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| Spring Mill State Park, Lawrence County |
In the
autumn as fall leaves turn jewel colors, follow the winding roads as they trace
their way through the hills and valleys of Southern Indiana past charming
historic hamlets and meandering creeks. Here
are some of our favorite fall drivers.
Drive 1:
Caves, Caves, Caves (Bedford to Mauckport)
Board a boat to follow the Myst'ry River as
it winds its way underground through Bluespring Caverns. Located between Bedford and Mitchell, the
Myst’ry River is the longest subterranean river in the United States, running
for about 21 miles. The hour boat tour covers just 1 ¼ miles, ending when the
way becomes impassable for the 17- person flat-bottomed boat.
Head south to Spring Mill State Park in
Mitchell for the short but fascinating 20-minute
guided boat tour of Twin Caves for close-up views of albino crayfish, bats, and
the endangered Northern blind cave fish inhabiting the cave.
At
Marengo Cave, a national historic landmark, take the Crystal Palace tour where one of the first stops
is an immense cave room where viewers look down into what appears a bottom chamber until
realizing that instead they're peering
into Mirror Lake -- a vast, still expanse of water that reflects
the stalactites above perfectly. Another
stopping point is the Crystal Palace
Room, where a flashing light show accompanies music, in a grand underground
theater with stone seats and a stage.
The colored lights illuminated the various stalactites and other
geological wonders in what is the ultimate light show.
Hungry? Dine at the Blue River Café in Milltown and
consider renting a kayak at Cave Country Canoes for a float on the Blue River.
Spend
the night at the historic Leavenworth Inn, perched high above a horseshoe bend
of the Ohio River, the wooded hillside a blaze of colors. Stop at Scout
Mountain Winery on the way to Corydon where the only Civil War battle in
Indiana took place. Once the state capitol take a tour of the old courthouse
that sits on the town’s square. Then on to Squire Boone Caverns, the last cave
on the tour. Discovered by Daniel Boone’s brother, more than a million gallons of water
flow through the caverns every
day and the narrow winding passageways often cross torrents of water
down below. Squire so loved the cave (he
established a small village here back in the early 1800s and there’s now a
mill, gift shop, rock shop and bakery) that he asked to be buried here and so
he was. His bones were discovered by spelunkers several decades ago and now
rest in a coffin in one of the cave’s chambers.
For
more information on this route, visit:
Crawford County
Tourism - www.crawfordcountyindiana.com
Harrison County CVB
- www.thisisindiana.org
www.limestonecountry.com
Drive 2:
Historic Places (Pioneer Village at Spring Mill State Park to Tell City)
Step back into the early 1800s at the Spring
Mill State Park’s Pioneer Village, an early 19th century building
with more than 20 historic buildings as well as an 1817 limestone mill. Watch historic re-enactors do what once were
the day-to-day chores such as rope-making, candle-dipping, blacksmithing,
gardening and weaving in the village, once a stagecoach stop along the first
road to cross Indiana.
For a bit of more recent history, the park
is located in Mitchell, home of astronaut Gus Grissom and this hometown hero is
honored with a memorial at the park.
Indiana still has about 90 covered bridges
remaining including the double span wood Williams Covered Bridge, also known as
the Lawrence County Covered Bridge, crosses the East Fork of the White River
and was built in 1884 by Joseph J. Daniels, one of the premier covered bridge
builders in the state. Named after nearby settlement of Williams, it is in the
National Register of Historic Places and picture perfect when the brilliant
hues of autumn reflect in the waters of the White River.
The
small town of Paoli is centered around an old fashioned courthouse square,
typical of many Indiana county seats. Here, the two-story Greek
Revival Orange
County Courthouse, built in 1850, boasts tall columns, white brick and two chimneys.
