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Scott and Jackie's Travels – Thousand Trails Reviews, Campground Reviews, Fulltime RVing, European Travel

Tag: Indiana

2017 – Johnny Appleseed Campground, Fort Wayne, IN

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Our stay in Johnny Appleseed Campground in Fort Wayne, Indiana has been a pleasant one. The campground is named in honor of John Chapman who was better known as Johnny Appleseed, the frontiersman, preacher, humanitarian, and nurseryman who introduced apple trees to this region of our nation. He lived his later years out in Fort Wayne and is buried near what is now a park and campground named in his honor. This campground gets high marks from most everyone and that now includes us. The park has lots of shady water/electric sites near the St. Joseph River. The strip of land between the campground and the River boasts a large dog park and playground and the street is busy with joggers, bicyclists, and others who come to enjoy the area. The campground has a very nice and clean shower house and laundry room which has a dump station beside it. For those who are staying longer there’s a “honey wagon service” for a reasonable $10. The sites are a mixed bag – some that will only accommodate smaller rigs. You may want to bring an extra water hose along because many of the sites share a water spigot which is equally unhandy to everyone. Having said that, we could have fit into most of the sites. The one we were given was one of three sites that backs in directly off the city street. Frankly, I think our site is probably the best one in the place! Before I close out my review, I have to tell you the name of that street. No, it isn’t “Johnny Appleseed” street. Rather, it is named for a beloved Fort Wayne mayor of the past who proudly embraced his name and used it to his advantage in political campaigns. His name was Harry Baals and, yes, it’s pronounced with one “a” and two “l’s.”

2017 – Southeastern Indiana

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We were in this area a year and a half ago and we wanted to revisit some places but also find other interesting features here (review is here). Nearby Vogt Farms advertised a Hanging Plant festival on Mother’s Day weekend so we decided to check it out. They have a greenhouse with many beautiful flowers and (true to the name) were mostly hanging baskets. There was a stage coach, horse drawn carriage rides, and several interesting animals including a camel, a lama, pot belly pigs, and pigmy goats. It was a fun way to spend an hour or so.

In Batesville checked out the Schmidt Bakery. It’s a local landmark and we highly recommend it!

We visited Metamora, Indiana when we were here before. At that time they were having their big canal festival and there were so many people there that you could hardly walk through the town. This time we went on a weekday and things were just the opposite with most shops closed and very few people around. The mill was open though with fresh ground cornmeal and grits for sale. This historic town was once a stop on the White Water Canal. Even as the canal project was being completed the railroad came to the area, making the canal boats obsolete. The town draws tourism through a variety of events throughout the year. We especially enjoyed looking around Grannie’s Cookie Jar and Ice Cream with their amazing collection of cookie jars.

The Franklin County Quilt Show in Brookville, IN. was very interesting. There was wide variety of entries but all amazing. Everything from bed and crib size to wall hangings and jackets. I especially enjoyed a demonstration called “Bed Turning”. Several special quilts were layered on a beautiful wood bed and two ladies held them up very carefully as their history was told. Most had been made by family members and handed down. One of the quilts is dated 1857 and was made by the exhibitor’s great grandmother. Another that interested me was the Bow Tie Quilt. These were used along the Underground Railroad before and during the Civil War to send coded messages.

Another beautiful town nearby is Oldenburg, IN which known as “The Village of Spires.” There are, indeed, many impressive steeples around town. There is a beautiful historic section with many old original buildings from the 1800s. We enjoyed eating at Brau Haus restaurant. We missed the lunch special since it was sold out but the pork tenderloin sandwich with red cabbage was very good and big enough to be shared.

2017 – Indian Lakes Thousand Trails, Batesville, IN

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We’re just finishing up our second stay at Indian Lakes Thousand Trails in Batesville, Indiana. We were here a year and a half ago and I did a review of this campground then. You can see it here. Really, things are pretty much the same now as they were then so there’s no need to do another major review. I will mention that we were happy to get a spot in Phase 4 again. It isn’t as easy to get into this popular section as it was because more campsites have been taken over by seasonal residents. We’ve been here 2 weeks and we have yet to see anyone at some of the campers around us. Beyond that, it’s my impression that over the weekends that all the full hookup sites in the campground were taken. However, this is such a big place that I doubt it ever gets completely full. We’ve enjoyed mostly good weather, had no problem getting our satellite TV, had a good Verizon signal, and, in general, had a pleasant stay. We give this Thousand Trails a “thumbs up.”

Campground review: City Campground – Madison, IN

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The City Campground in Madison, IN is all about the river view. While there are sites on the north side of the one campground road, the sites on the river side are by far the most popular. The Ohio River is right outside your rear window (or if you pull a motor home in nose first, it’s right outside your front window). A short distance from the campground is a very nice city river-front walking area. Historic downtown Madison is also a short distance away with interesting shops and nicely preserved architecture, hearkening back to the day when riverboats plied the waters. Again, it’s all about the river.

