NOVEMBER 3:

One of the Little Ones

This morning I really had a hard time getting up.  This creeping crud has got to go!  We got going around 8 AM, and as we stopped to empty the tanks on the way out, a mama deer and her three little ones were hanging around.  They stayed close while MW worked on the trailer, but scurried off when I headed to the dumpster with the trash.  One of the best things about staying in parks is seeing the wildlife wandering around.

We headed north to the Gasthof Amish Village and stopped at their craft fair where I bought a couple of gifts. They also had an Amish bakery, so you know we had to get a couple of things there.  After walking around for a while, we pointed Brutus north.  The campground we had planned to stay at was pretty close, but we decided to make a long driving day of it and go further north.  That would give us the ability to spend three nights at one location before our appointment on Tuesday.

Bird Ballet

For lunch we found a dirt lot on the side of the road and made sandwiches, then hit the road again.  We traveled some back roads through a lot of farm country.  It looks very different from the last time we were here before the harvest.  Now it is all fields of black soil.  We saw another huge flock of birds dancing the sky ballet,  and some rivers and creeks that were over-flowing their banks from the recent heavy rains.  We also saw what appeared to be hundreds of wind turbines, a huge ConAgra grain plant, and more of those giant grain silos.

Look Closely – The Windmills Go On Forever!

We finally arrived at Tippecanoe River State Park around 4:30 PM and, after filling the water tank, got everything set up.  This park is really nice, too.  It has a campground with electric hookup and a primitive campground where you can bring your horses.  There are lots of hiking and horseback riding trails, a playground, cabins, and a youth tent area.  The campground is pretty wooded and laid out nicely.  Unlike some state parks, they only charge the day-use fee once instead of for every day if you stay multiple days, and the total for three nights came out to around $27 each.

We had leftover stew for dinner, and I caught up on the journal before turning in early.

A few more:

NOVEMBER 4:

The Road Into Tippecanoe State Park

Well, this creeping crud has seized hold and set up housekeeping.  It was all I could do to get up and get dressed.  I lolled around until quite late, then got up and sat around wrapped in a blanket for a bit longer.  That was pretty much it for the early morning.  We had a bit of time comedy, though.  Yesterday we crossed into the Eastern time zone, so we moved the clocks forward one hour.  At 8:15 AM it was still pretty dark outside,  and my phone said it was 6:15 AM, my watch said 7:15 AM, and the clocks that MW changed last night said 8:15 AM.  Turns out that Daylight Savings Time kicked in last night, so it was actually 7:15 AM.  (My phone was reading the time from a tower still in the Central time zone.)  We didn’t figure it out until MW went up to the office to pay.  He was not amused, because that means he got up at 4:30 AM.

Playground at Tippecanoe Campground

After being awake for an hour or two and wrestling with all of that confusion, I figured it was time for a nap.  I did manage to get a shower when I woke up, which helped minimally.  Meanwhile MW was enjoying his coffee and letting me veg.

Tippecanoe Campground

It has been drizzly and grey for the most part this morning.  Determined to get something done though, I headed out around 11 AM to use the wifi at McDonald’s and upload a post.  MW stayed behind to watch a war documentary, something I can do without some of the time.  (Although I really do enjoy them occasionally, but don’t tell him.)  The internet was very slow, and it took forever to download the necessary pics, but I managed to get another post written while I waited.  Before I left I grabbed a couple of McRibs to take back to MW for late lunch, then ran by the drug store for some cold medicine.  As I drove back into the campground, I heard a clicking in the truck that seemed like a rock in the tire.  MW found a small rock, but that didn’t seem to be large enough to make the noise.

By the time I returned most of the other campers had already headed out, and by evening it was down to us and one other trailer in this huge campground.  It was so nice and quiet!  I took a few pictures on the way in to share.  (I’m trying to add more specifics about campgrounds for those interested.)  The rain began consistently again around 5 PM, and we spent the afternoon watching TV.  With any luck all of the relaxation today will help move this sickness out!

NOVEMBER 5:

Well the slower place yesterday did not help.  It’s worse.  Ugh!  Despite feeling terrible, I forced myself to get showered and dressed, and we headed out about 9ish to find the Chief Menominee Monument.

For those who have not read previous posts, I have to put this in again.  My sister watched Sesame Street all the time when she was little, and there was a music snippet that the muppets sang that was catchy.  I have no idea what they were singing about or what the real words are, but every time I hear the name Menominee, I hear that music.  Here is my version of the snippet.  I can sing the entire thing, but didn’t want to put you through that.

Chief Menominee

As we were leaving the campground, we heard the clicking again.  This time MW found it…a bolt stuck in the left rear tire.  (I might have picked it up yesterday in the parking lot at CVS.)  We called a tire shop in Winamac, but they could not do anything until later this afternoon.  However, Ryan at the Chevrolet dealership told us to come on over and had us back on the road in about an hour.

Finally we found the monument.  Chief Menominee was the head of the Potawatomi tribe who, like the Cherokees on the Trail of Tears, were driven west off of the reservation they were initially given on the Trail of Death.  Twenty-eight (mostly children) died on the march to Kansas.  The plaque installed to show where Chief Menominee’s village was originally located was installed as an Eagle project by a Boy Scout, which was cool, too.  We’ve run across several of these in our explorations, and always enjoy seeing what they worked so hard to accomplish.

Round Barn

Next we decided to get some lunch and headed into Rochester, Indiana, looking for pizza.  We passed the courthouse, which is really pretty.  Wouldn’t it be cool to have a picture of all of the courthouses in the country?  Some of them are quite beautiful.  Both pizza places were closed, so we picked up a few supplies.

We went by the Round Barn Museum before heading back.  It was…round.  LOL  It is a county museum, but we did not go in.  Next we headed back to Winamac and the Pizza King.  To me it was bland, but I think my taste buds are off.  MW said it was good.

Tippecanoe River

On the way into Tippecanoe River State Park (where we were camped), we took the long road around and stopped at the riverside picnic area to walk around a little.  It is a river otter release area, and I was hoping to see one, but no luck.  We did see a red-tailed squirrel, though, and the park is very pretty though.  The river water almost looks black and reminds me a bit of the river in the Okefenokee Swamp in Georgia.  It was still very cool and grey, but had not rained.  Nonetheless, I did not spend too much time outside.

Back at Penelope, I curled up and took a nap while MW checked out the route for tomorrow.  He can bury himself in maps for hours!  Later we watched a couple of old movies before turning in early.

More from today: