If I could choose and ideal spot to live, it would be on a grassy hill near a creek with a view of a covered bridge.  

So when Kim told me he'd take my birthday off work and we'd go on a day trip wherever I wanted, I decided I'd love to explore covered bridges in west-central Indiana.

 

Several years ago, we found and photographed all the covered bridges south of Rockville, Indiana...so this year we decided to do those on the north part of Parke County (and beyond).

 

An early morning start means the rare treat of a breakfast out!  Several places were still closed because of the Covid restrictions, but Lincoln Square Pancake House was perfect!

 

Kim is used to me telling him to slow down or stop for photo ops along the way...old windmills are another of my favorite things...

 

...and I do love me a quaint Mail Pouch Tobacco barn.

 

And I can't resist a red board-sided barn with character!

 

Getting off the beaten path...

 

...onto my favorite kinds of roads!

 

The first (of 15) covered bridges for the day...Narrows Bridge built in 1882, at the edge of Turkey Run State Park.

Even better...love me a lonely meandering country road....

Cox Ford Bridge, built in 1913...

We saw lots of wild turkeys roaming the fields...

Wilkins Mill Bridge, built in 1906...

 

Jackson Bridge, built in 1861.  At 159 years old, this was the oldest covered bridge (obviously kept restored over the years) we visited all day...built at the beginning of the Civil War, when Indiana was still a brand new state and the edge of the frontier west.  I love imagining what this scene must have looked like in 1861, when the land was wild, the hardwood trees were massive, and native people still lived along these waterways.

Not only is the architecture fascinating, but just imagine building something of this magnitude back in those days using only horsepower and human strength...wow!

We passed this young Amish fella...

...just in time to catch him as he drove through the 1917 Marshall Bridge.

My favorite photo of the day!  

I love the short simple bridges out in the boonies the best...like Rush Creek Bridge, built in 1904.

 

Mill Creek Bridge, 1907...

Who is that handsome man hanging around the bridge???

One of my favorites...Bowsher Ford Bridge, built in 1915.

Another very old bridge from the 19th century, West Union Bridge was built way back in 1876.  A longer bridge that is getting a little saggy in places...good thing it's a pedestrian-only bridge these days.

This is the vehicle bridge beside the old covered bridge...

Kim and I spent a few minutes just watching the thousands of swallows darting around the bridge and in-and-out of their nests under the bridge ledge.  Too quick for me to photograph!

 

Melcher Bridge, 1896.

Sim Smith Bridge built in 1883...

On the other side of Sim Smith Bridge, this beautiful field of butterweed...

 

Short and sweet...Phillips Bridge, built in 1909...

 

Another pedestrian-only...Mecca Bridge, built in 1873.

You can barely make out a couple that were making out just under the bridge on the left side...guess we disturbed their rendezvous...

And our final two bridges were the Beeson Bridge, built in 1906 but moved to its location at Billie Creek Village in 1980...

...and the Billie Creek Bridge, built in 1895, also at Billie Creek Village.

Billie Creek Village looks like an intriguing place to visit someday, but it wasn't open that day.  Another trip!

 

This is what kept Kim going as he humored me with my birthday bridge wish (he said on the way home he'd had his fill of covered bridges for awhile)...an early dinner at The Beef House.  It would be a travesty to come to this part of Indiana without eating at its best restaurant....

 

But oh, those melt-in-our-mouth Beef House yeast rolls...

 

What a perfect day enjoying some of Indiana's most beautiful sights!

A red round barn is hard to beat!

 

And what better finish to my birthday than a treat from a local ice cream shop?

 

Yeppers!!!

 

What a perfect way to celebrate the beginning of my 64th trip around the sun!

Bridges for my birthday.