Karla's Kronicles #22

The construction and trusses of all the bridges are best illustrated in the photos we took at Bridgeton Bridge. All of the bridges we toured utilize the Burr Arch design which was patented in 1804 by Theodore Burr. There was one exception, the Phillips Bridge with it's length of 43' does not use the Burr Arch design; we are thinking perhaps it's length didn't require the extra strengthening gained from a Burr Arch design. From what we can tell from our memory and photos, it appears that the Phillips Bridge, built in 1909, uses the Multiple Kingpost design trusses. The Burr Arch uses the Multiple Kingpost design plus the Burr Arch to strengthen the existing trusses. If anyone is curious and interested in Covered Bridge Truss-Types visit:

Covered Bridges Truss_Types

The Karla Kronicles #22 The Big Trip - Part 3
Hello from Indiana, Kronicle Readers! (Note: Larger and More Detailed Photos are in the Photo Albums Located HERE.)
Indiana...Larry's home state, where he was born in Brazil on April 19, 1948. We have 4 main goals for our stop in Indiana. To check out Horseshoe Lakes 1000 Trails Preserve, see a High School Buddy of Larry's, see some of Larry's Relatives and explore the Covered Bridges of Parke County - The Covered Bridge Capital of the World!
As we pulled into the Preserve in search of the perfect site for our 9-day stay, it was starting to sprinkle a bit. By the time we choose our site and began unhitching the jeep to back in, the drops were larger, but not too bad yet. We got settled and here came the thunder and lightening, but that's Okay, we were all set up in no time. This preserve has 11 small lakes on 290-acres; 10 of the lakes are good for fishing and since they are on private property, no license is required. Larry just never really got a chance to drop in his pole.
	Larry's High School Friend, Paul Dorman, drove over to see us on Friday, June 5, for a BBQ and some visiting. Unfortunately, due to a family illness, his wife Patti could not join us this time. I had first met Paul and Patti about 19 years ago when Larry and I traveled to Indiana and met his folks there; we BBQ'd then, too, but in the pouring rain, so this was much more pleasant. In the photo to the left, we have typical guy-stuff; have a beer and look in the Engine Compartment...
We were so glad that Paul had the forethought to get some recent photos of his home and family so we could catch up on their current news. He and Patti have 3 sons, Chris, Randy and Casey, who were all considerably younger 19 years ago - now all grown men - what, was I expecting...for time to stand still? But it does mean I have an important task when we return to Florida; I'm going to dig out those photos of our first meeting and scan them in to send to the Dormans! It so happened on this visit, Paul had more than current family photos on his cell phone; he also brought us a disk....
	with some very interesting "oldies but goodies"!!!! What Memories!!!!
Paul and Larry shared an apartment in Clearwater, FL after Paul returned from his service in the Navy and Larry was finishing up College. Say, that's a bit risque, don't you think, Mr. Larry Wayne? I'd like to say that Larry is in his swim trunks here, but further examination of another photo taken during the same time, shows him clad in crew sock and "briefs", so that one is x-rated; I'll leave this one to your imaginations....
	and a typical Apartment Complex in Florida just has to have a pool....I always knew that Larry was part fish and part Mountain Goat...

And we need to do some acrobatic maneuvers...	Look at that Form!

So years later, when Paul moved to Indiana, the guys still stayed in touch; not very often, but you always have those friendships that will last forever, along with those youthful memories. The afternoon passed by so quickly...Paul's visit was much too short, but we sure did appreciated him driving the 2 hours each way it took to come out to Horseshoe Lakes, especially in Friday afternoon traffic! And we can look forward to visiting again in 2010!!
Our location here is very close to Parke County, Indiana, the Covered Bridge Capital of the World. There are 31 Covered Bridges in this County; and with Map Source and some planning on Larry's part, we saw 14 in a one-day, 80 mile trip. The new Activities Director, Dianne, here at Horseshoe Lakes knew we were heading out. With her GPS, she found 5 bridges one day and asked us to document anything we saw for her; eateries and other points of interest. We did this and Dianne is going to take a group out for a Bridge Tour on June 27 as part of a 1000 Trails group activity. Since there are just so many bridges and photos to include them all in the Kronicle pages, there will be an additional "Covered Bridges of Parke County" Photo Album released along with our usual Kronicle's Photo Album Series. So, let's head out for a little tour in Indiana and some Covered Bridges....
	We left the Campground at 9:15 a.m.; but didn't see our first covered bridge until 10:30 as we were slightly detained in Rosedale, Indiana where the Annual Strawberry Festival and Parade were happening right on the route we needed to get through town! I'm used to the Walla Walla Parades which are 99% antique cars and horses. In Rosedale, Indiana, the parade was 99% Tractors and Farm Equipment and this cute little train...you'll notice more Adults than Children on this train. The sign across the back reads "Your Never Too Old to Ride a Train"... I know this because even though my photo was fuzzy focusing out our windshield, I read the sign as we followed the train out of town...One family with 3 kids collected more candies (mostly Tootsie Rolls) off the parade route than most kids collect at Halloween. Their 33-gallon bags were SAGGING. Small town parades are pretty cool (for the locals, that is...).
After slowly and finally making our way through the parade route and out of Rosedale; our first Bridge was the Thorpe-Ford Bridge, built in 1912 over the Big Raccoon Creek; 163 feet in length. This was one of the few covered bridges that you could not drive through, but we walked through every bridge we saw and drove through those that were "drivable".

