Day 19 ending near Bloomington, IN

September 11, 2015

I hadn't set my alarm last night, so as to not wake neighboring campers. Started my day at 4:55am. I was hoping for an early start - not so much because of the distance to where I was going (Monroe Lake State Park), but because of the hills I knew I'd encounter.

I sat by the lake here at Heflen Park to work on yesterday's report. The grass was very wet, and I was getting cold in the dark. With the report done, I packed up and attached the plastic sheet over the rear cargo, since rain was predicted. Finally, I was on my way at 9:27am.

I figured I'd follow GPS waypoints today, since that route is supposed to be the best way there. That started me out on roads to the south that were next to US Army Camp Atterbury.

My way south ended when I arrived at IN-46. I wasn't sure what the shoulder condition would be when I got there, but it was great (very wide)! There were areas that looked like I was going downhill on this highway, but they pedaled like going uphill.

Arrived at the Brown County Line at 11:24am. Shortly after, it started to rain, triggering me to pull over and put on my rain coat and rubber boots. A short time later the rain let up, but I kept the gear on.

The noon mileage report (recorded today at 11:55am): 14.0 miles.

At 12:20pm I was in Gnaw Bone, and parked the bike on the shoulder across from the Gnaw Mart. Bought a few items for lunch, and ate them outside as it started to rain.

Arrived at the southern outskirts of Nashville, and turned left per GPS waypoint. Even though this is still IN-46, the shoulder is greatly reduced - and it was uphill - and it started to rain much harder! I didn't know it at the time, but I was climbing Kelley Hill. Heavy traffic wasn't helping, but at least I could be seen - with my orange rain suit and flashers on. This seemed like the longest, most challenging hill for me so far on this trip.

I turned off IN-46 onto Lower Schooner Road at 2:39pm. I couldn't check my maps, since they were buried under layers of plastic to the point I couldn't read them. Had I been able to, I would have stayed on the highway, since I would eventually end up back on it. But I also would have missed some beautiful scenery.

At the end of East Kent Road, I met back up with IN-46, and followed it a little ways to the turn-off (South Friendship Road) to get me to Monroe Lake. More muddy gravel roads, but also no traffic. This was at 4:00pm, and the rain was starting to let-up. Came to a bridge built in 1898. Turned right onto Gross Road, and fought my way up another hill.

Gross Road and Old Indiana 446 got me to IN-446, and I was astonished with what I saw when I got there. Cars, campers, trucks, RVs, and trailers with boats as far as I could see - all standing still on the highway, waiting to head south to the park. The lake is still over 2 miles away. It's Friday afternoon, but not a holiday weekend. I should have made a campsite reservation!

The park office is ahead. Might as well ride past the stopped vehicles and see if there's any hope for a campsite. When I got up the rise of the highway, I could see police cars and wreckers. There'd been an accident. The Cabin Restaurant and Lounge was across the street, so I went over there. An older lady outside told me to park my bike under their porch (it was raining again). She said a truck coming up the curve blew a tire and swung into the other lane, hitting a car. Sadly, the woman in the car died at the scene. The road had been closed for several hours.

It was 5:10pm now, so I decided to eat supper while waiting for the road to open. Coffee and the steak dinner special sounded good. As I was eating, I overheard that a few people waiting for the road to open had decided to stay in cabins instead. I asked about the cabins. They are $25 a night, and they had two left. The lady (whom I'd learned is Janet) gave me keys to check out the two cabins that were left. I liked #4, so got set up here for the night. The place is old, with a small stone fireplace. But it's dry, has electricity, and there are lots of pegs on the walls for hanging up stuff to dry.

The police re-opened the road at 6:30pm, and I watched the traffic go by while I finished my supper coffee. It'd stopped raining and the sun was out for a moment.

There's a shared showerhouse/bathroom for the six cabins here, and I waited for it to clear before taking a shower. It feels so good to be in dry, clean clothes!

Decided to have one beer before I started report-writing. Met several local folks. Everyone was sitting outside under a canopy. They fired up a propane heater for one of the older fellows, who was getting cold.

What a different-than-expected ending for my day.

Jeff

Spent: $3.12 (lunch items) + $22.15 plus $5 (supper) + $25 (cabin) + $2.75 plus $1 (beer) = $59.02.

Day 19 - Edinburgh, IN to Bloomington, IN

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+ plus signs indicate pictures added after returning home from the trip +