Turkey Run State Park - The Annual Trip 2011

Roger here...  Back for our annual visit to Turkey Run State Park.  This may be our last Turkey Run trip for a while.  We are hoping to travel to Oregon and Washington State next summer, so we would not be in Indiana for the Turkey Run fun.  If that happens, I will fly to Indianapolis to do the Human Resources presentations that I still do every year for my former employer.


Before I talk about Turkey Run, I need to relate a somewhat harrowing experience that we had while driving through Montgomery and Parke Counties in Indiana.  


My mistake, (and it was my mistake), was to thoroughly trust "Waldo" our new RV-GPS.  I did not look at the maps because we had been to Turkey Run many times before, and because I trusted Waldo.  I know, I know, always look at the maps ahead of time.  I should have.  I have in the past, and I will in the future.


Waldo had no trouble guiding us through Lafayette and taking us to Crawfordsville, IN.  Just south of town, he told us to stay on the current road (we were on state road 32) for 22 miles.  We arrived at a "Y" in the road -- 32 to the right and 47 to the left.  We should have veered onto 47, but even though I felt it was wrong, I trusted Waldo.  Within two miles, I knew it was a mistake, but I figured that "Waldo" would take us back to SR 47.  He did, but in an amazing way.  We traveled on no less than 12 different narrow, bumpy, county roads -- one of which was washboard gravel -- before we reconnected with 47 (probably took us an extra 45 minutes).  OK, WALDO!  You are still better than Sacajawea, but never again will I completely trust you.  


We finally arrived at Turkey Run State Park and awaited the arrival of our camping friends, including some new ones.  Chuck and Cindy arrived after a couple of hours.  Pat, Audrey and Jessica (their daughter), then Bill (Cindy's brother) and Rick arrived the next day.   


The Turkey Run itinerary has changed very little over the years: kayaking, napping, cards, eating, hiking, corn hole, and dog wrestling.  You can check out information about Turkey Run State Park by clicking on "Indiana State Parks" in the left margin and then scrolling down to locate the posts regarding Turkey Run.  (You might have to go down a few pages -- D.)   Here's this year's update:


Kayaking  


NEWS HEADLINE.... Neither Chuck Nor Cindy Lost Their Glasses This Year.  Three years ago Chuck lost his glasses while tipping his kayak. Two years ago, he repeated the performance. Last year Cindy lost her new prescription sunglasses and a favorite hat in a similar, albeit more dangerous, spill.  This year, neither one of them lost their glasses.  When asked about the reason for their good fortune, they responded: "We did not wear them."

The ten-mile kayaking trip down Sugar Creek was (as usual) so much fun.  Here is a shot of Dianne psyching up for the trip.

The first part of the trip reminded me of "bumper cars" at an amusement park, substituting kayaks and canoes for cars.  With two bus-loads of people entering the creek at the same time, it was a little hectic.  But, that soon ended as we spread out on the water.


The water was warm and a little low.  The sky was overcast, which turned out to be a good thing.  The lack of direct sunlight kept all of us a little cooler than normal, but we did need to paddle more due to the slower current.  (We had to "portage" a lot more than usual, too.  My arms and shoulders were killing me before we made it to the takeout point. -- D.)   Mid-way we stopped on a sand bar for lunch and margaritas.    A nice lady who was there fishing with her family took our group picture and received a complimentary margarita for her trouble.

We did encounter a few spots that required a degree of paddling skill.   Here is a traffic jam (canoe pile-up) at one of them.  While most of us enjoyed watching people attempting to negotiate  the narrow opening, Audrey made friends with Audrey (the dog).  


Sleeping


A full day on the water turned into a late-afternoon Siesta Time.  Most of us took naps.  However, few of us slept as well as Chuck.  Take note that he still has his glasses.

Cards

After a refreshing nap -- or in Chuck's case, a deep sleep -- eight of us gathered under the shade of the "circus tent" to play Spades (this year's card game of choice) before dinner.  The two fans at the end of the table made the heat of the late afternoon bearable.  


Eating


No pictures here, but eat well we did.  Over the course of the stay we had Italian Beef Sandwiches, Burgers, Brats, Pork Loin, and a variety of different hors d'oeuvres, salads, and sides.  Anything we did not eat for dinner, went into the eggs the next morning for breakfast.  Oh, and how can I forget...  For the last dinner, Chuck grilled more chicken than we could even put a dent in.  Chuck and Cindy certainly bought out all the chicken in Fishers, IN.  I heard that chicken gizzards were the only parts of a chicken that one could buy in Indianapolis groceries until Perdue made another delivery.  It is diet time again for Dianne and me.


Hiking


ANOTHER NEWS FLASH...  Sophie Escapes -- Found reading the historical placards in the Lieber Cabin.  

