Batesville’s Bison-tennial statue

Indiana’s Bicentennial was celebrated in 2016. As part of the celebration, fiberglass statues of bison were made available to each of Indiana’s counties. Local artists decorated them with themes and scenes of the local area and features. We have seen several of these during our travels around the state, and our trip to Batesville today was no different.

We found the familiar shape of one of 92 Indiana county’s bison statues in front of the Batesville City Admin and Police Department Building. “Braun” sure makes a striking appearance on this admin office lawn!

 

Back to longer stays at RV Parks

Sher and I have been pretty much staying at home, wanting to avoid that COVID-19 virus. We took a trip a few days ago and walked around in Vincennes, Indiana. We were anxious to get out and on the road again, however, and decided that we’d try out staying in an RV park see if we felt safe being in that environment.

We found what looked like a very nice park not that far from our home base. It was part of the Thousand Trails, a membership program where you pay a yearly fee and are then able to access RV Parks without any further fees.  We felt that by having only 10 nights of stays at these parks, we’d pay for the membership, anything beyond that would be no charge.

The Thousand Trails Indian Lakes Resort in Batesville, Indiana turned out to be a good choice for our first time out for a park. We had reservations, and did have to go into the gate house to get the dash board slip and the gate “key”. I would have preferred a no contact check in, but the lady did not let anyone else in while I was taking care of check in. Yes, she and I both had masks on.

We easily found an open site (sites are first come, first served). Back in on a level gravel drive with a nice shade tree. There was a concrete pad and permanent State Park style grill. The power pole and the water bib were  clear at the back of the site. It took almost all of our electric cable  to plug in, and both our water hoses.  Our T Mobile service was not very strong, but at least we could open email and access a few web pages.

A colorful sunset is a good way to end the day

We found that we felt safe at this park. We could hike around the park, and there were never so many folks that you could not keep the proper social distance. We chatted with some fellow campers, at a distance of 20 feet at least! By bringing all of the supplies we need, there was of course no need to go to any stores. We think we have found a safe way to travel, at least until there is a treatment or cure for the coronavirus. Oh yeah, we’re heading out again next week.

A road trip on a hot day

Sher and I had had enough.  It has been since February 25th since we were in our RV. Roadtirement needed to hit the road again.  I put some water in the fresh water tank, and flushed the antifreeze out of the lines. That way we would have water for our bathroom.

We went a town in south east Indiana named Batesville. This town has a rich German history, and is home to the Batesville Casket Company, one of the largest in the world.  The Hill-Rom company, also headquartered in Batesville, is a manufacturer of high tech hospital beds and is also a Hillenbrand company.

Hillenbrand Mausoleum

We visited the Saint Louis Catholic Cemetery of the local church of the same name. This cemetery is in a beautiful setting with tree lined main roads. There is a section in the back of the cemetery that is the oldest portion and has the oldest graves. In addition this is the area where the founders of the Hillenbrand companies are interned in a striking mausoleum and a masonry fenced area.

It was great getting back on the road again, and from Batesville we headed to Oldenburg, another German influenced town in south east Indiana. We were safe, as we stayed far away from any people we saw. Stay tuned…