The Weekend

 This was a beautiful weekend weatherwise...highs in the upper 60's and sunny.   It brought out the crowds at the Festival.  On Saturday, we went to Rockville which is like the center of the Covered Bridge Festival.  Rockville is the county seat and the courthouse sits on a square.  For two weeks out of every year, it is the epicenter of the Festival.  Bus tours of the covered bridges leave two or three times a day.  Some people are here to see the bridges and not shop!

One of the old doors of the courthouse.

A clock tower tops the courthouse.

The tents that surround the courthouse.

 We spent three hours walking around the square going into stores on the square and in the huge tent that surrounds three sides of the courthouse.  We were looking forward to having lunch from one of the many church booths that traditionally sit on the square. It seems that church ladies can really cook!  I always have broccoli cheese soup in a bread bowl and Carol gets gizzards.  I was not disappointed but Carol was.  The gizzards booth was not there.  A man told us that it had not been there for the last two years because the chicken processsing plant where the gizzards are purchased cannot get enough workers to process the chicken causing a shortage.  How sad and it seems a sign of our times!

After we left Rockville, we like to take the country road that goes through Marshall.  

This wooden arch spans is 51 feet over the main street in Marshall. It was constructed in 1921

Parke County has a large Old Order Amish community.  It is not unusual to see their buggies on the roads.  Here the old and new share the road.  The community must be growing because this year we have seen three new Amish schools in addition to the one we knew about.

We purchased three bundles of firewood at the campstore and Carol used this wagon to transport them to our car.  We had our first campfire of this camping trip tonight and cooked a foil packet of chicken and veggies.  It was good eating!

Sunday we went to Mansfield.  For all the years we have been attending the Festival, there is a bottleneck at the intersection of US 36 and State Highway 59 in Bellmore.  There was only a two-way stop sign and traffic really backs up trying to cross Highway 36 headed to Mansfield.  Finally, there is a four-way stop sign and traffic moves so much better.  I do not know why it took so long for the state to realize a simple four-way stop sign would solve the congestion problem.  It was a much needed change.

It is really dry here and driving on rock roads puts up a lot of dust.

Raccoon Creek flows through Mansfield.

Although this may look like a lot of tents, it is about half of what has normally be here.

These two dogs are waiting for their picture to be taken.

Plenty of shoppers for the Festival.

More pretty trees to see as we drove back to camp.  Again, we were able to spend about three hours at Mansfield.  That seems to be the limit our feet has put on our shopping time.  Back at camp we relaxed, read and napped.   Had another campfire and packet supper.  It is supposed to get down to 34 tonight and only up to 45 tomorrow.  Brrrr!

Two Days in One

Since Carol's sister Jean lives in Danville which is only 45 minutes from Turkey Run, we try to make a visit with her when we are so close.  We got a double  bonus because we picked her up at the church her son Miles pastors so we got to visit with him as well.  Took her to The Beef House in Covington, Indiana.  Good food and good company.

Carol and Jean

After lunch we took Jean for a drive in the countryside.  The leaves were so pretty and it was a great way to let our lunch settle!

Today is the first day of the Covered Bridge Festival so we decided to visit Bridgeston first.  It will be a good test for my new knee.  It got down to 37 degrees so we turned on the furnace last night.  I think we both slept well.

It was a cold night but very sunny so I took this picture of the trees that we  see everyday.

I think this is Sugar Creek which the Bridgeton Covered Bridge crosses.

The Bridgeton Covered Bridge.  If I am thinking correctly, this bridge burned and was rebuilt in 2006.  It was first  built in 1868.

Bridgeston was packed with people.  We stayed there about three hours.  I think that was a good test of my knee and it passed.   We ate lunch...Carol had chicken and noodles and I had my usual hot ham and cheese sandwich.  Of course, we had to get some kettle corn.  Not surprising that the prices had increased.  We brought a bag for $6.00 which was half the size of the large bag we would buy at the same price of $6.00 in previous years.   We didn't even get half of Bridgeton covered.  The last few years we have been coming to the Festival, we usually only do half at a time.  By the time we left at 1:30, it was hard to get down some of the streets and aisles because of so many people.  It was a perfect day for the Festival...comfortably cool and sunny.

