As I have been working at Purdue for a few weeks while we are stationed in Gas City, IN, I have been driving the 73 miles across the farmland of central Indiana. The normal route is to drop down to Fairmount, Fairmount"where cool was born"... cause it's the hometown of the late, late James Dean..... then take 26 straight across the south edge of Kokomo where Strother Martin was raised (look him up; yes you do know him).. and take 26 all the way to West Lafayette, the home of the Boilermakers. That route takes me through Russiaville, the littlte town that was destroyed by tornado in 1965 and has rebuilt into a nice country town. Then it's Rossville and a myriad of tiny wide spots like Gettingsville, Mount Edna,Sedalia, Middlefork and Pettit before the ever extended entrance to Lafayette. However, this spring, highway 26 renovation resulted in closing that road from Highway 31 to Russiaville. Thus began my quest for the best alternative route. Since Gas City is on 22, my first attempt was to just stay on 22 through Kokomo which took me past a quaint little Italian eatery kind of out in the middle of nowhere. Google doesn't seem to know it, and I forgot the name, but for you local people it's at the corner of Markland (county road 00 N/S) and Dixon Road, but the creek. The drive from Highway 31 to Dixon Road isn't too pleasant as it sort of goes through an industrial area, with a nice nursery and a couple of cool church settings. You go north a bit on Dixon road to pick up 22 again which takes you to the charming little town of Burlington. I didn't even know it was there, but looks like a really nice place to live unless you like hustle and bustle. burlington indiana site The really strange thing is that out there in the middle of nowhere south of Burlington on 29 is a truck wash. Really busy place. Problem is that as you will see further down, I'm not going that way now and I forgot that name also.. Just after the truck wash, I get back on 26 and head west again. Although I enjoyed much of this drive, I felt there surely was a better way. Garmin was no good to me cause she always wanted to take me back through Russiaville, even if it was backtracking. Maybe I need to update those maps, cause she has a one track mind. With my early history of delivering coal and feed all over southern Kosciusko County and the feeling that if you stay away from rivers, while driving in northern Indiana, you should be able to make 4 right turns and end up where you started, I decided I could figure out at least an alternative route in case I got bored with this trip. So the next time I came "home", After turning north on 29 toward Burlington, I took the first country road east. It worked except that the first few miles were on a really narrow road and it seemed I wasn't the only one who found this route. I took it to Dixon Road which I remembered and went north to that Italian place to catch 22 and head east again. Different, but not really better. So next time while on that country road (W county road 250S) I passed up Dixon Road which was at another interesting looking Italian Eatery (Mikes Italian Grill). That put me on Alto Road which dropped me off on 31. With a little more adjusting by heading south on South county road 870 W, I avoided that really narrow road and got back on 26 just west of Russiaville, saving about 10 miles of driving on that narrow road. I took you through a lot of meaningless detail to bring you to a really pleasant drive through the south central part of Kokomo, Indiana that I didn't know existed. There is a rather new Western High School, then in West Middleton, Affordable Animal Care, a delightful looking place in a down home sort of way. Not your spit and polish place, but not really scary. I guess it was the Orange and Blue painted equipment that drew my attention. It is apparently a grooming facility, but just east of it and probably associated with it, was a Dog Park with the orange and blue equipment. One night while passing by, I saw a class of really alert looking German Shepherd Dogs obediently sitting by their handlers. West of there was Farlow's Orchard. whose address is actually Russiaville. In West Middleton, John Worthington has a photographic studio in a small remodeled church.. Really cool setting. John Worthington Photography Seems it was east of there where I ran across Good Hope Equestrian Center. My limited internet search tells me there is more here than I understand. Here is the only site I could find for the local center. Good Hope Howard County Indiana The address is again Russiaville. But while searching, I found a Miami, FL site with similar decor that is all about a non-profit riding center for handicapped folks. I'm guessing it's a branch of the same, but not sure. Here is the other site. Good Hope, Miami
My point with all this is that we never know what is just around the corner. If it hadn't been for the roadwork, I would never have known that Burlington or West Middleton existed, let alone Western High School, and all the businesses along alternate routes. Oh, I forgot. Seems about 6pm each evening, those 2 rather large goats get hungry for the grass that is about a foot from their fence and are down on their knees reaching for all they are worth for that last tasty morsel. I expect some evening to find them quizically pacing along the outside of the fence trying to figure out how to get back in. I also forgot that what really stimulated this post was the dipsy doodle driving along county road 250. There are a couple of places where you go down, then up and the trees on each side of the road reach across to each other. If we have any kind of fall color, I expect that part to be really pretty. However, knowing that dark closes in on both ends of the day during the fall, all that color could be hidden in darkness.
