RV travel

Got our detectors out of storage

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Our metal detector gear, digging tools and headphones

A day or two ago I was trying to ride my bike, my legs gave out and I ended up with 2 scraped knees. Hmmm…. that’s when we pulled out the metal detectors.  Dusted them off, put in new batteries and much to our surprise – they still worked! So, about our  metal detectors, yes we have ’em.  Maj has a Garrett  GTP 1350  and I have a Whites  CoinMaster.  We bought them a few years ago when we were convinced we were going to find hidden treasure!  (smiling face)  Anyway Joshua  Gates , from Travel Channel’s Expedition Unknown really inspired us to do something with our detectors. Joshua uses metal detectors a lot in his searches for treasure and other artifacts. Doing a google search I found that metal detecting is a very good hobby for senior citizens.  

I don’t know if we’re going to find buried treasures, but we might find a few coins and maybe even a piece of jewelry.  We haven’t figured out how well we will be able to bend down and actually dig.  But, it is good exercise and we may just look for surface treasures.  

Why are we doing this? We are getting ready for our next big adventure.  We’re leaving it up to everyone to guess where we are going.  I’d give a prize but don’t have anything really to give that would be good.  Only thing is, you will know if you’ve guessed right.  

The first hint: it is west of our home state of Indiana…

~ Sher

Hot day at the track

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Last Wednesday we went out to the Indiana Grand Racing and Casino  to see what was going on with the day of the 27th running of the Indiana Derby. The Indiana Derby is touted as the premier thoroughbred race in the state. There was a full race card with 12 races and several high stakes races with purses totally nearing 1 million dollars.

The parade of entries

Ready to run…

 

 

 

 

 

Looking at the parking lots and garage, it was obvious that there were tons of people at the facility. We parked in the garage, having to go to the top (5th) level to find a parking spot.

We went into the casino for a bit first. Complimentary drinks and the AC were a draw for sure! Not having a tremendous amount of luck at the slots, we headed to the track. The first floor was packed, with folks at the large bar and at the many tables looking at the screens with tracks from all over. Many were placing wagers with tellers or at pari-mutuel kiosks.

We sat out side for a while, at least there was shade from the building. We stayed for four races, and then decided it was too hot even in the shade. It wasn’t the best time we have had at the Indiana Grand, and headed home to the AC!

New home for an old bridge

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By 1870 Shelby County Indiana had 154 miles of new gravel roads. It was time for the county to start building bridges at principle crossings of rivers. By 1880 there were 10 “substantial and elegant” iron bridges  with additional bridges planned each year thereafter.

The bridge’s new home, seeing bicycles and pedestrian traffic only

The Clover Ford Bridge over Buck Creek was constructed in 1889 by the King Iron Bridge & Manufacturing Company of Cleveland, Ohio. The cost of the bridge, Shelby County Bridge No. 13, was $3,384.50. The bridge served many years but was closed due to structural issues in 2011.

Beautiful and sound reconstruction

History board

 

 

 

 

 

Deemed historically important, it was refurbished in 2018 and moved to the Blue River Memorial Park in 2019. It is now part of the Blue River Trail that traverses Shelbyville. USI Consultants was the company that oversaw the relocation of the restored bridge, as well as designing the new Shelby County Bridge No. 219 which replaced the old Shelby County Bridge No. 13 over Buck Creek.

A neat feature at a park

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This afternoon Sher and our son and I went on a ‘hunt’ for a Geocache at a nearby park. We had looked it up last night on a map, and there it was! So off we went.

Explanation of how the swale works

This Geocache was not one of those hidden boxes or log books. This one was a feature at the park. We went in search of a Water Quality Bio-Swale. Yes, a feature that is designed to collect pollutants from rain fall runoff.

That’s the swale in the background

It actually looked like an ordinary swale for rain runoff. This one had a more complex design than you normally expect. There was a thick layer of sandy soil in the low part of the swale which filtered any pollutants. A layer of gravel at the bottom surrounded a  perforated drain pipe in which the storm water runs off to a nearby river.

The story of Indiana’s state tree

The swale banks were planted with trees native to Indiana. One of the park volunteers was mapping the location and species of each tree while we were on site. He informed us that there will be individual ID signs on each tree and a brochure with detailed info coming soon.

