Skip to main content

Biking and Triking Through Amish Country

Greetings!

On September 16, 2019, Frankie, Dennis and I drove over to the Pumpkin Vine Trail to ride our bikes.




 We started riding and Frankie pointed out the Amish farms.  There were quite a few with washing hanging out on the line.  Frankie loved this quilt.





There were lots of horses in pastures and Amish black carriages in driveways and under carport-like shelters.

We saw a composite bench that had been chewed up quite a bit by squirrels.




The trail was lovely with lots of shade. 

We rode by cows and buffalo and bulls, lots of clusters of white farm buildings and houses with long clotheslines filled with dresses and overhauls and white shirts.  On some of the buildings were solar collectors.

This area of Indiana is the manufacturing hub for camper trailers.  We passed lots full of campers and biked past the Winnebago manufacturing plant that smelled like plywood.





We arrived at the end of the trail in a town called Shipshewana.  We got off the trail and rode some crushed gravel and tar streets to a very nice cafe with a lovely fresh salad bar.  It appeared the owners and managers were not Amish, but many of the waitresses and staff were wearing Amish gear.

Frankie stopped one and asked the difference between Amish and Menonite.  Amish don't drive cars, the Menonites do.  Amish women wear white caps, the Menonite women where black lacey head covers.  In the restaurant were a Menonite couple and a young married Amish couple as customers.

On our way back to the trai we rode down the main street of Shipshewana.  It had a large shoulder on each side to accomodate the single horse and carriage that the Amish use for transportation.  In the middle of the shoulder was a worn down groove where the many horses clomp as they pull the carriages.

We must have seen 10 or more carriages coming in the opposite direction as we rode the mile through town.








My mind did a flip when I saw a Chiropractic Clinic with Massage and Accupuncture offerings and a slab out front with a railing to tie the horses.  There were two Amish carriages and their horses waiting while their owners either worked or received services in the clinic.

It was a fun ride on a lovely fall day in Indiana with my friends Frankie and Dennis.  Thank you for the great time and great visit.

Now I have to figure out how to either get around Chicago or plow on through it.  Tomorrow I will arrive in Wisconsin!


Comments

  1. Looks like a excellent trail ride, we have quite a few Menonites here in Colorado Springs, CO. but no Amish that I know of. Have a excellent time in Wis. :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks. It should be awesome, warm enough and lots of color to enjoy in the North Woods.

      George and I spent a lot of time in Colorado in 2016 on our trip. We never made it to Colorado Springs and I don't remember ever seeing an Amish buggy in Colorado.

      Delete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Six-Month US Tour Starts In Florida

Greetings from Fort White, Florida, We did it.  Despite mishaps and some angst, I am still feeling some angst, we have begun our 2024 Travels. Angst Last year we traveled together but I had Big Blue (my truck) and Lilac (my camper) with me.  And though I moved stuff into Steve's trailer and stayed with him, on travel days I was driving Big Blue on my own, and I had all the stuff that I don't use very often in my truck and trailer nearby. This is our first full season traveling with one truck and one trailer.  I am trying to adjust.  Steve is very accommodating and a good partner for this trip.  It's just me, worrying. And maybe some of the angst is world news, the US 2024 elections, and some of it is worrying about my son.   He just changed jobs and then in a few days he got laid off from the new job making him un-eligible for unemployment because he had not worked there long enough.  He will be fifty this year and I still worry.  So if you k...

It Isn't An Adventure Unless Someone Almost Dies

Greeting from the Center Of The Universe, I will get to the "almost died" part later.  But I guess I should give you an explanation about the Center of the Universe. Steve's daughter Erin and her boyfriend Matt joined us for a few days at the Center of the Universe.   How do we know it is the center?  It is marked by a fancy manhole cover in the middle of an intersection in downtown Wallace, Idaho.   Twenty-six years ago the mayor of Wallace declared that they were the center.  His reasoning was that there are four mountain passes that come right through the middle of Wallace.  As good a reasoning as any, since no one knows where or if the Universe has boundaries.  And now the small tourist and mining town has a new reason to hold a little festival/celebration each year. I hope this letter finds you doing well.  My friend Margaret got COVID and is still weak and tired from it. She is working her way back into her biking and exercise rout...

Back In Florida, Reuniting With Routines And Folks

 Hello from Inverness, Florida! We made it back to what I consider my home base, Inverness, Florida, on October 26.  Since then we have been kind of busy.  I love my Florida routine.  Monday, Wednesday and Friday I have morning exercise with friends and then the gym for weights and PT exercises.  Tuesday and Thursday I ride with the Withlacoochee Bicycle Riders (WBR), and on Saturday I meet WBR friends for breakfast.  I love these folks here. Unpacking and Reloading My truck was parked in Steve's Garage without the cap.  The engine started right up and the interior didn't smell musty.  Yay! My trailer, LILAC also did not have bugs or mice or any moldy smell. The next day I moved into my assigned camping spot at Oasis Mobile Home and RV park about three miles south of downtown Inverness.  It is a small spot and it took me a while to get it into position.  All my neighbors were out trying to help me with directions that didn't make sense....