The campsites, themselves, aren’t anything to brag about. They are way too close together putting your neighbors on either side just a few steps away. If there’s any redeeming point about the spacing it’s that each site is at a pretty hard angle making your “front” yard also your neighbor’s “back” yard. If everyone just uses their front yard there’s enough room for you to use the picnic table and set out some lawn chairs to watch the river. However, if your neighbor in a motorhome happens to want to pull in nose first that scheme is messed up and you end up with the front door of their RV matching up with the front door of yours – creating a shared front yard. On the other hand, the utility hookups actually support this approach because the water/electric hookups are on every other site. If you get an even numbered site they are on the normal, driver’s side of the rig (when backing in). Otherwise, you either pull in nose first or you have to pass the hose/electric under the camper.

There are no sewer hookups in the campground, but there is a dump station. The campground has for-pay WiFi. We didn’t use it as our Verizon signal was a strong 4G. Also satellite TV was easy to get – after all you are basically aiming it out over the river and there are no trees in play. The bathrooms are old and worn but reasonably clean and in working condition. Because of the public nature of the campground (right along a city street) you pay a $5 deposit to get a bathroom key.

The number of sites is limited so if you are coming during the busy time of the year I strongly suggest you call ahead for reservations – especially if you want a riverside spot.

Sightseeing Review: Madison, Indiana and area

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Madison, Indiana is a lovely town set on the banks of the Ohio River. There are many stately homes that were built in the 1800s. Some were part of the Underground Railroad that was active here. The downtown has shops in many buildings from the same era. The Broadway Fountain is a perfect setting for pictures. It has been a Madison landmark since 1886. It was recast in bronze to commemorate the Nation’s Bicentennial in 1976. There is a beautiful park/walking area along the river with benches where one can relax and watch the river traffic. The bridge across the river to Kentucky also has a walkway and many people walk across the river and back.

Our primary reason for visiting was because Scott was raised in this area and he wanted to revisit places from his growing up years. Madison is his grandmother’s home town and he grew up about 15 miles south and west of the town. He enjoyed driving around the area, reviving old memories.

On Saturday we drove to the “Autumn on the River” festival in Bethlehem, IN, close to where Scott grew up. We parked in a clover field and could smell the clover as we got out. There was lots of food and music. We enjoyed some homemade bean soup and cornbread. My favorite event of the Festival was the parade. Although it wasn’t large there was an antique firetruck, restored tractors, and beautiful antique trucks and cars. The American Legion was there with several veterans riding along waving to family and friends. It was fun way to spend a fall southern Indiana day.

Campground Review: Indian Lakes Thousand Trails – Batesville, IN

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Indian Lakes Thousand Trails is a large southeastern Indiana campground at Batesville. There’s a big area of permanent/leased sites, a KOA only campground, and a couple of sections that are shared by seasonal campers and transient users. I think the preferred Thousand Trails area is Phase 4 with paved roads, level gravel sites, and 50 amp/full hookup sites. Several of them are pull through. The roads in Phase 2 aren’t as good and not all sites have sewer hookups. The sewer hookups Phase 2 does have are interesting. There are “mini septic tanks” between every other site. Apparently, they work fine and allow RVs to be connected and used in a normal way.

The property features a large pool, playground, mini-golf, and other recreational facilities. An adjacent golf course is on the same property. Our stay was near the end of the season so the pool was closed and there were no activities in the campground. However, we enjoyed mild weather and the early stages of beautiful fall colors. Also, there were fall fairs in the area and we enjoyed going to a couple of them.

We had good Verizon 4G and no problems getting satellite TV. We’ve visited several Thousand Trails preserves through the past few years and we’d rank this one as one of the nicer ones.

Sightseeing Review: Southeastern Indiana and Cincinnati

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It was fun going to the Aurora, IN Farm festival. There was a carnival, many vendors including local merchants, churches, and various clubs.  We enjoyed going through the Lions Building looking at all the arts, crafts, foods, and produce that had been judged and were on display.  Our primary reason for being there, though, was a southern gospel concert featuring Triumphant and the Dixie Melody Boys. Even though it was windy and cool people came and enjoyed an evening of good music.

A highlight of our sightseeing for Scott was the Milan 54 Hoosiers Museum in Milan, IN.  In 1954 the high school basketball team from this small town won the Indiana State High School basketball crown.  In those days all schools in Indiana, of all sizes, competed in one tournament.  As the tournament continued, Milan became a David competing against several Goliaths and ultimately won the championship by beating a team from a school over 10 times its size.  Then, in 1986, a hit movie, “Hoosiers” was released, based on this true life story.  Being from a small Indiana high school, and growing up not long after the “Milan miracle” “Hoosiers” has long been one of Scott’s favorite movies.  We spent about an hour looking at the memorabilia from players as well as items from the movie.

In addition to all the above, we enjoyed meeting and fellowshipping with one of Scott’s cousins, Pastor Paul Mingus and family.  The cousins talked about everything from family history to theology, having a great time.

At Nazarene General Assembly

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As we planned our summer adventure the “anchor” was Nazarene General Assembly in Indianapolis. If not for this big event we would likely have traveled west instead of to the Midwest and points east. For those of you who aren’t associated with our branch of the Christian family tree I’ll explain that every four years Nazarenes from around the globe come together for a big family reunion of sorts. There’s also some business to be conducted: elections and resolutions and the like; but this is mainly a celebration that draws not only elected delegates from over 150 world areas but folks like us — whom I call “Nazarene tourists.”

