Writing about this bike ride is refreshing my memory. I actually stopped my bike ride not five miles short of the campground, nor ten miles, but about 20 miles from it. It took me a while to get two different bike rides to that campground unconfused in my mind.

Next morning Myra had business back in Michigan, and I rode to the Historic Forks of the Wabash at Huntington.

I had called ahead and learned that the place is mostly oriented toward group tours. Since I was going to be a group of only one, they suggested I could tag along with a school group that was coming for a field trip.

That sounded fine to me, but I almost didn’t get there on time. I got lost in Andrew — couldn’t figure out how to get out of town and ride east to Huntington on the south side of the Wabash river. Then I couldn’t find the place when I got there. And it was harder than I would have expected to find someone to ask for directions. I finally pulled into the place a few minutes late — and learned that the school group was going to be even later.

It turned out to be a Lutheran school group from Fort Wayne. I don’t know if I bothered to mention to any of the people in the group that I had been a teacher in Lutheran schools myself for five years. But that was a long time ago, and the docents at the Forks had a busy program for the group.

One of the main attractions is this old log cabin. It was built by a German couple who had come here, and who worked as hired help for Chief Lafontaine of the Miami people for a few years before getting their own place. There is a nice writeup about the family here. This was the house they built when they got their own land.

But their house was not built at the site where it stands now. In the late 70s the owners didn’t even realize it was a log house until they started to tear it down. It was moved here to preserve it.

I don’t like historic buildings that are not on their original sites — I could go onto a long rant about it — but it’s better they are preserved than torn down.

More later about the Forks of the Wabash. I see I’m still on their mailing list. I got a copy of their latest newsletter just yesterday, and from it I learn that 54 school groups visited the Forks last year — 3738 students and sponsors altogether. I can attest that there is a fine group of volunteers at the Forks who make the experience worthwhile for them.