Date: 6 May 2001 (Sunday)

Start: Buckeye Lake OH

End: Noblesville IN (223 miles)

Today was a short travel day followed by a family evening.

The trip across Ohio into Indiana was uneventful except for seeing an 18-wheeler on its side blocking both lanes on the other side of I-70. Traffic was accumulating behind the accident, but police were arriving from both directions to handle the situation.

Wildlife sightings included a chipmunk making the rounds of the picnic grounds at an Ohio rest stop, and a gray fox at the side of the road in Indiana.

We found our campground (Riverbend) here and set up. We called daughter Susan at her friend Dan’s house, where she’s staying for a long weekend. They came out and took us to Dan’s work location – the Conner Prairie Living History Museum – for a quick tour since it will be closed tomorrow.

Conner Prairie is a great place. It has a large budget, good-sized staff, lots of land, and a good story to tell. They exhibit areas and buildings that might have existed at certain times in Indiana history. Parts include an 1816-era Delaware Indian gathering, and an 1836 town. A town of 1886 and another set of buildings to commemorate the 1936 time are in various stages of planning and building.

Mr. Conner was an early settler and a person of influence. His house on the grounds was built in 1823. It has an impressive view of a bend of the north fork of the White River. We’ll have to return and learn more about him and see more of this place.

We went out to dinner afterward, with good food and wine. We talked on all sorts of subjects and had a nice time with lots of laughter. The rain that had been threatening earlier came during dinner, so we got a little wet running to the car. Dan and Susan dropped us back at the campground so we could relax the remainder of the evening.