Turkey Run State Park in western Indiana

Last week I made a one-day roadtrip from the Chicago area down to Turkey Run State Park in west central Indiana. The park is located on S.R. 47, just a few miles east of US 41 and approximately twenty-five miles north of Terre Haute. Turkey Run became a state park in 1916, and was the second one established in Indiana. What makes the park so popular with visitors are the many deep canyons and sandstone cliffs that seem so out of place in a relatively flat state like Indiana. 

I got on the road at about 6:30AM CT and headed south out of northwestern Indiana on US Hwy. 41. My first stop of the day was for breakfast at the USA Restaurant near Lowell IN. I guess I should mention that this roadtrip took place on Wednesday the 29th.        Update 12-16-10: This place is now out of business.
 

I've had breakfast at this place a few times before, and have always been pleased with my meal, but apparently this time they were having an off day. The sausage patties were okay, but my "scrambled well" eggs were too well done , the potatoes were rather dry and overly starchy, and the toast was cold. Oh well...

Old metal advertising signs are a passion of mine, especially ones for defunct brands, so I can never resist stopping to photograph them on the road. I found these two on 41 south of Attica IN.

A little further down the road, I found something else of interest to a "roadologist" like myself. It was an old abandoned gas station bearing the defunct "Super 98" brand.  Thanks to the wonderful world of Googling, I learned that Super 98 was the brand name of the long-gone Zehring Oil Co. of Kokomo IN. 

After checking the map I realized I've been driving by Turkey Run twice a year for the last 10 years without knowing it was there, let alone stopping.  Looks like it's been my loss!

So did you eat in Veedersburg?

Brad

Nope, Brad, I had a late lunch at a recently-opened restaurant in Terre Haute; that's a sad story for later on. Wait until you see the pictures that I took within the park, then you'll really get an idea of what you've been missing. More this evening...

I love those vintage pics of what you see today of those days gone by.
Indiana has so many small towns that you could spend a lifetime investigating their Midwestern history.
Thanks for sharing the pics!

You're welcome, Uncle Vic. I agree about Indiana; it's a beautiful state with lots of interesting secondary highways and quaint/colorful small towns. I especially love the scenery in Franklin County and Brown County; both remind me so much of eastern Kentucky, where my mother was born and raised. 

About twenty miles south of Veedersburg, I hit S.R. 47. Turning eastward, I drove about four or five miles and arrived at the entrance to Turkey Run State Park... 

Talk about unfair! As if it weren't bad enough that Indiana charges admission to their state parks, they charge out-of-state folks like me an additional three bucks.   

Is it realy unfair?  As an out-of-stater you are not paying taxes to support it.

After parking, the first thing that I encountered was the nature center...

A place called Turkey Run has gotta have turkeys, right?

As you can see on this map, there are numerous hiking trails at the park, some of them more rugged than others.

If you look closely, you can see tiny hummingbirds hovering around the bird feeder that hangs outside of the nature center. 

This stairway leads to the footbridge ( a suspension bridge ) over Sugar Creek. The most scenic and interesting trails in the park are on the north side of this bridge.

I've been to Turkey Run State Park a couple of times.  It's a great place to visit!

I see that the Turkey Run Inn is the in-park restaurant.  Has anyone ever eaten there?  I guess I should figure an extra $7 if I stop for a meal...
 
Brad

nocarolina
Old metal advertising signs are a passion of mine, especially ones for defunct brands, so I can never resist stopping to photograph them on the road. I found these two on 41 south of Attica IN.

Royal Crown is still alive and well, even though I prefer their Nehi brands personally. http://www.rccolainternat...com/about_history.aspx
If you ever decide to go NORTH on 41, drop me an E-mail. I live about 15 miles west  and a hair north of the IL-WI state line (formerly referred to as the Cheddar Curtain) and can turn you on to some great places from before the Evil I merged with 41. Let's do that before they rip them all up to widen I-94.

Looking eastward at Sugar Creek from the suspension bridge...

Over the river and through the woods, as the old song goes...

Thanks for the invitation, Big Ugly Mich. I haven't done near as much exploring/roadfooding in Wisconsin as I'd like to, so maybe I'll take you up on it one of these days. BTW, I didn't mean to imply that "the beverage formerly known as Royal Crown Cola" ( RC Cola to all you youngsters out there ) was defunct. I was just stating my personal preference in old advertising signs.

You may be aware I'm writing a book on Highway 41, but the process is extremely time consuming. The process of writing and trying to earn a living at the same time is a big encumbrance, but also will make the reward that much more precious, assuming I succeed. Maybe I'll get a job at one of the National Parks near either end of 41 and go from there. . .

I was unaware of your book, Mich, but I'm sure looking forward to it. The stretch of US 41 from Schererville IN ( US 30, specifically ) to just past Earl Park, where US 52 branches off, is part of my regular route that I take down to North Carolina to visit relatives. It's the same route that my dad took to NC back in the '50s and '60s, before they built that monotonous slab of asphalt known as I-65. I've traveled long stretches of 41 in both Wisconsin and Georgia too, so I know what a scenic and interesting highway it is. Be sure to let us know when your book's about to be published ( is it too early to pre-order?  )