Metamora, Indiana....grist mill and canal boat ride

Metamora, Indiana is the site of the only operating canal boat ride in Indiana. This is part of the Whitewater Canal started in 1836. It was replaced by the railroad in the 1860's and ruined the Indiana state budget costing millions. Indiana is a state that is required to have a balanced budget and this canal system is one of the reasons why. In 1946 they reopened a 14 mile stretch.Map of the canal route
There is an operating grist mill located in the town. Originally it was a cotton mill but was converted to grist when the canal was no longer operating and the wheel is located in the canal at the locks.

They weren't making flour while we were there but this is the enclosure for the grinding stones.

A flour dresser is used to sort the flour by size. Corn meal comes from one end and coarser grits flour from the other.

The wheel is short and is located in that channel on the left next to this overflow.

The canal is full of ducks and I had to include a few pictures :-)

Headless ducks

I thought this one looked like the idea of getting in the water did not appeal in the least! They were leaning in to drink, instead of just getting in and making it easy :-) "Don't swim in my water bowl!"

Tail up!

Back of the canal boat.

Side of the canal boat. There were only 4 of us that went on this ride. It was raining later and they probably didn't run any more rides that day.

They have 5 horses.....2 teams of 2 who alternate pulling the boat and George, who is "retired" in leisure and just eats and does what horses do. These 2 are Jerry in the front and Mike in the back.

Pulling the boat. We progressed at 4 miles an hour and went about a mile up and a mile back.

This "covered bridge" that you see is actually an aqueduct. It carries the canal water over Duck Creek.

It is the only known operating aqueduct in the United States.

This is an award for this civil engineering landmark.
Mike assures me that this is a great accomplishment.

When we got to the aqueduct, they unhook the horses and lead them down to the road. A man takes the rope and guides the boat through the bridge and they hook the horses up again on the other side. The horses walk along a railroad track and because there are no guard rails going over this little creek, they do not feel it is safe to walk the horses over the creek on the railroad tracks.

Turning the horses around for the trip back up the canal.

This is the horses pulling us out of the aqueduct and should have been before the turning.

The canal is lined with small shops and the town is a haven for little "tourist" shops of this sort. They say when they have their "Canal Days" the place is packed.

Computer connection too slow....

We are in Springfield, Ohio now, but the computer connection at our motel is so bad that I can't get anything to post with photos. I give up for now. Will be heading home late Saturday. Do not know when next post will be and do not have a Squirrel Sunday post ready (oh no!)

Wandering down side roads.....

(Skywatch post below this one)

We wandered down a lot of side roads yesterday searching for various boat ramp areas. This particular road brought a large variety of goodies we didn't expect! I included this photo to show how far away these deer were when Mike spotted them and how large these people's front yard was.
They scampered across the yard stirring up a couple of birds on the way.

Almost gone at this point. I love watching the tails flip up and down :-)

This one paused briefly.

Tail straight up! Telling us to get lost :-)

Touchdown!

Turtle in the middle of the road. Naturally I stopped to take a picture and move it on across.

It did stick its nose out to say thanks.

We had to drive through a logging operation and right next to it was this tiny cemetery and old church.

We didn't even see the church until we had pulled in to explore the little cemetery.
Well hidden in the trees, it is now full of hay.

Mike took this shot

....and this one. He notices things that I don't :-)

It was strange to have this logging operation encroaching on this little plot of sacred ground. Most of the graves went back to the late 1800's but the most recent was 1950.

Logs piled nearby.

Skywatch Friday.....vacation skies

For those who know that I'm on vacation.....here is a summary of our very long day in sky shots. Dramatic morning sky over Lake Patoka
More sky around Patoka.........a very large sprawling lake

Heading down one side road we stired up this buzzard....

.....he circled overhead repeatedly and finally landed in the middle of the road in front of me!

Ok....this one isn't sky, but he was interesting :-)

A group of birds circling in an updraft over the French Lick hotel area

I had to shoot a short video to give the real idea.

While in French Lick we visited the Indiana Railway Museum and took a ride that went through a 2,200 foot tunnel. This is the sky over one of the trains parked at the museum. More train shots later.

Sky over the trees and cornfields as seen from the back of the train.

Sky over the famous West Baden Springs Hotel.....once known as the "Eighth Wonder of the World". More on the grounds and hotel later.

Top of the West Baden Hotel.

The sky over a barn with an unusual looking double silo.

The Cow weather vane at the top of the barn.

Sky over the courthouse square in Salem, Indiana.

As you can imagine I have taken 100's of photos in these locations. We saw a total of 13 deer today, buzzards, heron, ducks, swans, geese, a turtle, trains, flowers, steeples, and a million other things. Some I have good pictures of.....some I don't. We'll get to more of them later when I am less brain dead and tired.

For more Skywatch Friday posts, click on the icon on my sidebar.

Sparrows and Schnitzelbank......

My posting schedule for the next few days will probably be reversed....posting at night while at motels.

These were taken before I left home. I've had this bird bath all summer and never saw a bird in it until today! The sparrows went crazy playing in it all day, today. The Goldfinch prefers to drink rather than play.
This little guy was the king of the bath....he just played and splashed like he'd never seen water before. I can't believe how much bigger he looks than the goldfinch.

The goldfinch doesn't seem real impressed.

OK......we didn't get to leave town until Mike got home from work. So with a late start we had only planned to go as far as Jasper, Indiana. This is a small German town in southern Indiana.

We wanted to eat at their famous Schnitzelbank Restaurant. This is the tower on the building and I thought it attractive.

The front side gets you in the German mood and there is piped music playing while you wait.

Just in case you don't know the words......they have them posted on the wall in the dining area.

The food was good German fare......we had bratwurst, sauerkraut, German fries, red cabbage, plus salad bar with a spaetzel soup and pickled herring and other such things. I couldn't even eat half of the food (groan). Just once I'd like to eat in a restaurant that serves small meals. But it was good, what I ate of it! There were 3 pages of beers to choose from and Mike had a double bock and it was excellent.

Mike.....the langer mann :-)

I guess that makes me the Dicke frau!

And so the sun sets in Jasper on the first day.

Tomorrow we will go to the huge Patoka Lake area nearby and whatever else we see that looks interesting!