Last year Sophie and Jasper had a great time frolicking in Sugar Creek along one of the hiking trails.  It was so much fun that we wanted to repeat the fun.  Chuck, Pat, Bill, Rick, Dianne and I set off on the 3-mile trek.  It was bittersweet seeing Bandido splashing in the water.  We still miss Jasper, terribly.  However, it was also great fun to see such happy dogs until.... "Where did Sophie go?  Where did Chuck go?"  Sophie had bolted and run back to the trail.  Chuck followed him, but despite his best efforts to call her back, she had disappeared around a corner.  We all gathered at a point where three trailheads met.  We talked to a family on trail "A" who had not seen Sophie.  Pat took trail "B" with Chaplin in tow -- back to the campground.  Chuck started climbing the many rock steps on trail "C", the only other place Sophie could be since we were in a canyon.  The rest of us waited at the trailheads.  Chuck found Sophie at the top of the canyon in the Lieber Cabin, a historical building once owned by the founder of Indiana's State Park System.  Sophie, evidently, wanted to check out the displays :-).  


We then had to figure out how this supervision blunder was to be reported to Cindy (who would be EXTREMELY upset) if she thought that Sophie was lost in the woods.   We all agreed that Chuck should be the one to tell her (if he decided to do so), then we realized that Pat would get back to the camp site before us and report the great escape.  We gathered in a football huddle (not really, but it makes a good mental picture) to decide what to do.  We did not want Cindy to worry, so Dianne sent Cindy a text message telling her not to worry -- "Sophie is safe."  Cindy responded, "Why should I be worried?"  Hmm?  We then took trail "A" (not the trail Pat took) back to the campground.  


As it turns out, we arrived before Pat, because every kid on the trail who passed Pat wanted to pet Chaplin.  (Because we arrived before Pat, Cindy was puzzled by Dianne's message.)  Oh what a tangled web we weave...


Halfway through the visit, Bill, Rick, and Jessica left to return to civilization.  However, they were replaced by new friends... Linda, Linda, Kathy and Kris.  Linda, a friend of Chuck and Cindy,  just bought a large pop-up camper and was eager to join our group.


Cornhole


Game time!  Our adjacent campsites shared a large grassy area in the back -- perfect spot for cornhole and ladder jack.

Here is a shot of both games going on at the same time.  From left to right... Bill, Cindy, Rick, and Linda.






Chuck seems to be practicing Tai Chi!  What form!

What concentration!  Sorry, Chuck... You can pick on me in your blog.


Dog Wrestling


The dog wrestling between Sophie and Bandido was an ongoing, never-ending, constant, eternal 

 event.  Even when they were separated, they were sizing each other up for the next onslaught.

Such good buddies!


The pet picture of the day shows a brief respite from the wrestling match, helped along by a couple of big rawhide bones.  

Canoeing on the Rio Grande

Roger here again....  One of the things I wanted to do in the Big Bend area was to float down the Rio Grande.  Because the trip had the potential for being lengthy, Dianne decided to stay behind with the dogs.  Due to low water levels on the river, the float trip turned out to be a canoe trip. 

Our group consisted of a friendly young couple from Calgary, me, and our guide -- Jack (getting things ready for the trip).  I was fortunate to paddle from the front of Jack's canoe.  He controlled most of the guiding and told me exactly when and how to paddle.  No stress.  As a 20+ year resident of the area, he also filled my mind with lots of interesting stories about the Big Bend area.  


There were a few narrow and shallow spots that Jack successfully led us through.  I think that Jack had one foot in Mexico and one foot in Texas.

Each picture involved picking a spot when I was not needed to paddle, removing the camera from the dry box, taking the pic, and returning the camera to the dry box  -- all before returning to my paddling duties.  The result -- fewer pics than usual.  


BUT, I did take a couple.

Lots of birds, turtles, fish and javalena, but no pictures.  A peaceful, quiet trip that was all downstream with the wind behind us.  Very relaxing.


Here is a pic of me at the end of the trip.

The next pic has nothing to do with the canoe trip, but isn't it interesting what happens to canned coney sauce when you cook it on the grill?

(Dianne here.  Yes, I know this looks like a gross meal, but it was actually pretty darn good when we topped the hot dogs with the coney sauce and chopped sweet Texas onions and added some leftover four-bean salad.  Thanks to my friend, Linda, for the four-bean salad recipe; wish we'd waited on the photo until I had the bean salad out.
Here's a link to their blog page that has the recipe:
http://because-we-can.net/Because_We_Can/Neat_Things/Recipes_Salads.html


(Note to Linda:  Every time we eat the leftovers, Roger says, "Boy, these are good."  And I always say, "Thank Linda."  Then he says, "Thank you, Linda.")  Back to Roger....
  
