Canoeing down Deer Creek

Photos and report will follow later

Saturday was dedicated to my friends down in Delphi, IN. Michael had promised a good ride down Deer Creek in a canoe. I accepted, my only concern was Sadie. Was she going to accept a ride in a canoe, too?

After a short delay at Carol's getting the usual morning routines done, I took off at 10am Central time. As soon as I left Lake County going south, I was in Eastern Time. I arrived in Delphi 1:15 minutes later after turning off at the Brookston exit north of Lafayette. This is surprisingly pretty countryside, crossing both the Wabash and the Kankakee rivers before arriving with a few quick cellphone calls of "where do I turn now?!" at their secluded house off a county road.

Both towns of Brookston and Delphi had businesses with German signs on their facade. "Kleinbrott Bakery" in Brookston revealed a German population here. I later learned that this region was settled by Old Order German Baptists before the Civil War, and later still saw a woman gardening in her front yard in a full-length light-blue dress and full white hair bonnet, and another farmer tilling his farm using two horses and an egger.

I never knew these people lived in this part of Indiana. They look like Amish from a distance, although some drive cars. Their life is from the earth and simple, with men and women thrust into traditional roles within the community. Both these people and people like Linda and Michael co-exist peacefully in the same area. We even drove past the farm where they buy fresh brown eggs from such a family.

I walked in with pizza ready. Linda had baked an all beer-batter pizza (no yeast) topped with goods from her garden. The pizza was very tasty.

It was good to see both again. I knew Linda first through an old internet hiking community and first met her shortly after 911 when she and I met to hike the Heritage trail outside the Tippecanoe Battle Field. This 11-mile trail led into Lafayette, where Michael then picked us up and the three of us dined at a nearby brewpub. We hadn't met since and our email had been sporadic, as I was practically gone from outside contact while in Iraq.

Linda's house is secluded in the country. Her five acres are bordered by tall mature trees. Her garden alone is an acre of a variety of vegetables. She grows everything organically.

"We eat something from our garden every day" she said, as she munched on broccoli harvested from her backyard. What impressed me, however, were the many rows of strawberries. They grow so many strawberries Michael sometimes give them away to neighbors.

And how peaceful the neighborhood was. No cars rumbled by, no interstate traffic blaring, no kids screaming or animals hollering. We sat both outside and inside for a while watching birds flit around the bird feeders: house finches, warblers, pesky woodpeckers. A tulip tree in the front yard was still in bloom.

"So, you want to go canoeing?" asked Michael. I didn't mind canoeing, although I'm lousy at steering, but I was more worried about Sadie panicking in the boat and cancelling the mission.

"The worst thing that can happen is that we cancel our canoe trip!" said Linda as we drove off in two vehicles to the nearby drop-off site. Along the way Michael pointed out various Old Order German Baptist homes.

We canoed a 2.5-mile stretch along Deer Creek, a mellow creek that Michael said was at 340 according to the local river gauge. It's a shallow creek that at times was no deeper than my paddle, but that had been running higher recently due to the rains.

I was so nervous about Sadie as we approached the water. Michael held the canoe for me as I got in first. Linda coaxed Sadie in as I pulled gently on her leash. And surprisingly, Sadie got in! She showed no fear. At first she sat upright but within a few minutes she was lying down looking bored.

Linda paddled in her own rubber raft as she smiled almost the entire time, paddling in rhythm and never falling behind much. A few times she was ahead of us, meandering around obstacles with little problem. Michael pointed out various features of the creek as I looked around. Most of the creek's banks were made of brittle layers of shale covered in moss. Sycamore trees dangled precariously into the water; other tree roots lay exposed to the elements.

I don't know how long we were out on the water, but it was a relaxing activity in a hidden part of Indiana. Who could have known this place was here?

I was so proud of Sadie. She was at her best behavior. After we ported the canoes back to the van we drove back to Linda's home and talked some more. Michael always had interesting things to say from an even more interesting perspective, be it education "I didn't like college because it was an institution. People who attend college are institutionalized to the system." or "Children will naturally want to be outside, exploring, taking their clothes off, it's not until they are older that they feel they have to lose that to fit in with their friends."

And the big one was his comment about becoming resilient to weather. When asked why I like the desert so much, I said because I hate the cold, and Indiana's brutal winters are what drove me away from the Midwest.

"I thought about moving West but it's so hard there to make a living. So I returned to Indiana and learned to become resilient."

Linda and I also had our private moments, talking about how well we got along from the moment we met so many years ago. We met for a hike and talked the entire 11 miles.

"You taught me how to pee on a tree!" she said. I won't go into any details, but I vaguely remember what got that started so many years ago. It's a survival tactic I learned from my years in the army.

We promised to keep in better contact from now on. We'll get together again, only this time it won't be seven years from now.

We stayed home after our canoe trip. A quick trip into town for a beer run (beer that I didn't drink) we stayed up late on the front porch and then later inside until 11pm when everyone shuttered up. I slept on the couch in the front room, so that I could better hear Sadie outside in the van in case she cried for me. This was our first night separated

I really liked the house. Small, it still offered all the comforts of a home. The wooden floors and the various hues of brown added a warmth to this country setting. If I ever get another house with property, it would be like Linda's home, nestled in a bucolic countryside with just enough room for two adults and a few dogs. I feel more natural in a small home and a big yard rather than in a big house and a small yard. People who live in McMansions have it all wrong!