Covered Bridges

Most of today was spent driving - south down the center of the western half of Indiana, heading for Rockville, which is in Parke County, the self-proclaimed "Covered Bridge Capitol of the World". There are 31 covered bridges in Parke County, Indiana. At the Visitor's Center in Rockville you can get a map showing the location of each bridge. Actually, the map is divided into sections, each section being a little driving tour designated on the map by color - red, black, blue, brown, and yellow. Each of these tours has between 4 and 9 covered bridges, and can be anywhere from 25 to 50 miles in length.

We chose the brown route. It took us awhile to figure out how to read the map - there isn't a mileage gauge and I'm not sure the map was to any kind of scale. After what seemed like forever, we arrived at the first covered bridge on our route . . .




Pretty cool. We drove through it and then tried to determine how to find the next one. We finally realized we were having so much trouble because we were heading the wrong way. The map doesn't tell you, but there is a right and wrong way to find your way from bridge to bridge. If you're going the right way, there are little color-coded arrows on the telephone poles and stop signs along the way, pointing the direction to follow. We hadn't noticed the arrows because we had started out in the wrong direction.

Once we got turned around, it became a scavenger hunt to find the next arrow. And the next bridge. Not all the bridges are right on the highway. Sometimes you have to go off on a little side road. Like this next one . . .

This bridge was pretty long - it even had windows in it near the far end.

This is the view through the window in the bridge.

As I mentioned yesterday, whenever you travel you meet interesting people. Just as we drove up to this bridge, another car pulled in behind us and out popped a man who immediately started telling us how he spent many hours inside this bridge as a child, how he had carved his name into the wall inside the bridge, on and on. Soon we knew his life story - how he had joined the Marines, was stationed in San Diego and was planning on a military career until after 16 years he somehow broke his back and was discharged with a medical disability pension. He and John continued jawing while I explored the bridge, comparing military stories no doubt. I just think it's so amazing how much personal information a stranger will openly reveal. My thought is there are a lot of lonely people in the world, just looking for someone who will listen to them. It makes me sad.

Finally, we were off looking for the next bridge . . .

And the next . . .

And then one more . . .

We were are the end of the brown route, and frankly, I was a little disappointed because the bridges all pretty much looked the same - except for their length and whether you could drive through them or not. And it was getting frustrating looking for the little colored arrows, which weren't always obvious. And we were hungry, which didn't make for patience. So we decided not to follow any of the other routes and got back on the highway headed West towards the Illinois state line.

Along the way, we were passing through lots of farmlands and now that we are more south, the corn is higher. This field of corn was about knee height . . .

And the best part . . . Today we started seeing fields of wheat that are starting to turn that beautiful amber color that I've been hoping to see. "Ask and you shall receive" . . .

Not quite "Amber", but definitely getting there!

Close-up of the kernels

I'm thinking it might be possible to see those Amber Waves before we get home! Fingers crossed!

We are now in Illinois, about 40 miles East of Springfield. Tomorrow we will check out the capitol building there as well as a couple more Abe Lincoln related places, and then our wheels will be permanently headed West! Homeward bound!!!!!