Into Indiana #65

Okay, the first impression of Indiana was ‘the Ohio River is one huge river’! I just didn’t expect it, I guess. So we passed over a bridge west of Louisville, Ky. on Hwy. 135 into limestone, caves and canyon country. It was very rural and scenic, just our sort of route. The Ohio River was such a big player in the development and expansion of colonial America being part of the main water route to the Mississippi River and to the Great Lakes. We stopped at a few overlooks so Cokie could get the right river shots.


We found our way to a small state scenic route along state Hwy.62, traveling nearly due west into the Hoosier National Forest. We then turned due north on route 37 headed for another forest campground, cooler weather and the bustling burg of Popcorn, IN. Why in the world would we want to visit a place called Popcorn? Well, thanks for asking! Kae had clipped an article from an issue of Time Magazine a couple of years back that made Popcorn sound very intriguing. Let me quote from the article – “Five years ago, two big city businessmen visited Dale Humphrey, mayor of a small town called Popcorn, Ind. (pop. about 50). They had just the kernel of an idea for a business – gourmet popcorn – and visited the town on a whim. Humphrey charmed them with stories about his neighbors, passionate farmers who lived and breathed to harvest corn. Inspired, the two entrepreneurs started selling on line and opened a small shop in Manhattan, getting most of their product from the good people of Popcorn.” Well, I simply could not sniff out anything resembling a town, let alone a mayor or even a viable corn field in the area designated as Popcorn on the AAA map! The Gal Pals asked people in the area and no one had ever heard of Popcorn but there was a lovely little church, some great trees and a few moments for a fine lunch. It was fun to try to find but I wonder if it wasn’t just clever marketing. Oh well.







We pretty much shot straight up the state heading for the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore on the southern edge of Lake Michigan. It was all okay by me as I was looking forward to a refreshing swim in the lake. I wondered what the difference was between a “national lakeshore” and a “national park.” Well, in a word, nothing. There are 391 units of the National Park System and they have varying designations like park, monument, lakeshore, historic site and so forth. By law, the designation makes no difference in how they are managed. So, see? This is another National Park Service site. We love our Parks and they are a real bargain with Kae’s Golden Age Passport.


This is such a diverse area with the sand dunes, pine and oak forests, bogs and wetlands, just an hour from Chicago, in the middle of a heavily industrialized zone. The Great Lakes were carved by glacial action during the last Ice Age. The last ice sheet, about 10,000 years ago was known as the Wisconsin Glacier. It was over a mile thick and rested so heavily upon the land that it ground boulders into pebbles, leveled the land and scoured the basins now known as the five Great Lakes. The landscape around these lakes is filled with long fertile valleys, rolling ridges and impressive sand dunes created by the bulldozing effect of these glaciers as they melted, retreated, froze and advanced.






The tallest point in the park is a 126 foot high dune known as Mt. Baldy. Gal Pals took a hike down to the lake’s edge for some scenic shots up the dune and out on the lake. It was too bad about that industrial/nuclear looking stuff east over in Michigan. Ugly!



I finally got my chance for a swim in this huge body of fresh water and boy, was I looking forward to it! It can be hard keeping this thick, luxurious, blonde coat supple and soft and well groomed when one is forced to spend days upon end just lounging about on the Tempurpedic bed and helping Kae clean up the kitchen several times a day. What I didn’t expect was how cold and rough the waves were going to be and how much wind there was. Not the best swim a guy could have but I braved it so Cokie could get the commemorative photo!


Another day trip took us back in time to two living history museums – an 1822 fur trading post and an 1872 farm. Joseph Bailly was one of the first white settlers in the area. He and his family operated his trading post, sawmill and homestead for three generations over more than 100 years. Three generations of the family of Swedish immigrants Anders and Johanna Chellberg owned and operated the Chellberg Farm from 1869 to 1972. These sites and buildings have been preserved by the Park Service and provide a glimpse into the early settlement of this richly diverse area.

Bailly Farm


Chellberg Farm



Speaking of farms – our next stop, in interesting Indiana, was eastward to the third largest Amish community in America. Centered in and around the counties of Lagrange and Elkhart, you could travel the 90 mile Heritage Trail following detailed audio directions on your vehicle’s CD player, or you could do what we did and find a beautiful spot in which to park yourselves, take about a week to just follow your nose or your eyes, your stomach or your instincts to explore the region. “Embrace the Pace.” “Live in the Past Lane,” may be slogans, but they aptly state the state you find yourself in as you poke around this remarkable area. I’ll try to convey the wealth of sensations that nearly overwhelmed my highly attuned senses as we take you on some day trips with us.





















Let’s start with this quilt thing. Yes indeedy, here we go again! The Amish women are well known for their heritage quilts and people really do come from the world over to buy them. My intrepid Ladies however discovered quilt blocks again in unusual forms as murals and as gardens. There are over 60,000 blooms packed into 12 gigantic gardens and 11 super-sized murals in seven communities all across the Amish country. Of course we just had to go find and photograph them. Some were better than others and some just couldn’t be photographed for various reasons but these shots will give you a sense of this great project. www.QuiltGardensTour.com


























Das Dutch Essenhaus-Log Cabin






The Mennonite and Amish live side by side in this gentle world and together they created and built a remarkable museum/visitors’ center in Shipshewana. Menno-Hof is a non-profit center offering accurate information about the faith and life of the Amish and Mennonites - part of a 500 year old religious tradition embracing peace, simple living and Christian service. www.MennoHof.org



There was so much more to see and do so we decided to make another blog of our discoveries. Journal #66 is coming up so stay tuned!