Indiana attractions

Trails closed by flood waters on central Indiana’s White River

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Discover White River Rewards Pass is a delightful  program that allows you to explore 37 different parks along White River in central Indiana. We went to 3 of the parks yesterday, following the directions on the sie.

Closed to hikers

Two of the parks were suffering from the current flood stage waters. Town Run Park on 96h Street had open gates to the parking, shelter and trail heads. However, all of trail head gates were closed off to hikers.

Unique playground

Shelter, river in background

Walkway is a bit damp for use

River Heritage Park on the edge of Carmel’s White River is a wonderful park complete with all the latest playground equipment. Several of the concrete walkways were under water due to the flooding of White River.

White River flooding

Similar to the Indy Craft Pass for local breweries, distilleries and wineries, the Discover White River Pass offers exclusive real-world rewards like stickers, shirts, and on-water experiences by visiting dozens of parks and attractions.

 

 

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Unique metal 1890’s tombstone appears new

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Usually a tombstone from the 1890’s shows a fair amount of weathering, often to the point making it hard to read. We spotted a family plot at the Rushville, Indiana East City Cemetery with a marker date of 1896 that looked nearly new.





These monuments were all custom made from 1876 to 1914. Sold as “White Bronze” they were actually made of a zinc-tin alloy. Cast in Bridgeport, Connecticut, the parts were shipped to the cemetery for assembly.  Click here for our post detailing the history of these unique monuments.

Indiana prepares for the total solar eclipse

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Central Indiana is fortunate to be directly on the route of the long awaited total solar eclipse. Small town Shelbyville is pulling out all the stops in preparation for this exciting event.

On the town square

Announcing the eclipse

Downtown store front decorations

Statewide excitement about the eclipse

Shelbyville is directly in the perfect viewing path of the eclipse. Hopefully the skies will be clear on April 8th. If not, you will have to wait until 2044 for the next eclipse viewing!

Batesville’s Bison-tennial statue

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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!

 

Greenwood Indiana Civil War vets cemetery section

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It was sunny and cold today, but still a nice day for a short trip. we found ourselves t a large city cemetery in Greenwood, Indiana. We saw short wall, behind which were a couple of cannons.

Old Glory in the breeze

Great ID Plaque

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It became obvious that this was the location of the Civil War Veteran’s cemetery, complete with a prominent flagpole.

A beautiful, serene setting

An interesting touch for this section

Rest in Peace

Know that Veteran’s Sections in cemeteries should always be considered sacred ground.

Wendall Willkie, Rushville’s pride and joy

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Rushville, Indiana is a typical Midwestern small town. It became home for one of the Hoosier state’s accomplished politician, Wendall Willkie. Willkie, born in 1892, was a successful lawyer, businessman and ran for President of the United States against Franklin Roosevelt in 1940.

Willkie changed his party registration to Republican in 1939, however he did lose to FDR in the election. After the election, as Roosevelt’s informal envoy, he made two foreign trips during the height of WWII. Willkie died in 1944 while he was considering forming a new political party with Roosevelt.

Willkie Family Plot

A nice remembrance plaque

Rush County Courthouse

Wendell Willkie was loved by many, and his Presidential run in 1940 was organized and executed in Rushville in what was then the Durbin Hotel and Restaurant. He and his family are buried in the large Rushville cemetery.