"Just Jeepin'" (macintux)
05/02/2020 at 09:25 • Filed to: Road Trip, Southern Indiana
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"Just Jeepin'" (macintux)
05/02/2020 at 09:25 • Filed to: Road Trip, Southern Indiana | 6
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How anyone could spend any time around dogs and believe that they are purely mechanistic beings, with no emotions, is incomprehensible.
Clearly Descartes never drove down the road, racing a dog who was running for the pure joy of it.
Last weekend I met this farm dog after taking one of my many detours: first, to chase a hilly road (see the sign below) and then to take a gravel road, where she lived.
She jogged out into the road as if to invite me to a race, and after I slowed down to make sure I didn’t hit her, she took off running. Clever dog.
So of course I obliged. She ran like the wind; I was doing about 20, and she had no problem staying ahead of me. (For the curious,
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.)
She finally wore down a bit, and jogged out into the road again. I came to a stop, and she wandered over to the passenger side. I kept waiting for her to appear in a mirror so I would know it was safe to continue, but finally had to get out to find her.
She was waiting for someone to emerge from the passenger side door, but seemed willing to settle for me. Very, very friendly dog.
She got a second wind, and while I encouraged her to go back home, she wanted to race some more. As we approached a real road, I gunned the Jeep to leave her behind, so she’d turn around; she did, after stumbling in an adorable fashion as she tried to accelerate to match me. Shame I’ll never know her name.
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I defy anyone to not get inspired by a sign like this.
This is a sign that I had remembered from previous visits to the area, and wanted to capture, because I knew it would appeal to many an Oppo heart. And once I had made the turn to get this shot, I knew I had to keep going.
The sign, and the dog, are both pretty much in the middle of nowhere; a recurring theme in my road trip posts, I know. The nearest “town” is an unincorporated community named Dewberry, and almost as close is another unincorporated community you’ve never heard of, Friendship.
(Unless you’re a member of the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , of course. They are based in Friendship and have two national competitions in town, and believe it or not, they’re pretty big events. I’ve happened to drive through town during one of them in previous years, and the place is packed.)
North of Friendship is another unincorporated community, barely a speck on the map, but with a lovely Catholic church that’s now closed: !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! . Despite being !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , everything looks to be in great shape, so I assume someone else moved in; if not, and you’re in the market for a new house...
I eventually made my way to Versailles State Park, which was my nominal excuse for the trip, since Indiana state parks are explicitly open for visitors despite the state-wide lockdown that’s starting to unlock itself today.
I’m pretty sure I’ve mentioned this covered bridge before, because it’s at the end of a lovely back road from !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! (the town) to Versailles (the park). (The town and park are pronounced “ver-sails”, despite being named after the Palace, go figure.)
Past this point, you’ll just have to read the captions, because this has gone on long enough.
Not pictured:
A beaver (or muskrat) that started to cross a busy highway right in front of me before realizing its mistake, thankfully.
Quite a few old trucks with lots of character (aka “patina”) I wish I would have captured for your appreciation.
Any of my favorite water crossings, because I was feeling guilty enough about breaking the spirit of the shelter-in-place order.
Clifty Falls, the waterfalls inside the
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, because those trails were closed because people don’t understand social distancing and we’re doomed because PEOPLE DON’T UNDERSTAND SOCIAL DISTANCING.
Versailles Lake
This is “Fire Pink”, a native wildflower that a few years ago was a dark horse to be named the new state flower of Indiana, once someone discovered that Peonies are not in fact local. Why we have a state flower from China is a fact lost to history (or, I’m just too lazy to look it up).
This is Solomon’s Seal, another native wildflower. It is often confused with False Solomon’s Seal; the easiest way to distinguish them is that the “fake” wildflower has its flowers and seeds above the stem, whereas you can see the tiny seed pods hanging below here.
This bridge lacked signage indicating its height, but I’m sure one or two bro-dozers has at least bumped an antenna against it.
This driveway is what’s known to those in my line of work as a “tease”. You come up a hill, around the corner, and think the road is turning into a hilly dirt road...but no
Mamaw & Papaw live on Knigga Road
Curiously enough, there were no road signs to be found...
An actual service station. Who knew?
I interrupted this cow’s ruminations
One of the more famous waterfalls in Indiana, this one is directly adjacent to a state highway, and sometimes floods the road. It’s along a steep descent into Madison, and I assume the water doesn’t stick around long enough to significantly disrupt traffic, but I’ve not been fortunate enough to see it at full strength.
Nom De Plume
> Just Jeepin'
05/02/2020 at 09:58 |
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Thanks for the interesting write up and photos. Apparently there are waterfalls in Indiana you can drive under which is a very unique experience.
Stay safe, wash your hands, and try to have a better rest of the year. Seem to remember a couple rough weeks before these rough on everyone couple months passed.
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Just Jeepin'
> Nom De Plume
05/02/2020 at 10:08 |
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It’s a very unusual waterfall. And thanks, I’ll certainly do my best to say safe and sane.
dumpsterfire!
> Just Jeepin'
05/02/2020 at 10:15 |
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Looks like a good day.
Descartes side note- interesting book “Descartes Bones” by Russell Shorto about the somewhat mysterious tale of his skeletal remains being moved and passed about.
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Just Jeepin'
> dumpsterfire!
05/02/2020 at 10:17 |
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I’ll have to keep an eye out for that, thanks.
TheRealBicycleBuck
> Just Jeepin'
05/02/2020 at 10:35 |
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Neat trip. However, I take exception to the “good” doggo. Dogs should be discouraged from chasing vehicles. I had one persistent mutt who eventually took me down, totaling my bike and giving me a broken hand and cracked ribs. Another dog mis judged the rear bumper on my uncle’s truck and after years of chasing cars, he was nearly killed when the bumper caught him on the back of the head. At least he stopped chasing cars.
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Just Jeepin'
> TheRealBicycleBuck
05/02/2020 at 10:40 |
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That occurred to me as well, but this was something of a special case. Gravel road, middle of nowhere, and s he wasn’t actually chasing cars, but racing them off the road.
But some risk.
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TheRealBicycleBuck
> Just Jeepin'
05/02/2020 at 11:06 |
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She may have learned the hard way early on. My uncle’s place was well off the beaten path and it took several miles of gravel road to get to it. The dog he hit chased his truck every time he drove down that road. It was the new truck with the wide rear pipe bumper that got the dog.
The one that took me down chased me every day for months. I had several discussions with the owner about fencing the dog in or tying it up. He would nip my heels if I let him get close enough. I tried discouraging him with pepper spray (twice!) and it didn’t work. The day he took me down was a day I was running late and he wasn’t waiting for me in the usual spot. He was visiting a neighbor’s house. When he did see me, he ran for the road, misjudged his speed and mine, and slid under my front tire. I hit him hard enough to toss me over the bars and bend the down tube on my bike. He ran away as I lay there on the road. I don’t know if it scared him or killed him, but I never saw that dog again.
