08.09 -10.2023 - indiana

sometimes it's amazing what one finds in america:  st. sava, a serbian orthodox church in merrillville, il.  just makes one wonder.

heading southeast, diagonally across indiana on flat country roads.

the city of new orleans "pulls out of kankakee, past houses, fields and farms". the kankakee river travels a fairly straight path, i think someone must have done that to it.

this county, as are others in the midwest, is fighting over fields being converted into solar panel farms. energy, a different kind of crop but just as vital as food.

the fingerhut bakery & cafe in north judson.  the heart of the heart of the heartland, middle america.

it was a long ride, but the forecast was for rain that night so i pushed on to rochester where i had a warmshower.  my host owned a house i could stay at though it appeared he didn't.  turned out he was a fireman and was working the night shift that evening.  he opened his house to me, which had everything i needed.  but i went out searching for dinner and a good beer.  finally settled on the uncorked beer and wine bar, cuban food of all things.   after 2 jai alais and a shrimp sofrito and 2 jai i staggered the two miles back to the house.  i stopped at a convenience store and bought a big bag of doritos.  i made it the rest of the way back, sat down in a cushy chair and consumed the entire bag.  woke up a couple of hours later with my tongue coated in chemicals, staggered upstairs and went to sleep.   it rained that night, i stayed comfortably dry.

in the morning, it was down the street three blocks to the bagel shop for chai and an egg sandwhich before heading a few blocks further to the nickle plate trail.  this trail runs south to kokomo, takes a 10 mile jog on a country road, then connects to another set of trails running to the ohio border.

the trail picks up again in the small town of converse.  some towns embrace the trail and try to use it to stimulate activity, converse is one of those.  i had a calzone at a place that just opened 4 months ago; athe owner is loving the synergy with the trail.  my picture is now on the wall and a pin in knoxville on the map.  of course, they may find winter a little slower, but i wish them all the luck.

1

i was heading to prairie creek reservoir to camp for the night, another long ride, coupled with a pair of minor setbacks.  the campground turned out not to be where google showed it on the near side of the lake, but several miles around to the far corner.  and when i got there, it turned out there was a two day minimum fee and the tenting area was just a piece of grass and a port-a-toilet, no picnic table, no water.  so i opted to sleep back down the road in another part of the park, for free.  no problems, all good.