Tag: Outdoors

Podcast - Indiana Places and History, Road Trip Indiana Series

Podcast – Hovey Lake State Fish & Wildlife Area – Mount Vernon

Native tribes ceded the area to the United States in the Treaties of Vincennes 1803 and Fort Wayne in 1809. This area at the junction of the Wabash and Ohio Rivers was mainly wetland not suitable for farming and received the designation as swampland. The Wabash and Erie Canal Company received the land as a grant from the Congress on March 2, 1827. The canal company failed. A man named Charles J. Hovey received ownership of the land in the 1880’s. Continue reading Podcast – Hovey Lake State Fish & Wildlife Area – Mount Vernon

Podcast - Indiana Places and History, Road Trip Indiana Series

Podcast – Harmonist’s Labyrinth at New Harmony, Indiana

Johann Georg Rapp founded the group that would become the Harmony Society in Iptingen, Germany, in 1785. The Lutheran Church persecuted the members, so they migrated to the United States. They purchased land in Butler County, Pennsylvannia on February 15, 1805. They formed the Harmony Society and placed all of their possessions in common. Continue reading Podcast – Harmonist’s Labyrinth at New Harmony, Indiana

Podcast - Indiana Places and History, Road Trip Indiana Series

The Cathedral Labyrinth at New Harmony

The Cathedral Labyrinth at New Harmony, Indiana
Visitors will find both a labyrinth and a maze in New Harmony. Though many think they are the same thing, there is a difference in the two. A labyrinth has one winding path leading to the center of the structure while a maze has many paths, some of which are dead ends.
Today I will talk about labyrinths, next week it will be mazes.
Walking on a labyrinth symbolizes a spiritural journey or a quest for self-discovery. It is meant as a sort of walking meditation. Continue reading The Cathedral Labyrinth at New Harmony

Podcast - Indiana Places and History, Road Trip Indiana Series

Vincennes State Historic Sites

The buildings in the State Historic Site include a log barn that serves as a visitor center, a schoolhouse, the old Territorial Capitol and the Eli Stout Print Shop. The State of Indiana has moved all the buildings here from other locations and all are Indiana State Historic Sites. The tour costs a nominal fee and includes all four buildings. It will take about half an hour and is well worth the investment Continue reading Vincennes State Historic Sites

Exploring Indiana Series, Sample Chapter

Sample Chapter – Fun Indiana Road Trips

The Nature Trail Head
The Violet and Louis Calli Nature Preserve consists of 180 acres. The trailhead for the self-guiding trail is adjacent to the parking lot on the same side of the road. The trail is just a bit over two miles long. There is a brochure available in a box at the trailhead that describes 18 stations along the course of the trail. There is also a notepad for you to register, just for fun. Continue reading Sample Chapter – Fun Indiana Road Trips

Podcast - Indiana Places and History, Road Trip Indiana Series

Podcast – Lesko Park and Dearborn Trail – Dearborn County, Indiana

Lesko Park occupies a grassy, landscaped strip along the Ohio River waterfront. There are three parking areas strung along Indiana State Road 56 just west of downtown Aurora. River access for boats is nearby using the Aurora Landing just off Judiciary Street. The park derives its name from Aurora Clerk-Treasurer Tony Lesko.
Lesko Ohio River Park features a wide, asphalt walkway which is about a mile long. The walkway provides a great way to get a bit of exercise after a picnic lunch. It is an easy hike along the river. Continue reading Podcast – Lesko Park and Dearborn Trail – Dearborn County, Indiana

Road Trip Indiana Series, Video

Video – Hickory Ridge Fire Tower

While on a camping trip to Brown County State Park, we took the opportunity to use our camping sticker to inspect the campground and facilities in the Paynetown Recreation Area on the northern shore of the lake. Paynetown has an electric and a non-electric campground, hiking trails, boat docks, boat rental and picnic shelters.
State Road 446 crosses a bridge that carries the highway over the lake. We crossed this and turned right into the Cutright Recreation Area, which consists mostly of another boat ramp. Continue reading Video – Hickory Ridge Fire Tower

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Podcast – The Gristmill at Spring Mill State Park

Early pioneers in Indiana founded the village of Spring Mill in 1814. The copious amounts of water that flowed from local caves encouraged them to build a gristmill using the water to power the mill. In 1817 Hugh Hamer, the mill’s owner, built a bigger mill on the site. This gristmill was a three-story limestone structure and is the mill that exists in the Pioneer Village today. Continue reading Podcast – The Gristmill at Spring Mill State Park

Podcast - Indiana Places and History, Road Trip Indiana Series

Muscatatuck National Wildlife Refuge

Wildlife lovers should think about making a trip to Muscatatuck National Wildlife Area. The Refuge is on US 50 just east of Seymour, Indiana. The diversity of wildlife visible to even casual visitors to the Refuge is a delightful thing to see. The Refuge consists of 7,724 acres of which forestland covers about seventy percent. The remainder is wetlands managed by National Park Service personnel. The Refuge is in both Jennings and Jackson Counties, however the entrance is near Seymour, in Jackson County. Continue reading Muscatatuck National Wildlife Refuge

Indiana State Park Travel Guide Series, Podcast - Indiana Places and History

Podcast – Versailles State Park

Versailles State Park, located east of Versailles Indiana on US Route 50 is Indiana’s second largest state park. It includes 5905 acres, the 230-acre Versailles Lake, a public swimming pool and one of the finest campgrounds in the Indiana State Park system. The northern area of the park features an extensive Mountain Bike trail system. Horse trails occupy the southern reaches. Continue reading Podcast – Versailles State Park

Indiana State Park Travel Guide Series, Podcast - Indiana Places and History

Podcast – Clifty Falls State Park Canyon Rim Hike

A favorite hike of ours is one I like to call the “Canyon Rim Hike”. This is my name, you will not find it on any park literature. We usually start this hike at Clifty Falls Shelter. We hike the east rim of the canyon, descend into Clifty Creek canyon, cross the creek and hike the west rim. This hike is just at eight miles long and takes us usually just under five hours. Continue reading Podcast – Clifty Falls State Park Canyon Rim Hike

Indiana State Park Travel Guide Series, Podcast - Indiana Places and History

The Ladders Trail at Turkey Run State Park

Suspension Bridge
The Suspension Bridge crosses Sugar Creek, connecting Trail 1 on the south side with Trails 3 and 4 on the north side. Completed in 1918 the bridge was constructed by the Lafayette Engineering Company. It replaced an earlier suspension bridge built on the site. The bridge is 202 feet long. Steel cables support the 4-foot-wide deck as they carry foot traffic across Sugar Creek. The 70 Steps Concrete staircase to the bridge was built in 1921. The cables are anchored in a fifty-ton concrete base. Continue reading The Ladders Trail at Turkey Run State Park