April 19–21, 2016
Four years later, I realized I never wrote about a quick spring visit to Turkey Run State Park in Indiana. Luckily for anyone who finds this, I don’t remember much detail.
What I do remember:
- There were warning signs everywhere about “drownings have occurred.” Sure, but that wouldn’t happen to me, am I right? The first sign was on the sandy bank of a tranquil stretch of river. I was not fooled.
- Parts of Turkey Run State Park look like Starved Rock State Park, but instead of St. Peter sandstone, it’s Mansfield sandstone.
- Not far from the Lieber Cabin, I found many amazing rock formations, including some that tilted, some that were glassy smooth, and some that glowed under the overcast sky (not that kind of glow). I don’t get out much and had never seen anything like them.
- In this same area, we heard barred owls calling (“Who cooks for you? Who cooks for you all?”) The folks at the Nature Center seemed happy to hear this.
- We found out there’s a Turkey Run Inn. We may have eaten there. I can’t remember, but there’s evidence I raided the gift shop.
- I think someone mentioned there are several covered bridges in the area, so we visited as many as we could. Most are walk-through only. Billie Creek Bridge is the only one we drove across.
- Rocky Hollow–Falls Canyon Nature Preserve “contains deep sandstone canyons.” I wish there’d been time and energy to go farther (I always say that). This area most resembled Starved Rock.
- Rocky Hollow–Falls Canyon features Wedge Rock, which looks like a tilted flatiron. Glacial erratic? I wouldn’t want to stand under it for long.
Toward the end of the second day, we made a quick stop at Shades State Park but didn’t see much. Then we headed back down sunny country roads as the weather soon turned threatening.
Some but not all of the stops according to the Swarm app:
April 19
- Potbelly, Hyde Park
- Wolcott Rest Area Southbound, Wolcott, IN
- Kankakee Rest Area Southbound, DeMotte, IN
April 20
- Raccoon Lake
- Benjamin’s II, Rockville, IN
- Jailhouse Cafe, Rockville, IN
- Turkey Run State Park Inn, Marshall, IN
- Narrows Restaurant, Kingman, IN
April 21
- Benjamin’s II, Rockville, IN
- Jailhouse Cafe, Rockville, IN
- Shades State Park, Waveland, IN
- Wolcott Rest Area Northbound, Wolcott, IN
- City Office & Pub, Rensselaer, IN
- Hyde Park Animal Hospital, South Shore
