We decided to go to Brown County since most of the leaves have fallen and we figured the hordes of tourists would be gone. We were mostly right. Instead of entering through the typically-used west gate, we enjoyed crossing the covered bridge of the north gate. Instead of one large lane like most, it has two separate lanes. It appeared to be a Burr Arch. Entering the north gate gets you right near the pool and parking for mountain bike trails. At the north gate, we excitedly purchased our 2010 annual state parks pass for the bargain price of $36. Something we immediately noticed since the visits of our childhoods is the addition of many miles of bike trails. This seemed to be pretty popular.
We started our hike on Trail 10, which starts just behind the main fire tower, near the park office. We didn't climb the fire tower, because the dogs were with us, but we did visit the delightful pit toilets nearby. Ew. Trail 10 is labeled as "rugged", but proved to be more moderate in our opinion. There was a fair amount elevation change, so this could be strenuous to some, but it was mostly gradual. The trail featured a small frog pond at the halfway point of its 2.2 mile loop. Also, there was a nice little creek at the bottom of the hollow, and the dogs drank plenty. There was also a small shelter house that has a fireplace and graffiti. We met some nice people on this trail and Jesse got to take some photos for an especially nice group of IU and Purdue fans. It wasn't crowded, but we did see some people. We met another beagle also, and she was scared of the sound of leaves crunching! Overall, Trail 10 was a nice hike with lots of good views of nature.
After a drink from the spigot behind the Hoosier Nest, we realized we didn't have any batteries in the camera! So, we headed to the country store located in the park's campground. It was supposed to be closed, but we got lucky, and it was open. It had lots of good junk, like slushies, park souvenirs, popcorn, camping supplies, and stuffed animals. And batteries. We sat down in the shade, enjoyed our slushie, and loaded the batteries into the camera.
We then started our next hike on Trails, 5, 4, and 7, which link together. Trail 5 is a self-guided nature tour, with stops displaying different sites in the Ogle Lake Nature Preserve. We couldn't find the brochure, so we didn't know what the sites on the tour were, but it was cool anyway. Jesse just made up a bunch of crap as usual and pretended to know everything. Trail 5 was really great and we saw lots of good nature stuff. Trail 5 led us to 4, which then led to 7. Trail 7 surrounds Ogle Lake, and is Abby's most-hiked as a kid, but it is crowded. A lot of people seem to make 7 their one hike for the day for its nice views of the lake. So, we got on 7 for a bit, but it was way too crowded for us, so we backtracked and got back to 4 and headed up, up, and up back toward the rally campground where we started. We recommend doing 4 and 5, which can be done as a loop and leaving 7 for the tourists.
Next, we drove all through the park and oohed and aahed at the vistas. The vistas would have been incredible about two weeks ago, but they were still PDC. We also took a quick look at the other lookout towers, which we found out were built in the 30s and 40s by the CCC. Then, we headed hungrily toward the Abe Martin Lodge. Near the lodge are the different cabins that can be rented. Some of them looked really neat and might be worth a return trip to stay for the night. The lodge was busy and offered no rooms for the night. We didn't want to stay anyway since we had to get home to watch Jesse's beloved fighting on TV. Part of the reason for the busyness of the lodge may have been the three weddings taking place in the park this day. Outdoor weddings in November?!? They got lucky cause it was 65 and sunny!
Anyway, once at the Abe Martin Lodge, we found the dining room upstairs and partook of its buffet. Jesse had intentionally starved himself this day and so he gorged himself into a food-induced coma. The weapons included roast beef, fried chicken, mashed taters, fried biscuits with apple butter, mac 'n' cheese, candied carrots, salad, potato soup, peach cobbler, chocolate cake, and glasses upon glasses of sweet tea. Our bill totaled around $33. The food was good, but maybe not quite to the par of Turkey Run Inn. There was a musician in the dining room. Jesse accurately predicted his first two songs as James Taylor and John Denver. You know the type. He did play a Johnny Cougar Mellencamp song too, given the close proximity to BTown.
It was a good trip, and Brown County and all its acreage offered lots of amenities. On a side note, we had several inquiries about the dogs' backpacks, and so here is some info: We purchased the packs from REI Outlet online and they were each about $25. Campmor online also had a good selection, but we went with REI since it offers a dividend on all purchases. The dog packs are nice because the dogs can carry their own stuff. Plus, they look really cute.
Brown County State Park
North gate: 1801 SR 46 E
West gate: 1405 SR 46 W
Nashville, IN 47448
812.988.6406
REI Outlet
Campmor
No comments:
Post a Comment