Our Covered Bridge Summer

Bridgeton (again)

2009-09-10T13:15:00.000-07:00

Since we started at Bridgeton we thought we should end there too.

Joey signing his name on the bridge.

Abbie signing her name.

Poor Jack...he had been sick and I thought he was better but once we got there I found out I was wrong.

Crossing the last bridge off the list.

View from inside the bridge.

You can read about the old Bridgeton Bridge here: http://www.parkecounty.com/attractions/bridge.asp?id=10&catid=7

The new bridge was built in 2006 to replace it.

Portland Mills

2009-09-10T12:58:00.000-07:00

This was our last bridge...now we've seen them all! You can read about Portland Mills bridge here: http://www.parkecounty.com/attractions/bridge.asp?id=22&catid=6

I don't know who these people were, but thought this was sweet!

Kinda hard to see, but this is from 1880.

Love this one...I will probably enlarge it and hang it in my living room.

Catlin Bridge

2009-09-10T11:51:00.000-07:00

The Catlin bridge used to be in Catlin, but was moved to the golf course. You can read about it here: http://www.parkecounty.com/attractions/bridge.asp?id=21&catid=1

Narrows

2009-09-08T11:54:00.000-07:00

You can get to Narrows Bridge from the road, but it's more fun to hike through Turkey Run to get there.After a while, 19 pounds starts to get pretty heavy!

According to the Parke County website, this is the most photographed bridge in the county. You can read about the history of the bridge here: http://www.parkecounty.com/attractions/bridge.asp?id=44&catid=1

We passed a field of sunflowers on our way home and I couldn't resist!

Cox Ford

2009-09-08T11:37:00.000-07:00

Cox Ford had no bridge until 1896. At that time, the county commissioners chose to have an iron bridge built, but that bridge was destroyed in a flood in 1913, then was replaced with a covered bridge. The builder used the Armiesburg Covered Bridge arches and the iron bridge abutments in the construction of Cox Ford Bridge. You can read more about it (including a story about a 47 pound catfish caught there) here: http://www.parkecounty.com/attractions/bridge.asp?id=29&catid=1

My kids (and husband) are a little obsessed with rocks lately...every bridge we go to, they have to skip rocks and search for indian beads.

That's a giant indian bead he's holding.

Wilkins Mill

2009-09-08T11:31:00.000-07:00

Mecca, Sim Smith, Philips and Melcher

2009-08-26T19:44:00.001-07:00

Our first stop Sunday was the Mecca Bridge. This bridge was apparently very well built and has so far survived four major floods (1875, 1913, 1957, and 1990). You can read about the bridge and about how the town of Mecca got it's name here: http://www.parkecounty.com/attractions/bridge.asp?id=18&catid=3The kids' favorite thing about "going bridging" is throwing rocks in the water...why they think that is SOOOOO fun sort of escapes me, but hey...whatever keeps them happy is cool with me!

Yeah....they were not in very cooperative moods at this point, plus cars driving by were distracting them...oh well!

Philips Bridge is a little different...for one, it's pretty short, and two, it has no arches. It has a king post contruction. You can read about it here: http://www.parkecounty.com/attractions/bridge.asp?id=15&catid=3

It has been said that Sim Smith Bridge is haunted...you can read about it here: http://www.parkecounty.com/attractions/bridge.asp?id=16&catid=3

You can read about Melcher Bridge here: http://www.parkecounty.com/attractions/bridge.asp?id=17&catid=3

Thorpe Ford

2009-08-21T20:29:00.000-07:00

We only had time for one bridge this week. It was a busy week with Joey starting kindergarten, but since Daniel had the day off we decided to go to just one bridge after school. You can read about the history of Thorpe Ford Bridge here: http://www.parkecounty.com/attractions/bridge.asp?id=57&catid=6

Beeson, Billie Creek and Leatherwood Station

2009-08-10T14:12:00.000-07:00

We went to Billie Creek Villiage last week. This shot is inside Beeson Bridge and shows some of the damage from two fires (both the work of arsonists) in 1947 and 1979. This bridge was originally in Marshall and was moved to Billie Creek Village in 1980. If you want to read more about it, click here: http://www.parkecounty.com/attractions/bridge.asp?id=4&catid=2

Beeson Bridge has the shortest arches I've seen so far.

