Indiana – No Time for Turkey

September 3rd, 2015

Arriving at Turkey Run State Park, I was reminded why I haven’t visited many state parks so far. Their fees are usually around 8 bucks, but having to pay for a park just seems so dumb to me. To add to that, they charge more if you’re from out of state, which is hard to fake with big green license places that are obviously not from around here. But there wasn’t much to do in the state, and this was close to where I was headed next, so why not? Upon entering, I found the park to be smaller than anticipated, but a majority of it flanked a river, and had a lot of great distinct features within close range to one another. I found a route that looked good, to see all I wanted, and cover as much ground as possible without backtracking. To get to most of the park requires crossing a large suspension bridge over the Sugar Creek. The suspension bridge was cool to see, and the creek below looked clean and deep enough to wash up afterwards. Unfortunately, a lot of people have drowned in the river, so dipping a toe in meant possible fines. The lush green of the whole area was a great change of pace as well from the endless corn fields that had consumed my views for the past few days. Crossing the bridge, every step made it sway, sending waves down and back, only to have the bridge swing back at me. Unsteady, but stable. Crossing over and keeping to the river, I found some great spots for photos, both on the banks, and as far in to the river as I could go without actually going in. A pair of downed trees as large as car tires and longer than a shipping container sliced diagonally into the river, barely stretching to the bank. One tree was merely half submerged and mostly rotten through as a result. The other curved out of the water, but made for a massive cantilever arm that I found hard to trust. Every step on the raised tree produced sounds of creeks and subtle screams. The wood was soft beneath my feet. I felt like a small spit wad, walking down to the end of a spoon, ready to be launched into infinity. Thankfully, that didn’t happen. Also, thankfully, I didn’t fall into the river, as it was much deeper out here. I enjoyed the loud silence of nature, with no human voices and the yelling of all the wildlife around. I continued along the trail, opting to go from Falls Canyon to Boulder Canyon. Both slot canyons that would quickly fill in the event of a flash flood. Walking through, the 50 shades of green were stunning. I managed to find what would be a water fall, if enough water were flowing, but glad there wasn’t, as I didn’t feel like hiking through a river today. Continuing along, at the junction to 140 steps, I ran into a more serious photographer, and chatted him up about locations, and techniques. He too was fascinated with the beauty of the west and was heading out there to shoot. I bid him ado, and tried out the techniques we talked about to see the results. They were great! The trail opened up from a slot canyon to a larger canyon with steeper and immense sides. I went from nearly claustrophobic to an ant in a sandbox with just a few steps. This trail was beautiful, and the small dried out creek running to it was a great reminder of how this came to be. I eventually made it back to the main river, where I decided to keep to it again, but in the opposite direction. The trail not nearly as fantastic, I found another fallen tree, except this one was alive, and 20 ft above the water. This trail didn’t keep to the creek so much as above it, dropping off sharply into a sandy cliff. I wandered out on the tree, it again bobbing with every step, and a few brushed off bark pieces floated down reminded me of the long fall that I should avoid taking. Another serene place in the park and a place to let my thoughts drift on. The end of the park wasn’t much further, with a large red bridge as the cross over point to return to the start on the opposite side of the river. It too was adorned with more signs warning against testing the waters. With the high humidity and sweat drenched everything, it was a hard sign to listen to. I wrapped up my time at the park, and spent the rest of the day relaxing, as the next few would be consumed with driving, or seeing more friends!