Day 9 – Indiana, Hill and Dale

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Day 9 of a Year Long Road Trip Along America’s Scenic Byways

Horses in Louisville

What a day!  I rode a horse.  Outside of about 3 trail rides over the last 17 years, I haven’t truly ridden a hunter/jumper until today.  It was so fun to be back in the saddle again, though it didn’t last long as I got bucked off.  At least I landed on my feet.  Horse smell to me is an aroma.  I love it!  I could have sat at the barn all day and watched people ride.  It was so hard to leave Bobby and Karen.  Such a blast from the past!

For those of you who know Karen and Bobby, they have a great little barn – 9 stalls or so.  Their paddocks are spectacular – 5 huge turnouts, full of grass – a horse’s dream.  The horses are great – fat, pretty, and show material.  They are still showing, mostly in Tennessee and in Mississippi, I think.  Bobby got his big R, so he is judging a lot, and they have one investor who likes to buy horses, so he gets to go to Europe every now and then.  They’ve got a great house and lucky for me an extra bed.  And as always, a dog to boot.

Corydon and the Battle of Corydon Memorial Park

After spending the morning chilling with them, I backtracked to Corydon, Indiana.  Corydon was once the capital of Indiana (dating all the way back to 1816).  I spent most my time walking around the courthouse square and at the Battle of Corydon Memorial Park, the location of Indiana’s only Civil War battle.  The battle was between Gen. John Hunt Morgan’s Confederate Calvary Division and the Sixth Regiment of the Indiana Legion (The Harrison County Home Guards).  It was the only organized resistance that Morgan met in Indiana and one of the few battles fought on Northern soil.

Morgan’s division crossed the Ohio River; captured two steamboats, sinking one of them; fought and overtook 400 Home Guards on July 8-9, 1863.  He stayed in Corydon long enough to rob the county treasury, loot the town merchants, place a levy on the flour mills, and steel all the local horses leaving the division’s tired ones behind.  The raid continued through Indiana and Ohio for 17 more days covering over 1,000 miles before General Morgan surrendered, making it the longest calvary raid of the Civil War.

I tried to find a cache at the park.  After reading the description and hint, I determined it was supposed to be a bullet under the American flagpole.  After reading a few more logs, I found out it was no longer there.  In cacher terminology…it needs maintenance!  On the way to my next stop, I met a prosecuting attorney that worked for an Indiana county.  That VANilla just attracts people. 

He just walked up and asked, “Do you think it will rain?

I replied, “It did where I came from!” And so the story began. 

He didn’t want me to post his name or anything, but he already texted me and wished me a good trip.  And before we parted ways he told me to call for a cup of coffee if I was ever back in the area!

Story Inn

From Corydon, I continued north 1.5 hours to the Story Inn, in the town of Story, Indiana with a population of two and a resident ghost.  The Story Inn is a quaint hotel with a handful of rooms, a garden, a bar, a patio, and according to all the magazine articles a great restaurant.  In addition, it is rumored to be haunted by the Blue Lady.  No one knows who she is, but apparently she visits when you turn on the bedside lamp in the blue room. 

I met a couple there who were celebrating their 24th wedding anniversary.  They were staying in the blue room.  Her husband had read online that it is rumored to be haunted, but opted not to disclose that tidbit of information to his wife until I did!  Oops…she’s afraid of ghosts! The articles were framed all over the walls, so she would have eventually found out. 

I only made time for a short visit, but I think I will return there one day. I loved the atmosphere which was certainly nicer than my next campground, no matter how great it is.

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Brown County State Park

The Brown County State Park where I camped for the evening is just 5 minutes down the road from Story Inn.  I can’t wait to explore the area tomorrow.  It may be my favorite campground, as far as the sites are concerned.  There are congested campgrounds and isolated ones.  This one has congested, isolated, and something in the middle. 

I picked in the middle.  I have privacy, but I am near some other campers and a bathroom.  My location is up on a ridge underneath a canopy of trees.  I saw some wild turkey on my way there. What makes it even better is Verizon and AT&T both work and the park is full of caches.  Hopefully AT&T will still work when I get down to the valley lakes.

On a different note, I accomplished another first today. I may not have mentioned all of them, but it seems like I’ve done something I didn’t know how to do everyday since I’ve been gone (or at least out of my element).  Today, I was brave enough to light my propane stove in the van.  I’ve been avoiding the propane due to an accident in college, but I know it will be cold soon, so I tested it out. 

I’m proud to say I strayed from PB&J and salad and made a mushroom feta quesadilla!  It was delicious. I also figured out I don’t have a dish cleaning brush, so I had to use quite a bit of elbow grease with hot water, suds, and a spoon to scrape off some of the burnt cheese.  It’s about time for me to head to Walmart anyway, so I’ll pick up some SOS pads while I’m there.  Until tomorrow…ETB

Map of My Road Trip Across the USA

For a summary about my road trip across the USA, click HERE. For the interactive map, see the below link.

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Day 10 – Indiana, Hill and Dale

Shop

Check out the photographic note cards and key chains at my shop.  Each card has a travel story associated with it.  20% of proceeds are donated to charity.

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