Dianne has been so obsessed trying to photograph the painted buntings that hang around our campsite that they do seem like pets.  (We are NOT taking them with us!)  So, the pet picture of the day showcases the colorful show.

Stay tuned.  Dianne will be writing the next post about our hike into Santa Elena Canyon in the national park.

Texas BBQ + Kayaking on the Guadalupe River

Hi all, Dianne here.  Our final two days in the Texas Hill Country with Chuck & Cindy included a trip to Llano for some authentic, old-time Texas BBQ at Cooper's, driving the scenic Willow City Loop, and an afternoon spent kayaking on the Guadalupe River.


First was the kayaking expedition:  When Cindy made our reservations at Guadalupe River RV Resort, we reserved sites on the river, thinking we could launch our kayaks right from our RV sites.  When we realized that the water was only ankle deep there at the campground, we knew that wasn't gonna happen. 


 The helpful desk clerk at the campground gave Roger and Chuck some alternate ideas, so we checked them out.  Our best bet seemed to be a short drive to Louise Hays Park.  On Thursday we loaded our gear into Chuck's truck and headed off.

Cindy and I got a shot of each other taking each other's picture, then we headed upstream.  The current was gentle and the wind was behind our backs, so it was an easy paddle.  

The water was clear and clean.  We saw a zillion turtles (well, maybe not a ZILLION, but more turtles than we'd ever seen at any one time.)

This fine specimen stayed put long enough for us to get his photo:  

We didn't just see dozens of turtles on every available log, but saw lots of little turtle heads peeking above the water line as we paddled along.  It was yet another beautiful day in Texas!

On Friday, our last day together, we took a short road trip to Llano to give Chuck & Cindy the Cooper's Authentic Texas BBQ experience.  Roger and I ate here in December of 2009 and vowed to come back.  

As we pulled into our parking space, we could see the people lined up out front, awaiting their turn at the pit selection.

When our turn came, we had the opportunity to choose from brisket, pork, chicken, sirloin, sausage, and ribs.  As we made our (multiple) choices, each was dipped into the vat of sauce and placed onto a red plastic tray.  Each couple had a tray of meat choices.  


We then proceeded inside to the weigh station, where our choices were weighed, wrapped in butcher paper, and prices marked.  We chose sides at that station: cole slaw, potato salad, and different kinds of their famous cobbler.  (I chose blackberry; Cindy and Chuck shared a peach cobbler.  I was not willing to share mine!)  


After we paid at the register, we went to the "bean and sauce" station for some spicy beans, extra BBQ sauce, and silverware.  

Then we took our places at the long picnic tables, unwrapped our butcher paper and dug in!  The photo on the wall directly above my head shows an autographed photo montage of George W. Bush chowing down at Cooper's in 1998.  Other celebrity photos adorned the wall; Jewel and Texas Governer Perry among others.

One parting shot shows one of the huge covered, smoky pits where the meat is actually cooked.

On the way home from Llano, we sidetracked off onto the Willow City Loop.  This is a scenic drive that winds through private ranches and is known for its beautiful wildflowers in the spring.  Unfortunately, we were a couple of weeks too early for the wildflowers this time.  We did see some contented cattle.  

The scenery was typical Texas Hill Country.

Roger and I drove back to Mission on Saturday morning, and Chuck and Cindy headed north, back to Indiana.  We'll meet up this summer in Traverse City, Michigan for more good times.


It's a little more than a five-hour drive to Mission from Kerrville in a motor home.  (Told you Texas was HUGE; I always thought of the San Antonio area as being South Texas.  Hard to imagine that it's a five-hour drive south from there to Mission!)


As soon as we got just a little bit south of San Antonio, there were wildflowers blooming everywhere.  We stopped at a picnic pull-off for lunch, and I took some photos for my spring-starved friends up north:

Here's the famous Texas bluebonnet: 












 I can't identify these others for you,  but they sure are "purty."

The pet photo of the day shows Bandido snuggling up to Charlie's cat carrier as we drove south from Kerrville back to Mission.  This was Bandido's first motorhome trip, and we were anxious to see how he'd travel.  Jasper used to just climb onto the couch or chair and sleep the whole way (unless he was trying to steal our snacks).  Chaplin gets scared and has to ride in a crate so that he feels more "secure."  Bandido proved to be a good little traveler, sleeping most of the time, sitting on my lap part of the time, and -- as shown in this photo -- snuggling up to his pal, Charlie.

Abiquiu Reservoir - Kayaking Paddles: His & Ours

Paddle No. 1: 

 Roger here...  Dianne has almost recovered from whatever is ailing her.  She is either adjusting to the altitude, or in the last stages of fighting a bug.  We decided that the best thing for her to do was to rest for another day.  (Rest for me meant updating our finances on Quicken -- D.)