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| Morels at Big Locust Farm B&B |
Take
a turn around the circle and then head west to West Baden Springs and the
fantastical West Baden Springs Resort. Built in 1902, the resort was probably best known for its six story free
standing dome which for over six decades was touted as the largest in the world
(it wouldn’t be replaced in the record books until the 1960s when the Houston
Astrodome was built). The 100-foot high
dome dominates the expansive rotunda which is the center and heart of the
resort. The shops and the restaurants as
well as the guest rooms all surround the rotunda and its interior is filled
with classic antique furniture, a swank bar and even a huge fireplace, original
to the building and said to be worth a million dollars because of its Pewabic
tile. The showcase of all this is the
pendulum which is suspended from the top of the dome and revolves, casting
different color lights over the top and creating an awesome light show of
sorts. There are also formal gardens,
gourmet restaurants, a cute coffee shop and ice cream store and both indoor and
outdoor pools.
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| Blue Prairie B&B |
Down the road, the Beaux Arts French Lick (note to
basketball enthusiasts – Larry Bird’s hometown is French Lick) has also been
beautifully restored including the royal
crown moldings, original rosette shaped light fixtures, hand painted tapestry
ceilings and some 5000 square feet of gold leaf. There’s a casino here, several
wonderful golf courses, a luxurious spa (there’s one West Baden as well) and
both resorts have indoor and outdoor pools. Stables on the grounds offer guided
horseback trail riding and a courtesy shuttle connects the two resorts on a
regular basis.
Take
a tour of the countryside aboard a vintage train at the nearby Indiana Railway
Museum. Spend the night at either of the resorts or opt for a night at Big
Locust Farm Bed & Breakfast, a brick country Victorian nestled on 93 acres
and home to a 250-year old locust tree. Or consider another country setting,
there’s the delightful Blue Prairie Bed &
Breakfast.
Further
south, stop at the Monastery Immaculate Conception with its soaring brick
tower, labyrinth, peace grotto and, our favorite, the Simply Divine Bakery
where the sisters make old fashioned cookies such as springerles, almerles and Hildegards
(a cookie recipe dating back to the 1300s) by hand using wooden presses
imported from Germany back in the 1800s.
Cookies
in hand, hit the road towards the Ohio River. Make a couple of wine stops,
first at Winzerwald Winery in Bristol. "The friendly little German-style
winery at the top of the hill" is a bit modest for this beautifully
appointed tasting room and winery with a spectacular view of the Southern
Indiana Uplands just below I-64. Dan & Donna Adams are serious vintners
with a great deal of experience and education in wine-making and a string of
awards for a variety of complex German and Swiss style wines grown from their
own grapes. Winzerwald means "vintners of the forest" and reflects the
winery's location in the Hoosier National Forest area. The distinctive
Nutcracker logo and label also reflects the Adams' Southern German heritage.
The
winding gravel path up Blue Heron Lane leads to Blue Heron Winery a boutique
winery overlooking the river. Gary and Lynn Dauby host special events in their
barn, filled with local art and stone carvings, as well as growing French
grapes and making their favorite wines, including the semi-dry Two Towers, and
their popular on Deck Red, often paired with chocolate. Another path through the woods leads to the
impressive 22' Celtic Cross carved from one stone by artist Greg Harris. There’s
also a delightful farm house bed and breakfast on the property.
Then
follow the Ohio River Scenic Byway to Tell City, founded by Swiss settlers back
in the mid 1800s. Ever hear of a historic pretzel? Tell City Pretzels has been open
since 1858, when the centuries-old Swiss recipe became a favorite along the
Ohio River. The hand-twisted all natural (just 4 ingredients) pretzels have a
new store front at the factory with an antique bar where you can purchase the
classic "Der Kruncher" pretzels, Tell City sticks, or new ranch
pretzels. Call ahead for a tour that includes the hand-twisting demo.
For
more information on this route, visit:
Dubois County
Visitors Center - www.visitduboiscounty.com
Lawrence County
Visitors Center - www.limestonecountry.com
Orange County CVB - www.visitfrenchlickwestbaden.