We drove the back roads to a place where an Amish couple has in the past sold homemade baked goods.  Unfortunately, they were not there.  We don't know if they have stopped selling their baked goods or if it is just today that they weren't set up.  We will check again.  Their homemade bread and whoopie pies are sooooo good!

The farmers are working hard to get their corn and beans in for harvest.

We got back to camp about 2:30 and spent the rest of the afternoon resting.  The wind is gusting very strongly and there is a 65%  chance of rain later.  After supper we took our usual walk.  We walk the road that runs through this side of the campground.  In past years, we have walked not only this side but also the other part of the campground.  Both of us agree that we will not be walking the rest of the campground this year.  According to the sign, the campground is full.  We really like our spot.  We have decided that tomorrow we will go to Rockville.  It is not as large as the other two places so we can probably get it done in one day.

a Trip to Danville VA to Check Out Carol's Ears

Had to get up early to be at Danville VA by 8:00 a.m. CDT.  Carol got new hearing aids last month and they aren't recharging so since we are close, he made appointment to get them checked out.  The skies were overcast but the trees were beautiful so it was a nice drive.

The sun was trying hard to be seen through the clouds.

We love to drive the rural roads when we can.

Made it to Danville by 8:00.  Unfortunately, his charger could not be fixed so it has to be sent back to manufacturer.  It may be another two weeks before he gets them back.

We decided to eat breakfast at the Inn in Turkey Run.  They have a nice breakfast buffet that we usually eat at once during our visit here.

Trees around the parking lot at the Inn

After breakfast we decided to drive to Rockville, Mansfield, and Bridgeton to see how Festival preparations were coming along.  Most of the towns had the big tents set up but there were still lots of vendors not ready for Friday when the Festival begins.  It began to rain on this drive.  We got back to camp around noon and settled in for the day.  We read and napped, napped and read.  Finally, it stopped raining so we took our daily walk around this end of the campground.  There are still some empty spaces but by late afternoon, more campers were filling them.  

It was cool and rainy most of the day but the motorhome stayed warm just by using our portable heater.  If the long-range forecast is true, by next week, we will have to turn on the furnace because the lows at night will be in the high 20's.  I think this will be one of the cooler two-weeks we have spent at Turkey Run.  

Heading to Turkey Run State Park, Indiana

 We were so glad to be able to go to Turkey Run this year.  Reservations have to be made six months in advance to get the weeks of the Covered Bridge Festival.  We are in Site 258 which is new to us but as it turns out, it is a good spot.  We left Decatur at 11:00 which is 12:00 Indiana time and allows for the two hours it takes to drive there.  We cannot get into our site until 2:00 p.m. their time.  Carol drove the motorhome and I followed in the car.  It rained the entire trip.  Fortunately, it was a gentle rain. The leaves on the trees have begun to turn making the drive very beautiful.  Once I tried to take a quick picture with my phone but could not do it.  As we backed into our spot, our neighbor came over.  His name is  Shane and he is from Harristown and we have seen him here for several years.  When you come here for several years in a row, you get to know other people who are here at the same times.  

Our site.

We can see this row of tree from our site.  

This tree is dying.  It is a favorite for a Reticulated Woodpecker.  According to the internet, this woodpecker is the largest of the North American woodpeckers.   He flies into this tree, sits awhile, and then flies into a row of tree behind our RV where there are wild grapes.  I guess he has a sweet tooth!

Evidently, this part of Indiana has a new internet tower that Verizon uses now.  In past years, I have had no internet when camping at Turkey Run but this year is different.  l don't know if I will post every day but certainly several times while we are here.  

Tomorrow we have to go to Danville VA for Carol to get his new hearing aids worked on.   This time I will be a passenger so I may be able to get some more beautiful fall foliage pictures.