I just finished the book I was reading, The Devil's Punch Bowl, by Greg Iles -- pretty good book  --  and I was feeling a little antsy.  I can only be a slug for a couple of days before I need to do something.  It seemed like a good time to inflate the Sea Eagle and do a little solo kayaking on the reservoir.  I put the seats down in the Matrix, securely bungied the inflated kayak in the car, slathered on sun screen, said goodbye to Dianne, and drove over to the isolated launch area.

  I stayed near the shore, paddling past a cliff along the rocky shoreline.  The water was smooth.  Even though people were water skiing on the lake, it is so big that the waves dissipated to nothing by the time they reached lonely me.


I encountered a couple of irritating problems early on.  The first was that the kayak insisted on turning to the right no matter what I did.  I seemed to be working much too hard to make any kind of decent forward progress.  The second problem was that there must have been a leak in the inflatable seat (glad it wasn't the kayak) because I found myself with nothing to lean back on.

I decided to find a flat place on the shoreline to beach the kayak and make adjustments.  I wasn't able to find a suitable space on the shoreline, but I did find something far better - a huge submerged boulder.  The water was about a foot deep and there was a raised portion to sit on.  Perfect.


I inspected the bottom of the kayak and discovered that the two rudders had both been bent to the right - probably from being rolled up in the motor home for a month.  I was able to straighten them out.  The seat was a bigger problem.  It was, indeed flat as a pancake, but I was able to jerry-rig our cheap, orange, life preserver to provide some support for my back in the rear of the kayak.

I was prepared to continue, but it was so pleasant on the submerged boulder that I decided to stay for a while.  Warm, crystal-clear water, bright sunlight, pristine scenery, and isolation.  How lucky I was.  I enjoyed the rare experience for about forty-five minutes, before climbing back in the kayak to explore other parts of the lake.


The adjustment to the rudders made a huge difference.  The kayak was performing well and the paddling was easy.  I discovered the dam around one of the corners, and paddled across a portion of the lake to an island before deciding to head back.


The water was so smooth, the paddling so easy - almost effortless.  It will be a peaceful trip back to the launch area.  What's this?  A little wind?  Not too bad, though, but it is in my face.  (There was no wind until I started the paddle back to the car.)  It seems to be picking up, a little.


  The front of the kayak is now slapping as it splashes over each new wave.  I shouldn't have spent so much time relaxing on the rock.  I don't know why there always seems to be some discomfort with each of our outings, but I guess that is part of the adventure.  My arms are in agony.  The waves now have white caps!  The wind is stronger.  I can't stop paddling or the wind will carry me backwards. 


 It takes me about ten minutes to pass a couple of fishermen.  They wish me luck as they watch my struggle.  My arms are still in agony. The launch site MUST BE AROUND THE NEXT CORNER.  No.  Still up ahead.  Gotta keep going.  I finally paddled into the cove and could see the car on the bank.  Whew.  Then, out of nowhere, I hear, "Yippee!  You did a good job!"  I jump -- as I always seem to do when I am startled -- and hear laughter.  Two ladies with their dog were sitting in the shade under an overhanging rock while dangling their feet in the water.  They had been watching me for quite some time.   Nice to have fans.


  Time to hit the recliner in the shade at the campsite and start another book.


Paddle No. 2:

Dianne here:  The next day I was feeling a lot better, so we decided to retrace Roger's kayaking trip of the day before.  First we checked the Weather Underground web site to be sure strong winds weren't in the forecast.  Looked like they'd hold off until later in the afternoon, so off we went.

This time we packed a picnic lunch to enjoy on Roger's rock.  The water was smooth as glass, and we took turns paddling until we reached the rock.  We brought along our swim noodle in case we decided to swim.  

After lunch, and after relaxing on the rock for a bit, Roger asked, "Do you want to swim?"  I said, "I'm thinking about it."  We'd been sitting with our ankles in the water for about half an hour by that point, and the water didn't seem so bad.  I was still contemplating a swim when Roger decided to go for it.


I watched him dive in, off the rock, and the first words out of his mouth when he resurfaced was "@#%&* It's Cold!!!!!!"  I've never seen him get back onto dry land so quickly.  Needless to say, I didn't get in.

It was really pleasant on our picnic rock, and Roger wanted to know if I wanted to paddle farther.  Knowing that the winds often pick up in the afternoon, I thought we should head back, so we did.  

We had an easy paddle back to the launch site, reloaded the kayak, and went back to our outdoor recliners.  Seems as soon as we did, the wind picked up so much we had to put the awning in.  We were both really glad we were off the lake by then!


Check back soon, because we have more adventures to write about from Abiquiu.