Elkhart, IN to Winamac, Indiana

We left Elkhart in the afternoon and headed south, past South Bend (home of Notre Dame University) , turned west on US Hwy 30 and then south again on US Hwy 35. As we got to Knox, Indiana, the highway was blocked with a sign that indicated Hwy 35 was closed. We turned at the detour sign, and seeing no other signs continued about 10 miles down a narrow farm road. We became suspicious when we saw no other detour signs. As it turned out, the unmarked detour was only one block off of Hwy 35. We finally got back on track and arrived at Tippecanoe River State Park about 4 PM. This park encompasses 2,700 acres and 11 miles of the Tippecanoe River stretch along its borders. At dusk, we rode our mountain bikes on several trails, one of which passed adjacent to protected wetlands. Arriving at the Nature Center, we were disappointed that it was closed. However, our luck changed when the park curator arrived and invited us in for a special showing of their exhibits. They included several species of snakes, turtles, and frogs. On Thursday morning we headed to the nearby town of Winamac where we unloaded our kayaks and placed them on a trailer, and were driven several miles up the Tippecanoe River. We then had a wonderful morning kayaking down the river lined with thick forests. Many of the trees canopied over the river. Time consuming and difficult as it is to tie the kayaks onto the top of our truck, it was well worth it! Unfortunately, we were unable to take photos on our kayak trip for fear we would damage the camera. (We have prior experience with this!) If "Tippecanoe" sounds familiar, you might remember the saying from your history lessons: "Tippecanoe and Tyler too." This saying was from a campaign song in the 1840 election for President of the US. "Tippecanoe" referred to candidate William Henry Harrison who was a hero at the Battle of Tippecanoe. Tyler (John Tyler) was his Vice Presidential running mate.