After plenty of wandering in the previous month, this past month of Indiana wandering was much less. If anyone wants to hear about my wandering to Washington, DC, give me a shout.
We have some friends who live on Raccoon Lake. Or should I call it Mansfield Reservoir? Or should I call it Cecil M. Harden Lake? Did you know Cecil was a lady? I had no idea. Look it up for the story behind the creation of a park and lake. Although we missed the Parke County Covered Bridge Festival by a week, we still enjoyed some wonderful weather and gorgeous scenery with many fall colors (and some blooming flowers).
The lake is a Corps of Engineers drainage control facility, and it was being drained while we were there. The drained lake proved to be a blessing in disguise. As we visited the dam and tail-waters, the water was flowing quite fast. It made for an interesting view versus the dam’s typical slow and low-level outflow. Big Raccoon Creek flows to Mansfield, and our next stop was the historic Roller Mill and covered bridge.
The day continued as we traveled to Shades State Park for an afternoon picnic. After some much needed nourishment, we decided to hike the Pine Hills Nature Preserve trail. This trail starts out easy but becomes pretty interesting—you take a few stairs, and venture through the Turkey Backbone and Devil’s Backbone. It is certainly not for the faint of heart but is very much worth the venture.
Turkey Run State Park was next on the agenda. It’s fortunate that these two parks are so close together. Our hiking was limited, with fall upon us and less daylight. With that said, you still have many options. We took Trail #6 by the Inn. This is a really interesting and short trek. Try it out. Make sure you check out the Lieber Cabin. The display showing some previous trees found within the park is unbelievable. The logs used in the cabin are huge! It reminded me of some of the trees you might find in California – redwoods or sequoias.
What a day! We were blessed to have really clear skies and really low humidity that evening. Look up! The Milky Way and constellations were fantastic. As clear as can be. I haven’t seen that in quite some time. Dark skies at Raccoon Lake are very available.
Have you been to the Historic Artcraft Theater in Franklin? You have to check out this fine establishment. First, check out Richard’s Brick Oven Pizza. Get there early because the lines can get quite long. The Artcraft Theater is a throwback to the past. It has a great atmosphere, many volunteers that take care of you, a couple of hokey sketches before the movie, drawings for free gifts, a cartoon before the movie, as well as singing The Star-Spangled Banner. The senior discount for popcorn and drinks is pretty nice as well. We saw “No Time for Sergeants” with Andy Griffith as the star. I can’t wait to go back and see “White Christmas“.
Where shall I travel next? I always appreciate you passing along your suggestions.
~ Jeff Banning