Day 9
Sunday, 15 Jun 2014
Hebron, IN to Lafayette, IN
88.9 miles, 8h33m, 10.3 mph
Elapsed Time: 10h18m, Max speed: 27.6mph
Total Climbing: 1484ft, Max elevation: 733ft
Total mileage: 642.4
For some reason I decided I had to get to Lafayette today to see
the Tippecanoe Battlefield. After all, what would a tour of the
Old Northwest be without
a visit to one of its most important battlefields? Well, it would
have been much easier. I started before 6am in anticipation of
soul-crushing headwinds.
The early start get me about 3 miles before the winds picked up.
But look how tall I am!
Not pictured: soul-crushing headwinds.
The Dairy Adventure at Fair Oaks Farms. Yes, Dairy Adventure. For
real. I can't imagine what goes on here.
I bought a thing of their chocolate milk for breakfast. That's
about all the dairy adventure I was willing to risk.
The courthouse in Rensselaer. Look at that wind.
The Indiana landscape is littered with these concrete markers. I
assume they are property line reference markers.
Also, I can vouch for the utility of those windmills. There were a
zillion of them.
This is a monument to the "Skywatchers." If the plaque is to be
believed, the Air Force established an Operation Skywatch
as part of a Civilian Ground Observation Corps during the Korean
War. Here in Cairo, Indiana, the locals maintained
a 24-hour watch to look for--I guess--Chinese aircraft?
Look at the women and children piously gazing skyward for the
incoming hordes of enemy aircraft. I repeat, this is Indiana.
Either the whole Skywatchers thing was a hoax, or it was so
embarrassing that everyone but Cairo chose to forget about it.
So, this is why I rode all day in the soul-crushing wind. It was a
bit disappointing. The accompanying museum was a bit
disappointing.
I chose to cut my losses and didn't visit Prophets Town. I met my
old friend Scott Netzley for dinner. That was not disappointing.
Next
"Old Northwest Tour 2014" Copyright © 2014 By Bob
Clemons. All rights reserved.