Indiana - Day 22 - Clifty Falls and Columbus architecture

Westward HO! Campground, Gnaw Bone near Nashville (Ind.)
Saturday, 22 June 2019

I was getting us ready to leave this morning and would likely not have noticed the visitor to our campsite if Dexter hadn't pointed it out to me.

The photo on the left is clear but not a good angle.  The one on the right is a much better angle but fuzzy.  Take your pick.  I thought at the time that it was a turkey, though the tail didn't look right, but because the bird book mentions the iridescent body and white face, I'm guessing that's what it was.

It spent quite a bit of time foraging around our campsite, giving Dexter a lot of entertainment.  As we were driving out, we saw it again along the road and it obligingly flew across the road in front of us.  I understand they're very fast, but they seem so bulky it's hard to believe.

today's route

Clifty Falls
This state park was formed to protect the falls on Clifty Creek, which we visited when we left.  And we left early, because I'd seen in the state park information that there's an ADA-accessible trail to one of the falls viewing areas, and I wanted to take the dogs down there without worrying about other dogs.

It was drizzling when we left, and the clouds got even lower as we drove - for part of the drive it was so dark in the cab you'd have thought it was nighttime.  And despite the weather, someone came into the area right after us - but after a bit they drove away (I was relieved).  I waited, hoping the weather might lighten up, which it didn't, so I decided we'd just have to get wet to be sure of nobody else coming along.

Clifty Falls

ravine they flow into

info re: falls

If you look in the center of the photo on the left, you can see how far down the creek is - there are some rapids down there.

The falls drop farther than they may look from my inartful photo above, but I was afraid of slipping over the edge, and the dogs weren't helping my balance.  You can see from the sign that the falls were once much longer than they are now, they've been eroding the creek bed for so long they now have only a 60' drop.  But they're pretty.

There are 3 other falls in this park, the longest of which is 83' high, and there are numerous trails for closer viewing - I think one takes you directly under one of the falls.  Very pretty area and certainly popular.

On the road to Columbus
We got lucky - we missed being stuck in a downpour by less than 2 minutes.  We were wet enough from the drizzle, but at least not soaked.  Still, that's what we drove through for 45 miles.

Of course there was standing water in the fields we passed.

Jennings County Courthouse

I saw a pretty scene where a field of yellowish winter wheat stood next to a field of green corn plants.  The colors stood out in the grey of the rain.

We passed through the small town of Vernon and were impressed with the large county courthouse they have.


Columbus
I'd heard about the unusually high standard of architecture design and public art while I was still in Austin.  Then I found a transcript of a report Susan Stamberg did for NPR that explains how it came to be, and of course she does a better job than I could.   www.npr.org/columbus-ind-a-midwestern-mecca-of-architecture 

I went there because I'd heard that they had buildings designed by Eliel and Eero Saarinen and I.M. Pei (all beloved of crossword puzzle writers) and public sculpture by Henry Moore.  And they do have all that, and I saw it, though the rain made my view not so good.  But here are some of my photos and you can see.  Many of these buildings look old hat these days - to me, at least - but the point is they were designed a long time ago - some of them 50 years or more, and architects of today have caught on to the look.

I.M. Pei public library & Henry Moore sculpture

North Christian Church by Eero Saarinen

bell tower/1st Christian Church by Eliel Saarinen

You see how muted these photos are by the rain, and of course I couldn't always get good angles on them.  For much better photos and more information, this website is really good.   https://columbus.in.us/guide-to-the-architecture/

I took some other photos:

St. Peter's Lutheran Church

Breeden Realtors Office Bldg. on R, public parking garage on L

I couldn't take my own photos but I was really impressed by these public buildings:

Bart. County Jail (roof enclosure for inmate exercise)

Bartholomew County Courthouse

On my way into town we came to this bridge, which I don't see on that website above, but it must be part of the program.

bridge through the rain

detail of the bridge

We stopped for a stretch break at Mill Race Park in town that had a different form of the public art.  This color is now known as Columbus Red, by the way.

a picnic pavilion

this is a restroom

those are benches under the arbor

another picnic pavilion

These look so practical, and apparently are, even in Midwest weather.  So why are public facilities in most other places built of wood and built without aesthetics?  These may (or may not) cost more to build, but I'll bet they don't cost more to maintain.  Anyway, nice to know there are alternatives.

a piece of Nature's art - the overflowing Flatrock R. and a Great Blue Heron

And just opposite the entrance to the park was this piece of public art:

amazing, isn't she?

Cummins has an enormous presence in this town - their buildings are everywhere.

Coca-Cola has a bottling plant here.

Columbus seems to be a very pleasant and certainly attractive town.  I guess all it takes is vision and maybe some money.

From Columbus we had only a 10-mile drive to our next campground.