Headed North

Gone for a few weeks to Canada!

I'll report on the adventure when I return to the online world!

Picking Pumpkins

The gourds & mini pumpkins are ripe on the vines.

Time for little punkins to pick pumpkins!

 

Heidi finds a nice one.

 

 Ryan likes the gourds

Liddy searching

Wait a minute...

Right color, wrong vegetable!

Good helpers!

Garden treasures!

Get Lost - Or Not!

We mapped out 4 different trails and posted tags

so hikers wouldn't lose their way.

All trails start and end at the new sign near the parking area.
 

We used different colors for each trail.

Red is the perimeter trail passing the pastures & following the creek.

1-1/2 mile

Blue trail follows the wide loops passing through the valley & meadow & past the giant rock.

2/3 mile

Orange wanders along the ridge above the lowlands and past the overlook.

3/4 mile

Yellow meanders through the interior trails down songbird trail,

 through mature forests and good whitetail habitat.

7/8 mile

Hike on!

Dewy Morning

Angel Dogs

Swallowtail butterfly

Misty Morning

Scrounging for fallen apples.

Trailriding the Blue Rock

The weather had been wonderful.

Warm days in the 70's and cool nights in the 50's.

Perfect for trailriding.

Meet Apollo, a new resident at the ranch.

He is owned by my friend, Janette.

Apollo is learning how to be a trail horse.

That includes getting your hooves wet.

 

And also being the lead horse.

 

He's turning out to be a fine trail horse.

And Rocky & I are glad to have riding partners.

Take This Trail

Curious Whitetail

Phrophetstown State Park

Another day trip from Indy is Phrophetstown State Park near Battleground, Indiana.

Phrophetstown is named after the Shawnee Indian, "The Phrophet" 

 who was involved in the nearby Battle of Tippecanoe.

Phrophetstown is mostly a tallgrass prairie,

 but also has a working farm and recreated Indian village.

The farm is operated using 1920's methods 

And uses Belgian horses to pull the farm implements.

 The park also has a new aquatic center, perfect for the sunny days on the prairie.

There are 4 miles of trails.

Please excuse the unusual photos, I accidentally left my camera on sketch mode,

 so the pictures from our prairie hike appear as sketches.

Kinda neat, I think.

We hiked past the fishing lake.

 Saw lots of butterflies

 And wildflowers

There were board walks for swampy areas,

although today it was dry and hot.

Be aware that the prairie has very little shade and bring water.

The park map stated that they will be opening 5 more miles of trails later this year.

The new trail #4 will wander along the Wabash River.

 There are 110 campsites in the campground, all having electricity.

Another fun day in Indiana!

 

Delphi Canal PArk

We are exploring day trip ideas from Indianapolis.

Yesterday, we drove to Delphi, Indiana,, about 1hour, 15 minutes from Indy,

and visited Canal Park.

 This is a park where a section of the Wabash & Erie Canal has been preserved.

Measuring 468 miles, the Wabash & Erie Canal was the longest man-made canal in the U.S.

It stretched from Toledo,OH to Evansville, IN, linking the Great Lakes to the Ohio River.

After 30 years of use, the canal era ended in the 1870's.

 Delphi has the only remaining accessible Indiana portion which still has water in it.

 Canal Park has canal boat tours on a replica canal boat on the weekends.

The boat, which allowed our well behaved dogs on board,  takes you under scenic bridges

And past historic lime kilns.

There are also 10 miles of trails, some utilizing the old towpath along the canal

where you can bike, hike or walk your dog.

Several historic steel bridges have been saved, restored and placed over the canal.

This steel bridge was being repaired & readied to create a new walkway over the canal.

There is also a museum and conference center.

The museum is excellent, with hands-on exhibits, detailing the canal, locks, lime kilns

 and the history of the area.

 There are also several restored log cabins.

In addition, there is a canal boat turned into a playground,

 bike, paddleboat & kayak rentals, camping and picnic shelters.

This park is a gem and well worth a visit.