Indiana

One thing we can tell you about Indiana, Spring, 2019 – it’s water-logged! Planting season is weeks behind because the fields look more like ponds than fields. It has been a wet spring all over the mid-west, and nowhere is that more apparent than here, rivers overflowing, forests sitting in lakes, campgrounds flooded. Having lived most of my life in dry climates (Washington being the exception), I find it all quite fascinating and frustrating, sometimes, when it’s too muddy or wet to hike.

After leaving Decatur, we found a campground north of Ft Wayne, ideally located for all the things we hoped to see during our 4 days in this part of Indiana. Although we were kind of “out in the boonies” we discovered to our extreme pleasure, that we were not far away from local wineries – who knew? So, after settling into our campsite, we were off to give one of them a try. A pleasant time was had by all.

After a rather rainy, thundery night, we woke to blue skies and set off for Elkhorn, Indiana, to visit the RV/MH Hall of Fame and Museum: another notch on our list of unique and different places to visit! The place was huge and surprisingly interesting. Apparently, northern Indiana is the RV manufacturing capital of the universe – or some approximation, there of! We saw recreational vehicles dating back… well, to the beginning – a Conestoga Wagon! 

It was fascinating to see how these homes on wheels changed through the years, from something improvised and simple, to the mass produced ones that were still sparse on the amenities, but which served the purpose for which they were intended – to get away from home and out of the weather. The quaint old ones were appealing in their simplicity, and we appreciated them more than some of the new, huge RVs with all the bells and whistles – although there’s something to be said for a comfortable bed and adequate bathroom, I will admit! All in all, it was a thoroughly enjoyable experience and one every RVer should try to see someday.

From there we made an unexpected stop at another RV factory. We had never heard of the Phoenix line before, but the factory was only blocks away, so why not? They make smaller RVs and we may be in the market for one in the future. We liked their 27 foot cruiser (it’s a B+, a cross between a full fledged motorhome and a van!). Lew will tell you more about our 3 factory tours in a future blog. Suffice it to say, we were impressed by the workmanship at the Phoenix plant and their customer service. Who knows what the future will bring?

From there we headed down to Amish Acres, figuring it would be a tourist trap, Amish style, passing buggies along the way. We were pleasantly surprised. It’s an old farm, converted into restaurant, inn, and shops. They give tours, but we came late in the day, so we just wandered around, visited the bakery and fudge shop, and enjoyed asking questions about Amish ways. We learned a lot, especially about how different the practices are in different locales. Here in Indiana, things are a bit more relaxed, apparently, since one of the young ladies we spoke with talked about leaving for years and then returning and being welcomed back into the community.

We ended up having dinner there, which turned out to be a fundraiser for a local charity they support – it was called a “haystack” – which closely resembles a meal we call “Teresa Salad” – chips on the bottom, covered with seasoned ground meat, beans, lettuce, tomato, onion, salsa, cheese sauce and sour cream (I avoided the last two ingredients!). It was simple, but tasty and the “donation” for dinner went to a good cause. It was a long day, so we just HAD to stop at a winery on the way home!

We saved the next day for the Cord Duesenberg Museum in Auburn, IN (see Lew’s blog). It was interesting, but had way too many of the same looking cars for my tastes. There were lots of “Classic Cars” of the 1930s in absolute mint condition. Our grandson, Phin, would have loved it.

Then we HAD to visit the windmill museum, another of those eccentric places in America that make traveling so fascinating. We learned all about the old wooden windmills, used primarily for pumping water from deep underground. We saw them all over Texas and on farms in the Midwest. It was quite interesting, especially the outdoor part of the exhibit. 

That night we attended the RV Park “welcome back” potluck and enjoyed talking to people around us and wowing them with our adventures. Most of the people at this park are locals who set up camp for the summer or come regularly on weekends. It gave us a taste of local life.

On Sunday we drove into Fort Wayne to attend the UU Church service, visited yet another winery and just relaxed, preparing to drive up to the Indiana Dunes National Park in the morning.

We really enjoyed our time at the Dunes, taking in as many hikes as we could before the flooded waters on the trails stopped us. It seemed like such an unlikely place for such a beautiful, serene environment, nestled right up against Gary, Indiana and all the heavy industry in the area. Fortunately, forward looking people “saved” a portion of the old landscape (15 miles along the southern tip of Lake Michigan)  before it all disappeared. It’s a varied landscape of ancient dunes left by the glaciers as they advanced and retreated over the millennia. There are dunes, of course, new ones and old ones hardly recognizable as dunes, bogs, peaceful forests, birds galore, mysterious wetlands, reconstituted prairie land, meandering rivers, and beaches to play on and from which to watch stunning sunsets over Lake Michigan.

Note Chicago skyline

 Except for the one day when we drove into South Bend to visit yet another car museum (Studebaker) and see the University of Notre Dame (and, of course, visit a winery), we enjoyed a respite from the hectic pace we’d set for ourselves over the past few weeks.

Our four days there reminded both of us how much we enjoy the outdoors – how much national and state parks mean to us. We have enjoyed seeing all the museums and the sights that cities have to offer us while we travel, but our hearts and souls are here, in the quiet serenity of nature. So glad we found this gem in Indiana.