I had a quick morning: I got up early enough to see Erin, Owen and Ben before they left for work and school, walked the dogs around the square, showered, packed the car with the final objects,. then sat with Ethan until his other grammy picked him up for football practice. I stopped in Crown Point to bid farewell to Carol and Marge, but only stayed 45 minutes because it was already getting warm. Today's high was forecasted to be 86F
My big hike today was at McCormick's Creek State Park in Spencer, IN, 15 miles west of Bloomington. It's a busy park with several limestone standouts: the creek and the waterfall, Wolf Cave, Twin Bridges. I wanted to see the highlights, walk five miles, then spend the rest of the day in Bloomington and see how it's changed since my last visit ten years ago.
The park is a network of ten short hikes. Not all start at the same point. I wanted to see the waterfall first so that the dogs could cool down. They didn't drink in the three-hour drive to Bloomington. And thirsty they were! They heard the rushing water and made a beeline to the creek. Trail be damned! I followed them on the unmarked shortcut that took me down a slippery grade.
The waterfall area was busy. I could tell this is a popular spot. There's even a vehicle parking area for the waterfall. Three golden retrievers were in the deep end with their owners and I didn't want my pups to ruin their fun bny barking. I was wearing jeans and my run-down loafers; not the perfect attire for a water hike.
I wanted more solitude. I needed to get away from the crowds so that the dogs could run off-leash. I wanted to hike both trails #3 and #5, but they are on opposite ends of the park and daylight was limited. I ended up going on a plowed non-trail that took me to the edge of the park and a residential neighborhood, so I backtracked back to my car. This was a three-mile out-and-back jaunt. Wolf Cave was another two miles on the park road.
Trail #5 is a two-mile loop that takes one through the Wolf Cave preserve. The cave and natural bridge are at the half-way mark. Sinkholes dot the trail. A small creek runs through this loop. Mature trees shade the area. The late afternoon sun was getting low, providing light but allowing for the cool evening to get started. I had planned my arrival here well, because I did not want to hike in the heat of the day.
I liked this part of the park. It was 5:30pm when I started. Most people were walking back to their cars when I got started. I walked another short section of Trail #10 that takes one down to the creek and the White River, but I cut that short because I also wanted to get to Bloomington in time to try out one of the brewpubs.
And oh boy, how Bloomington has changed since my college days here in the early 1980s. I barely recognized the downtown area. Apartment complexes now dot the downtown area. Big hotels dot both Walnut and College Avenues, the main streets going north-south off IN37. Interstate 69 is now getting built to make getting into town from Indianapolis faster. In my day the only good route was IN37 but today there was a lot of construction because of the new interstate. The old Taco Bell on 10th street is now an Indian take-out. The old Big Wheel restaurant is now a Steak and Shake. The Gold Rush restaurant now stands abandoned. Bloomington is now an upscale, hip college town with all the modern amenities.
The biggest change since my last visit was the closing of Kirkwood Avenue to vehicles. It's now pedestrian-only traffic. While Nick's Place, the Von Lee Theatre and Kilroy's are still there, there are so many new chain diners along the street. There are several greenways through town that weren't there in the 80s.
Bloomington Brewing Company is next door to Kilroy's. It's here that I chose to have dinner, my first meal of the day. I had a Mosaic Wheat with my mushroom tortellini. The noodles were delicious, but the beer just mediocre. "If you want to get fucked up," said the man next to me at the bar, "Go to Taps!" That's a new beer bar and apparently a local favorite. "Don't go to Switchyard, their beers suck!" he added. He already looked very well inebriated.
I stopped by the Switchyard anyway. This building used to be Oscar's Bar back in the 80s. I was parked right up front and the dogs were napping. A live blues band was playing so the place was loud and crowded. I found the beer here much better, so I had a blueberry wheat and an Orange Blossom Blonde. I stayed until closing, then drove around on the east side of town to see more changes. That part of town was already getting heavily developed with restaurants and retail stores. Now it's crowded with every imaginable chain.
https://www.visitbloomington.com/blog/post/48-hours-in-bloomington-summer/
I'll edit this next week
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