	This is the Bridgeton Bridge and it will look more modern than any of the rest you will see in our Kronicles and Photo Albums. That is because it was rebuilt in 2006 following an arson fire in 2005. It's one of the longest at 245' and is also over Big Raccoon River. This bridge has a by-pass road next to it leading into the town of Bridgeton, hence the name "Bridgeton Bridge". It obviously isn't needed for traffic; but I think it's neat they rebuilt it after the fire. The original Bridgeton Bridge had the Burr Arch Truss structure and was also a length of 245 feet, or 267 feet including the 11-foot overhang at each end, with a portal clearance 13 feet wide by 12 feet high. The original Bridgeton Bridge was built in 1868 by Joseph J. Daniels. The road that bypasses this structure was built in 1967. The Bridgeton Bridge was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1987. The Bridgeton Covered Bridge is also listed in the 1989 "World Guide to Covered Bridges". The original must have been wonderful....
The construction and trusses of all the bridges are best illustrated in the photos we took at Bridgeton Bridge. All of the bridges we toured utilize the Burr Arch design which was patented in 1804 by Theodore Burr. There was one exception, the Phillips Bridge with it's length of 43' does not use the Burr Arch design; we are thinking perhaps it's length didn't require the extra strengthening gained from a Burr Arch design. From what we can tell from our memory and photos, it appears that the Phillips Bridge, built in 1909, uses the Multiple Kingpost design trusses. The Burr Arch uses the Multiple Kingpost design plus the Burr Arch to strengthen the existing trusses. If anyone is curious and interested in Covered Bridge Truss-Types visit: Covered Bridges Truss_Types There is also a website from the Indiana Department of Natural Resources that shows the Burr Arch design at: Burr Arch Truss Design Can you tell that I know a lot of my Kronicle's Readers are Engineers..... (or history buffs).....See Larry's Photo Album for enlarged images of the construction points...

Crooks Bridge was the last bridge we saw before lunch and the Oldest on our 14 bridge tour....and you can still drive through it; this one was made to last!

We ate lunch in Rockville, one of the larger communities and pretty much in the hub of the Bridge Tour Routes. Very Quaint; this is the historical part of town; as we drove out of town we noticed more modern buildings, hotels and eateries. There is a Saturday Morning Market that we just missed; but this Amish Farmer was heading out from the Marketplace when we heard the clippety-clop of his horse and buggy. We had lunch at a family dinner; as we were contemplating a beer with lunch, our waitress asked Larry for his I.D.; yeah, he left her a nice tip, but we stuck with ice water with all the driving left to do.

The clock tower on this old County Building is still keeping time and chiming...the architecture of the building is beautiful.
After lunch and taking a short walk around Rockville, we were off to see 8 more bridges, just a few more are highlighted here as Larry's Photo Album will show all 14 of the bridges we toured.

	Our last bridge was also the longest in today's tour. The Roseville Bridge, build in 1910 and 263 feet long..

For more information on the Covered Bridges of Parke County, visit: Parke county Covered_Bridges
At the West End of the Roseville Bridge, I noticed a building with flags, banners, tables...since we were doing research for Dianne at 1000 Trails, we stopped in at the Rock Run Cafe and Eatery, just to check it out and pick up a menu...and now I wished we had NOT had lunch in Rockville (although it was noontime then and we skipped breakfast) or that we had been hungry enough for early dinner...Here was this charming new place (only open 9 weeks ago); a great atmosphere! I sure hope they are there when we return! We collected a menu and spoke to the owners. We told them we were collecting information for the new Activity Director. Just a few days later, Dianne emailed and had already gone there for dinner. She is planning a 5-bridge tour as a 1000 Trails group activity that includes lunch at the Rock Run Cafe! They have a wood-burning pizza oven and a very casual, clean restaurant with outside seating that looks to the bridge. I sure hope they are successful!

On the last day of our stay in Indiana, we were finally able to visit with Aunt Norma and Uncle John; Aunt Norma has been recovering at Cobblestone Crossings Health Care Facility in Terre Haute after a fall she took in February. We made a "date to visit" for Tuesday; and when we visited, her daughter, Debbie, also came in from the Indianapolis area (about 70 miles away). Larry was able to get re-acquainted with a Cousin that he has not seen for 40+ years. It was great to meet Debbie and we have been corresponding ever since! Debbie is also on Facebook, a useful tool to share photos and stay in touch and it's been terrific. We also got good news that Aunt Norma just may be able to go home early next week. We know that Uncle John would sure enjoy having her back home and we hope that it works out! So we have many reasons to return to Indiana in 2010; lots of family and friends to visit and perhaps we will see the other 17 Bridges of Parke County!!!
That's a wrap for Kronicle's #22! We are settled in at Hidden Bluff's RV Resort near Spring Grove, MN this week; it's very remote and very pretty. Remember that there will be two photo albums released with this Kronicle's; the regular collection of Kronicle photos with captions from Larry and a complete photo album of the Covered Bridges of Parke County - all 14 of them! More later...it's time to take a hike! K
AND We want to hear from you too! What's new in your lives? Travel...family...just what you've been up to? More later...Karla and Larry