Snowy Range Pass

Snowy Range Pass

Saturday, August 31, 2019

Bird house guy of Indiana




28 June 2019

We stopped for a few days at our friends Jim and Helen’s home in IN.  They have a very nice RV pad next to their house with full hookups.  Each time we visit, they find something new to show us. This time was no exception.  They took us all over the countryside and we stopped at the Bird House man of Indiana.  It was a very interesting experience.  Everyone who visits gets a free birdhouse.            

We learned later that he is listed in RoadsideAmerica.   


It was amazing and the pictures tell it all:




















After leaving Jim and Helen’s, we headed home after a great five-week trip.



When they close the road, the GPS will take you anywhere…


27 June 2019


After leaving The White-Water Canal site we decided to visit the Medora Covered Bridge.  This is the longest covered bridge in the USA.  It looked like an easy short ride on highways.  We plugged it into the GPS and headed out.  After just a few miles, we saw a sign stating road closed ahead.  We could see down the road that was indeed a road closed sign.  So, we took a left turn on a smaller road in this rural farm area.  The GPS quickly recalculated and started giving advice. 


At first it was OK; we were driving thru paved scenic farmland on numbered county roads.  After a couple turns, it took us on a gravel road.  Now, we normally avoid these roads but thought it would be ok.







 After several more of these turns, we ended up on a very small gravel and dirt road.  There was really no place to turn around safely, so we pressed on until we reached a very small and old bridge with a 3-ton weight limit.




We were stuck.  After looking over the bridge, I crossed it smartly without any drama and we continued this rough road but now with flooded fields on both sides.  Some part of the road had standing water, finally, we reached the main road, where we could see the bridge.











After the bridge visit, we saw several closed road signs, but cars were just going pass them.  It turned out that the closed road signs were for flooded roads from previous heavy rains.  Apparently, they do not take these signs down or cover them when not needed.

Friday, August 30, 2019

White Water Canal Historic site


27 June 2019

We stopped in Metamora, IN to visit the White-Water Canal Historic site.  Since we had just visited a similar site in Ohio, we wanted to learn more about these early canals.  Like the canal system in Ohio, these canals were dug by hand and were important transportation links with the rivers to move goods and people in the early 1800’s.  Today, this is a state historic site including the canal at lock #25 and Metamora grist mill.  The web site states that boat tours are offered during the season.

We first strolled around the quaint town.  It was quiet with very little activity.




















We then moved to the lock and gristmill area.  The locks did not appear to be in working condition with one side of the lock had large amounts of mud visible.








Sadly, it appears that the town is not doing very well. Many of the buildings are in disrepair and a large number are for sale.

Monday, August 26, 2019

Grand Lake St Mary State Park


25 June 2019



We had enjoyed the first two state parks, so we decided to make it three.  Grand Lake St Marys was once the world’s largest artificial body of water.  The lake was dug by 1700 German and Irish immigrants between 1837 and 1845.  It was created to supply water to the Miami and Erie canal systems.
 
Today the state park sits on the lake.  There is access to the water and we did see some folks using the lake. A careful look at the signs near one of the beach areas behind our camp site made it very clear that spending time in the lake was not a good idea.











The next morning, we visited the town of St Marys.  The town has a long history which can be seen here.  Before the system of canals began, St Marys developed a portage system to provide transfer of cargo between the two nearby rivers.  We found parking near the Memorial Park.  Now that Halley is traveling with us again, we are always looking for places we can enjoy that allows her to do some exploring also.