This is inside the church at Billie Creek.

Abbie on the horse in the General Store.

Inside an old doctor's office at Billie Creek.

Dentist's office (same building as the doctor...I didn't read everything, not sure if there was actually and dentist AND a doctor or if one did it all)

Daniel and Joey inside one of the old houses.

Billie Creek Bridge

The old schoolhouse

Joey in the schoolhouse

Stuff in the schoolhouse

Inside the barn

Outside the barn

Joey and Abbie playing checkers

Inside the old farm house

This is Leatherwood Station Bridge. It was moved to Billie Creek Village in 1981 and is not accessible by car. You can read more about it here: http://www.parkecounty.com/attractions/bridge.asp?id=47&catid=2

This was on the side of one of the little buildings....didn't really pay attention to what it was!

This is Billie Creek Bridge (named for the creek - the village came later). Read about it here: http://www.parkecounty.com/attractions/bridge.asp?id=5&catid=2

Round Barn, Bowsher Ford and Mill Creek

2009-08-06T05:35:00.001-07:00

Our first stop on Sunday was the round barn in Lodi.

Next, we went to Bowsher Ford Bridge.

The arches in this bridge were really short.

I know the next few pictures are all pretty similar, but I couldn't decide which I liked best, so I'm showing them all.

Our next stop was Mill Creek Bridge.

State Sanatorium Bridge

2009-07-29T12:43:00.000-07:00

We got a late start Sunday afternoon, so we only had time for one bridge this time. The State Sanatorium Bridge was relocated last year, you can read all about it here if you're interested: http://www.parkecountyliving.com/Sanatorium_Bridge.htm

I like how you can see the old and new wood contrasted here.

This the only bridge with lightning rods on top.

This is just a barn we saw while we were out and I thought it looked really cool with the bright sky and puffy clouds.

By the way, if you're interested in buying any of the bridge or other landscape pictures posted here, check out my etsy store here: http://www.afoltz02.etsy.com

Jackson, Patton's Corner and West Union

2009-07-26T09:01:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday, we went back to Jackson Bridge. The road wasn't as busy, so I did get to take a picture of Jack in front of the bridge (with Daniel holding him). It didn't turn out quite like I wanted, but that's ok. This is another view of Jackson Bridge.

The creek under Jackson Bridge.

Jackson in front of Jackson Bridge

Jackson Bridge had a LOT of trash on it and around it...grossaroo! Please, if you visit these bridges, TAKE YOUR TRASH WITH YOU!!!!!!

A group on motorcyles came through while we were there. One of these days, I'd like to see all the bridges again on a bike. Have to buy a bike first, though!

This is Patton's Corner, a sort of outdoor museum. There's just lots of cool old stuff there.

There's a guest book to sign the in the cabin. There had already been a few people there before us that day, and on the same page there was a couple from Germany.

My sassy little girl at the West Union Bridge (after we stopped for a picnic)

I like this one because you can see the old and new bridges at the same time.

We forgot to bring the stroller, so Jack got to ride in the wagon.

Jackson, Rush Creek and Marshall

2009-07-21T19:19:00.000-07:00

We started out at Jackson Bridge, which is on a surprisingly busy road...it was pretty hard to get our family picture!

So, I think that it's ridiculous and disgusting when people write vulgar things on these bridges (or anywhere else), but I love finding stuff like this. For me, it really adds to the historical value of the bridges...we've seen carved names from as far back as 1891 so far, and I think that's pretty cool.

