brett has set up albums in Picasa that you can visit if you wish. Here is the website:
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