I must relate last Tuesday morning on my newfound route. Many of th schools around Kokomo were on a 2 hour delay due to fog. I had to label it a "one pole fog" meaning that you could only see one power pole along the road at a time. When you passed one, you could see the next. Fortunately I had used my odometer earlier to determine which of my "new" routes was the shortest in miles and time. Turns out it was Alto Road (250) to 870 to 26. I used those odometer reading s to help me locate my turns because you could not see at all. I drove most of the route with my hazard flashers on, cause I didn't want to surprise anyone, especially those fools who weren't able to slow down. Just before Gettingsville, the semi in front of me stopped and I thought it was a school bus which I frequently had to wait for on that route. Howerver it was too long and cars ahead of the semi started turning and going back. As it turns out, there was an accident. I didn't know what, but it looked like it would be a while. So I followed suite and went back to catch a country road. Remember 4 right (or left) turnds should bring you back, so 3 such turns should bypass the accident and send you on your merry way... It did work, but I can tell you that driving between mature cornfields where you couldn't see the second row because of fog was a bit harried. When I got to work that morning, I felt like I had already worked a full day... And for this 70 year old, that's saying a lot.
If anyone knows when 26 will open this fall please let me know. Although I've really enjoyed these alternate routes, I've "been there; done that" and since I expect most of the fall drive to be in the dark, I prefer the straight shot through Russiaville.
Being a veterinarian, I would be amiss if I didn't mention the veterinary establishments I pass on my way to work. Question for you. As you travel do you notice and point out each and every one of the veterinary clinics you pass??? Georgia and I have come to do that pretty consistently. If not, what is it that you always notice? Rug shops, McDonalds, Starbucks????
So as I leave Gas City, I pass the Greentown, Veterinary Hospital on Highway 22 (their website doesn't seem to work today). The next place is Tri County Veterinary Service along 26. Tri County seems to be a popular name for veterinary services across the country. Here is the closest I could come for a website, (Ttri County Vet Russiaville)
In Rossville there is the Wayside Veterinary Clinic, Wayside Rossville Jessica, one of the technologists at work lives near there. As I approach Lafayette via that extended east side of town, I pass the Lafayette Veterinary Hospital.Lafayette Veterinary Hospital Looks like quite an operation.
If you go way back to maybe 2008 in my posts, you will see that I discovered the Igloo south of Layette which I found was a branch of the original one near Columbia Park that we enjoyed so much back in the 60's.. Well there is another along Highway 26 east of town. So my car has decided to make a further alternate route and take me to that Igloo for a pick me up treat on the way home. Not every day..... but far too often. mmmm good. Here's as close as I can come for a site: Igloo
So the next time you are forced to take an alternate route, whether it be on the road or in life, don't lament.. I was once told that when reading the Bible and you see a "therefore" find out what it is there for...... When you are forced into an alternate route; see what extra's God has planned to include in your life. Just from these little experiences, I can see 4-5 brand new experiences I must choose from. Do I want to know more about Good Hope Equestrian?? What about stopping to check out that dog training center? Maybe stop in at one of those veterinary clinics to introduce myself and see what their passion is.... I do enjoy doing that from time to time. Asking questions of strangers is a lost art and can be so rewarding. One more rabbit trail before I close. When I work with veterinary students, I have this habit of asking where they are from... Really interesting to know... So here I am in Indiana, where I grew up. A few weeks ago, I was working with a group of students and started the session by asking them were they were from. I will shorten this by saying that one of them said "Columbia, City, Indiana".. I said, "well that's where my family is from, what's your last name"... She said "Auer"... OMG.... That was the maiden name of my dad's grandmother. We talked further to find that she grew up in the same Lutheran church that my dad did and many of my relatives are buried in that cemetery...Which explained why she pronounced my name correctly. This small world is getting smaller. Make your interfaces while you can.
If you like maps; here are a few.
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| Original route in green. Alternate 1 in yellow. |
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| Alternate 1 Road 22 to Burlington |
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| Italian eatery in green |
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| Road 250 through W. Middleton |
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