Perry County CVB - www.perrycountyindiana.org
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Drive 3: Not
your everyday sights and sounds: Horses
and buggies, Germanic culture, ghost town, Nancy Lincoln’s Grave and more (Shoals
to Rockport)
The
East Fork of the White River widens as it winds through the rolling countryside
of Martin County rippling over a shelf of flat stone as it continues
downstream. There’s not much here now, just woodlands crowding the riverbanks
and a few fisherman with their rods poised over the sparkling water.
Hindostan
Falls was a much livelier place two centuries ago after the founding of
Hindostan (named after a British soldier who had served time in India) in 1816,
a town with a booming population that reached 1200 by 1820 making it one of the
largest settlements in this part of Indiana (for a comparison – at the time it
was the same size as Louisville, Kentucky).
Poised on one of the new state’s first stage coach runs connecting New
Albany and Vincennes, Hindostan boasted two mills, a hotel, whetstone factory,
post office and even a button factory.
Ferries made their way between the river’s two banks and houseboats
moored on its waters.
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Some
towns just fade away, but much of Hindostan disappeared much quicker, many of
its townspeople wiped out by a terrible sickness – yellow fever or cholera or
even, some say, the plague.
But in the fall, when the blaze of colors
surrounds the softly flowing waters, it’s easy to see the beauty that attracted
people all those years ago.
While
in Martin County, enjoy a meal Stoll’s Lakeview Restaurant with its lake views
and great Amish food.
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Old Order Amish families live in Daviess County and their heritage is
celebrated in guided tours through the rural countryside, hearty Amish cuisine
at the Gasthof Amish Restaurant & Bakery and a regular auction, also at
Gasthof Village, of quilts and other interesting goods. There are other nearby
Amish restaurants including the Odon Essen Haus Restaurant.
The
foods authentic, the waitresses wear dirndl skirts and German is often heard
spoken at the wonderful Schnitzelbank Restaurant in Jasper, a Southern Indiana
charmer of a city where around 90% of the population has German roots.
Wander
down to the Patoka River where the Spirit of Jasper, a vintage train, departs
from architectural recreation of the early 1900s depot and take a tour of the picture
perfect architectural rendition of the old mill.
Next
stop, Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial to visit the Lincoln homestead where
costumed interpreters perform the daily tasks typical of the very early 1800s
when the Lincoln family lived here. Follow the pathway to Nancy Lincoln’s grave
– young Abe helped build his mother’s coffin. Visit the Huffington Covered
Bridge, built in the 1860s near the Huffington Mill where Lincoln would take
the family’s grain to be ground into flour. Remnants of the old mill remain.
Travel
to Rockport, a river city and where Lincoln made his living ferrying people
across the Ohio River to Kentucky. Located in Rockport, Lincoln Pioneer Village
is made up of log cabins, public buildings, schools, and churches as they stood
in Lincoln’s days when the family lived in what would become Spencer County.
Davis County -- www.daviesscounty.net
Dubois County
Visitors Center - www.visitduboiscounty.com
Lawrence County
Visitors Center - www.limestonecountry.com
Martin County
Toursim Council -www.visitmartincounty.org
Orange County CVB - www.visitfrenchlickwestbaden.
Perry County CVB - www.perrycountyindiana.org
Spencer
County Visitors Bureau - www.legendaryplaces.org
For
more information and maps visit www.exploresouthernindiana.com. Check out the colors at www.VisitIndiana.com.
Here are the Websites for all of our counties:
Daviess County
Tourism - www.dcchamber.com
Dubois County
Visitors Center - www.visitduboiscounty.com
Crawford County
Tourism - www.crawfordcountyindiana.com
Harrison County CVB
- www.thisisindiana.org
Martin County
Toursim Council -www.visitmartincounty.org
Orange County CVB - www.visitfrenchlickwestbaden.