A few weeks back I had the itch to wander. Didn't want to go far, didn't really have anything I had to see, just driving in wide open country. Hmm... where to go? There are just a few highways that touch both borders of Indiana - either north-south or east-west. Once you eliminate the interstate highways (I-65) and federal highways (US40) only state highways remain. Of the many state highways only three transect the state - from border to border - SR 26, SR 28, and SR 32 right in the middle from Ohio to Illinois. So why not?
I chose first to go west, and yes, I have traveled all these highways before. It was a fairly last minute decision so I asked my sister Lisa if she was interested and she said 'yes.' My siblings and I are products of our parents who were always ready - "Let's go for a drive." I met her at her house just outside of Terhune, between Sheridan and Kirklin on SR 38. Terhune has become more well-known as the rival of mythical Hickory HS in the movie Hoosiers.
While not my intention as we took this wandering trip, I realized as I wrote about this blog that we adhered to every one of the Backroad Driving Tips I share through Life Off the Highway. Let me give you examples (#x) as I share this one-day journey.
Lisa and I were going to 'follow' SR 47 to Crawfordsville and then SR 32 west to Illinois. Instead we drove backroads from Terhune to Mechanicsburg to Thorntown, paralleling SR 47 (#1 - Head off in the general direction of your destination). Thorntown was near where we grew up and we frequently visit for dinner at Stookey's for catfish and onion rings. From Thorntown, we took SR 47 to Crawfordsville. I had picked out a place for lunch with a great reputation for Breaded Pork Tenderloin sandwiches(BPT) - Sunoco Gas Station!?! (#5- Eat and shop locally) Online it shows its open 7 days a week. Sign posted showed hours for the week, open everyday except August 3, the one Saturday we were there! I searched online and found another local restaurant within a mile and they offered a highly rated BPT. The Creekside Lodge Restaurant and Lounge is located in a valley next to Sugar Creek. We chose to sit outside on the shaded patio overlooking the water. We both ordered BPTs and they were very good. Setting was delightful and the conversation, well Lisa is my sister, so... After lunch we walked down to a table at the water's edge and sat in the peace and quiet of the stream except when the canoers and rafters played in the Creek near the arched road bridge above us. (#10 - Curate your experience…take pictures!)
Creekside Lodge entrance (above) and view from the water's edge (below)
We drove into downtown Crawfordsville and wandered its streets. We were looking for historic homes - Lane Place, Elston House, General Lew Wallace House and Studio - and found more restored homes, Montgomery County Courthouse, Carnegie Library, old storefronts, churches, and Wabash College. (#8 - Stop and read historic markers.)
Next we headed west on SR 32 and crossed Sugar Creek again and passed Old Mill Road at Yountsville. As a child I had been here and visited Yount's Woolen Mill. I was going to turn around (#9 - Don’t be afraid to turn around if you miss something) - but the next road was another outlet for the Mill. We turned onto it, but it was so overgrown that we couldn't see houses let alone the Mill tucked back along the stream. We circled back to the highway and wondered if we had missed it somehow. We circled again, but no luck.
Continuing west, the river valley gave way to expansive fields of corn and beans rustling in a summer wind. We crossed SR 25, then SR 341, and passed through Scott's Prairie with a cemetery and church but no settlement. The next spot was Steam Corner at SR 32's intersection with US 41. This north-south route is one of America's great highways which runs from the Michigan's Upper Peninsula to Miami Beach, Florida. (#6 - Slow down, open your eyes, and look deeper into the landscape you are driving through)
On ahead we followed the highway as it turned right, then left, and when it turned left again, we went straight ahead. We only went about a mile before it too turned and took us back to SR 32! After a few more zigs and zags we crossed the Wabash RIver and entered Perrysville in Vermillion County. Not a lot to see but I photographed The Standard Opera House 1834, which is a targeted community development project. (#10 - Curate your experience…take pictures!)
We drove around town and came upon a beautiful home awash in flowers and blooms. North of the house were magnificent garden plots, greenhouses, and summer ripening vegetables everywhere. We circled the block and then stopped to learn more. (#7 - Enjoy the drive, ride, or walk, get out of the car) We had discovered Tarquini's Fresh Produce and Seasonal Market https://www.tarquinis.com/. Quite a business, drawing customers from a 30-mile radius and supplying fresh produce to restaurants in nearby Danville, Illinois. They had all kinds of products for sale raised at this site and other farms nearby. They specialize in tomatoes but offer so much more, even more than produce. In between cashing out customers, we talked with the owners Andi Tarquini and her husband Rob Williamson. She is fourth generation in retail agriculture and third in Perrysville. Great story, great service, nice people, what a find! We took pictures, but more importantly, we bought tomatoes and I purchased a Black Diamond watermelon from Oaktown, IN. This watermelon from near Vincennes and another melon from nearby Decker were the best I've eaten in quite a while. (#5- Eat and shop locally)
We still needed to get to Illinois and we could have taken SR 32, but to (#3)Avoid interstates, leave the highway, there’s a car wash for gravel roads, we crossed SR 63 and stayed on rural roads. We wound through Gessie, located on the CSX RR. We continued west on W CR 1350 N and when we arrived at the IN-IL state line it all looked wonky. A homestead straddles the line with a double wide-trailer and part of a barn in Indiana while the rest of the barn and another building are in Illinois. Surely the farm fields across the road would line up according to a survey grid? Nope. The cornfield in Indiana stopped about 10-15 yards short of the border and abutted a soybean field that straddled the line. Google Maps and our paper Atlas came in handy to understand the exact location of the state line or we would have assumed it lined up on property boundaries. (#4 - Learn to use a map or atlas (cell service is spotty)
We crossed into Illinois and drove to the first north-south road available and turned north to begin our return trip. Back east in Indiana, we drove north through Rileysburg, crossed I-74 with its steady stream of traffic and then headed east on US 136. We turned north onto SR 63 and quickly turned onto SR 263 to West Lebanon. Stopped for picture of its Public Library (below left).
North of town we turned onto east on SR 28 to Williamsport. Paused for a picture of the Warren County Courthouse (above right) and observed a harvest-scene mural on the side of a downtown building. We stopped for a break before leaving town. Drove west on SR 28 through Attica, Odell, Romney, to US 52, then Manson, and to Anderson Flower Farm, my family's farm, https://www.andersonflowerfarm.com. We each picked a bucket of fresh, colorful flowers while it was hot and no breeze in the sunny pasture.
We visited with my brother Stan and his wife Lois and were still there at suppertime. We all went to dinner at Booker’s in Kirklin. We enjoyed good food and great conversation and didn’t leave until after 9pm. Dropped off Lisa at home and returned home.
Big day, new memories, new discoveries, beautiful drive, and road-tested Life Off The Highway's Backroad Driving Tips. They work. So plan to take a trip of your own and enjoy wandering. It refills the soul.
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