1832 to 1956

The weather this morning was superb.  After the rain of the last few days, the sky was crystal clear and the temps were in the 50's.  A bit cool, but it is September, and Fall is fast approaching in the mid-west. After a great breakfast of eggs, bacon, and the last of the sweet breakfast bread we bought at a Bakery in Middlebury, IN (we've been hoarding it), we stepped out our door, walked 100 feet, and were immediately in 1832 Indiana.

The Wabash and Erie Canal Association has done a magnificent job of re-creating and preserving a small part of life along a canal in the 1830's.  The useful life of the nations canal system was just a few years, as the railroad provided all-weather transportation at a quicker pace, but during those 20 odd years, the canals were the lifeblood of the country.  On this particular canal, you could go from Topeka to New York via the Erie Canal in 15 days for $8.50.  Pretty good deal, I think!

We also learned a bit about the Native Americans that lived in the area, and their relationship with the settlers.  We have a special friend that has a connection to Chief Tecumseh, so when we saw this poster, we had to take a picture.

There were several Native Americans named Tecumseh, so this may not be the correct person, but it's interesting to note the name.

A great addition to the Canal Park is the Reed Case house. Built in the Federal style popular in those days, where there is a central entry door with equally sized rooms on either side of the door.  The upstairs mirrors the downstairs with 3 bedrooms; one small bedroom in the center and two equally sized bedrooms on each side. Reed Case was a building contractor for the canal construction in Carroll County, and became a successful businessman.  The family still lives in the area and has donated many period antiques to the association for display in the house.

When we taking a ride on the refurbished canal boat, a nice red 56 Chevy drove by, so we had to find out where it came from.

Turns out, there was a car show downtown at the courthouse.

Big and tall, old and small, they had 'em all.  From a Tri-Power Pontiac, to a 54 Corvette, to a '39 Ford pickup, to an ancient Whizzer motorcycle, there was quite a selection!

There was one particular vehicle that interested us....

This RV comes fully equipped.  Donna seems to be looking for a place to put the coffee pot...

Back at the RV in Canal Park, we roasted some bacon wrapped Jalapeño peppers (thanks for the recipe, Jill and Chuk!), and settled down with a good old-fashioned barbecued hamburger with homemade french fries.  Now for the Dutch Apple pie!