For us, Indianapolis has lots of pluses. This is our family’s home territory and there are lots of cousins and other relatives around. We enjoyed seeing our cousin Kathy Schreiber and her clan on Sunday morning.

Our family from Texas came too. Scott and Cherie and Matthew along with my sister Susan came because our wonderful granddaughter Sarah qualified for the big World Bible Quiz that took place on Saturday. “How’d she do” you ask? Well, let me tell you: she and several hundred others came home with the gold! We’re proud of our Sarah! On Saturday evening the whole gang sat together in the worship service: us, Scott and Cherie and the kids, Susan, Jackie’s brother and sis-in-law Jim and Phyllis. We even had our good friend Marsha with us. So our little group took our own bit of space in a crowd of over 15,000.

There were thousands of Nazarenes in Indianapolis. The Sunday morning worship service alone drew over 20,000. We saw lots of friends including folks who were at our wedding almost 44 years ago. It is so much fun catching up with so many people we’ve known in the past or who are friends of ours on Facebook or NazNet or elsewhere.

Our Indianapolis stay has been Nazarene all the way as we’ve been camped at the Indianapolis District, Church of the Nazarene campground at Camby just outside of Indianapolis. This is a grass campground and, because of the limited number of full hookup sites we’ve had only water and electric. It wasn’t much of an inconvenience because we spent most of our time at the convention center anyway.

On Sunday afternoon there was a big thunderstorm with considerable wind. There was some tree damage, including one big tree that came down. Thankfully, no buildings or campers were damaged.

Jackie and I really enjoyed General Assembly, especially seeing our family. Now, though, we’re ready to head for Ohio and back into our “normal” full time RV activities.

In and Around West Central Indiana

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While here we in west central Indiana we took a half day trip to see a few of the covered bridges in this area. The ones we saw on Rock Run Creek and Big Raccoon Creek were built in the early 1900′s and are very picturesque. As we drove onto the first bridge we stopped at I could see the water through the cracks in the bridge floor. I was more comfortable on other bridges that were restored in a way that didn’t have that “feature!” Another difference is that some bridges have large or small window-like openings that look out on the creek below. All bridges are well marked on the visitors map and have names and dates on them. At one bridge we saw a parked car and when we stopped to take pictures we saw group of young people enjoying the water just downstream. Part of the joy of seeing the bridges is seeing the countryside. It was fun seeing the various homes and farms and in some places the trees make a wonderful canopy over the road. For more information on the bridges in this area go here.

We also went to Terre Haute to the Clabber Girl Museum and coffee shop. They are in the original building where the Hulman family business was begun in 1850. They started as a wholesale warehouse and expanded to to manufacturing under various names. The museum is free and open to the public. There you will see beautifully restored items from the past. There is a Victorian living room with a winding stairway and early phonograph player, a room like an old saloon with a wooden Indian, kitchen appliances, a wagon used to deliver goods and communication devices including many early telephones and many signs from the company’s early days. One display is of particular interest. It is a vault with replicas of gold bars and a desk set up to look like it might have looked in the past with ledgers open for business. There is a coffee shop where Scott bought some Rex brand coffee and I had a cinnamon roll. It tasted wonderful and I would recommend this as a place to visit if you are in the area.

Campground Review: Horseshoe Lakes Thousand Trails, Clinton, IN

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We’ve been in some campgrounds that were named “Lake this” or “Lake that” but the lake was only nearby and not really part of the property. It’s certainly not that way at Horseshoe Lakes. There are several small lakes and ponds on the property and, therefore, lots of opportunities to camp near the water. Fishing is clearly the big draw here.

The campground has many seasonal residents. At another Thousand Trails we noted the “full campground but not many people” phenomenon. However, there are many full time folks in residence here. They have fixed up their sites with everything from decks to flower pots. These folks display a lot of ownership of the campground, even to the extent that when the grass crew doesn’t do a suitable job they bring out their own lawn equipment and do it to suit them. These folks all know each other, so there’s a bit of a clannish feel to it all but if one makes the effort most of them will respond in a a friendly way. (I say “most” because of one minor incident that I won’t detail here.) In spite of there being several seasonals here, there are plenty of nice campsites available, although, as usual, most of the really nice spots are already taken.

The facilities are typical Thousand Trails: an Activity Center plus a building just for adults, a pool (not as big as others we’ve seen), and a mini-golf course. Aside from the fishing, there are lots of nice places to walk or bike. The facilities are somewhat worn and the roads are mainly gravel. The main office is on a loop by itself near the entrance and rather removed from the rest of the facility.

There are few activities during the week, but a variety of things happen on the weekend, including breakfast being served one morning and an ice cream social one afternoon. There’s not a lot to see real close, but we spent one great afternoon driving the back roads to the east seeing the covered bridges. We also spent a bit of time in Terre Haute which is about 20 miles to the south. Jackie will do a separate post about those adventures.

We give this campground a thumbs up mainly for the pleasant, peaceful feel of the place.