Even though it is one of a chain…

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…the Lincoln Square Pancake House in Greenfield, Indiana is more like a small town  independent diner. This group of 9 restaurants has a fascinating story. The restaurants are scattered around central Indiana, and unlike other chains no two buildings are alike in design nor size. They are the result of decades of hard work of George Katris ,  first generation Greek immigrant who came to North America at age 18, where he bussed tables in Toronto.

Hoosier tradition breaded tenderloin

Yummy waffles covered with goodies

 

 

 

 

 

Fast forward to today, and the Katris family still owns and operates the restaurants. A diner? Yes, in the typical definition of good food and lots of it! Sher and I were told of the Lincoln Square Pancake House by one of the shop proprietors.  We got there at 2:00 PM with an hour to spare. The restaurants, in true pancake/breakfast tradition, open at 7:00 AM and close at 3:00 PM.

Sher and I enjoyed very tasty and very filling meals. We’ll look for other Lincoln Square Pancakes Houses as we travel around Indiana.

James Whitcomb Riley, The Hoosier Poet

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“When I see a bird that walks like a duck and swims like a duck and quacks like a duck, I call that bird a duck.” We know you’ve heard that saying before. Did you know that is a quote from James Whitcomb Riley, know as The Hoosier Poet? Riley was born in 1849 in Greenfield, Indiana.  His home is preserved and is open for tours.

Riley’s birthplace in Greenfield

Front door signage

 

 

 

 

 

 

Riley was noted for his down home use of dialect that epitomized rural Indiana. He first wrote under a pen name (farmer Benj. F. Johnson, of Boone) for newspapers in Anderson and Indianapolis. As a boy Riley worked as an assistant to traveling patent-medicine hucksters.

Historic Marker outside the home

Riley is famous for his remarkable volume of poems. He wrote and published over 1000 verses. His most popular are “Little Orphant Annie”, “The Raggedy Man,” “Our Hired Girl,” “A Barefoot Boy,” “The Bumblebee,” “Granny,” and “When the Frost Is on the Punkin.” Many of his poems were aimed at children as well as adults.

Have a seat with Mr. Riley, he might share a poem with you!

Riley’s birthplace and the next door museum provide an most enjoyable attraction in Greenfield. Located on the historic National Road (US 40) the home is east of Indianapolis.

 

Mmm…..hand crafted chocolates

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Sometimes the window of a business will make your head turn. That happened to us when we passed the Greenfield Chocolates storefront in downtown Greenfield, Indiana.

Cases filled with delicacies

The business is owned and operated by Jayne Hoadley, an award winning Chocolatier, and a designated Indiana Artisan.  The shop creates hand crafted artisan chocolates, toffees, caramels and confections from the finest and freshest ingredients with no preservatives.

Shelf after shelf of deliciousness

“I’ll take one of each..”

 

 

 

 

 

As soon as you walk into the store you are treated with visions of delicacies everywhere you look! Prepackaged treats are displayed on shelves and racks. The cases are jam packed with beautifully decorated morsels of all types.

Where the magic creations occur

Everything is made on site in the historic building at 15 West Main Street. (It is right next to the statue of the bison we posted earlier.) Go ahead and stop in this delightful shop. You won’t walk out empty handed: we sure did not!

A nice visit to the Shale Creek Brewing

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Sher and I went on a mission today to see what was up in nearby Franklin, Indiana. We had looked up a couple of brew houses and decided to try out Shale Creek Brewing. It is located in one of Franklin’s oldest building, and offers brews and great food.

Main entrance, downtown Franklin

Main bar

Once we were seated, it was time to decide what brews to get in the flight…

What an inviting list

Catelynn helped us with our flight choices

Here came the flight, really about the best reason to go to a brewery!


The food we picked was very tasty with large portions. The lettuce wedges had lots of toppings, and the breaded fried hamburger was smothered is all kinds of great stuff.

Excellent salad fare

Yes, smothered fried breaded burger

This is the life!

All in all, what a fun time we had. The food was great, the brews were fun to sample and we have found a place we’ll enjoy coming back to. We also bought a growler of Red Headed Squealer, aka Irish Red. Here’s the Shale Creek Brewing website to check out.