Road trip 2010

Come back to this site often and ride along with me around the Upper Great Lakes.

New photos will be posted every day or two..

My intention for this entire trip, around the upper Great Lakes, is to avoid all expressway / interstate highways by only traveling on the US and State roads that were once the only way anyone could travel...

When one does get off the interstates, it is a wonderful experience. Time seems to go more quickly because there is so much more to look at. There’s small towns, farm houses, barns, pedestrians, horse drawn carts and very, very, little traffic...

Thanks to all of you that stick to the expressways, you are making this trip more enjoyable than I had antisipated..

While I only covered 191 miles in 5 hours including a half hour for lunch, and a quick nap, my average speed was 42.4 MPH... (much different than the expressway averages of 60 t0 70 MPH) but, I am in no hurry to get from point A to B like you expressway ‘warriors’...

Below are few photos of what I saw along the way during todays leisurely journey, through Northeast Indiana, where there is a large population of Swiss Amish and Mennonite family farms.

Day 1: Tuesday, July 6, 2010

Harrison, Ohio to Auburn Indiana, Total Miles: 191

Road Trip Around The

UPPER GREAT LAKES....

The small town of Berne, Indiana seems to have more clock towers than its namesake Berne Switzerland.

This very large tower is in the final stages of construction in the town square.

Horse drawn carts and buggies are a common site along the highways and town roads, throughout the Northeast Indiana region.

Pulling a wagon this Amish farmer walks along the edge of Indiana route 101 in 90º heat, as a horse and wagon waits at a local store.

Whitewashed barns and farm houses dot the landscape, interspersed by hundreds of acres of corn, soybeans or wheat.

When traveling the ‘back roads” a drivers forward progress is, occasionally, impeded by a passing 200 coal-car train.. (left)