This would have been a great bridge to get a great picture of Jack by himself, but like I said, it was a really busy road and I couldn't think of anything that would be safe and cool, so I didn't try.

One of (I think) three white covered bridges in Parke County. I never knew before, but I recently read that the reason the bridges were usually red is because barns are usually red (and I don't know the reason for that), so it made it easier to guide horses into them.

This was inside Rush Creek Bridge...not really sure what they're for, but I've seen numbers in some of the other bridges too, but not all of them.

part of a thorn tree close to Rush Creek Bridge

The kids' favorite thing about bridges is that there's always water nearby, and if they can't get in the water, they can at least throw rocks in. Rush Creek has an abundance of cool rocks.

Neet, Nevins, Conley's Ford, iron bridge and Bridgeton

2009-07-11T20:09:00.000-07:00

Last Friday we spent most of the day travelling back roads again. First up was Neet Bridge. We stayed there for a while, because I took some of Jack's six month pictures (if you're interested in seeing those, check out my photography blog, the link is over on the left).

This bridge had no grafitti on it at all...probably due to this:

Under Nevins Bridge

We stopped for a picnic by Nevins Bridge.

These barn pictures are for my dad...I remember when I was a kid and he was really into photography, one of his favorite things to take pictures of was old barns. He preferred OLD barns, like falling down, but this still reminded me of something he would take.

This is a close up at the iron bridge near Bridgeton.

The old iron bridge next to the new(er) bridge.

Our last stop of the day was Bridgeton because the kids REALLY wanted to play in the water. It was a little chilly, but they had a good time! We stayed there until it was almost dark then got to see a lot of people setting of their fireworks on our way home. It was a great way to end the day!

Lesson learned: never set a baby down in the sand or the grass!

McAllister's and Crooks bridges

2009-07-07T20:29:00.000-07:00

Last Tuesday we set off to see some more bridges (McAllister's and Crooks). We stopped at this field on the way to Crooks.

We saw "bubby" on the wall and had to get a picture of the boys.

Crooks brigde has double arches.

This pretty cool..."grafitti" from 1891.

Another couple came by to take pictures as we were leaving Crooks Bridge. By the way, this bridge has an interesting history you can read about here: http://www.parkecounty.com/attractions/bridge.asp?id=6&catid=4

McAllister's Bridge

This is the best picture I've ever gotten of all 3 kids together...although I wish I had a bridge in the background. I'll probably try this again next time we go out.

My camera battery died while we were out, so I had to go back a few days later to get these last 3 shots.

Roseville, Harry Evans and Zacke Cox

2009-07-01T19:51:00.000-07:00

We had planned to take a little break from our bridge project because it's been so hot, but this last week has been awesome weather so on Sunday after church and lunch we set out to see a few more bridges. Up first was Roseville Bridge. We've seen it before, but needed new pictures for this project, so we went again!

The next bridge was Harry Evans Bridge, just a couple minutes away from Roseville Bridge.

Close to the Harry Evans Bridge was some old equipment so Joey wanted to check it out.

This is my favorite picture of the day. I love the light!

When we checked out the Zacke Cox Bridge, we decided to splash around in the creek for a while...it was fun, but maybe not worth the itchy feet and legs! We had to walk through a bunch of itch weed to get to the water, so I told Daniel next time he wants to do that we need to just go back to Bridgeton where it's easier...I'm a wimp!

Mansfield and Big Rocky Fork

2009-06-18T21:03:00.000-07:00

Joey is almost always willing to pose for me...he makes some funny faces sometimes (I didn't post the outtakes, but they were pretty funny), but at least he's willing

Abbie, on the other hand, takes a bit more convincing sometimes, but usually flattery works. These pictures were all taken under the bridge in Mansfield. We headed out there for a picnic after church on Sunday and hung out for a while. It's kind of weird seeing Mansfield so calm and quiet...during the festival it's crazy crowded.

This is definitely one of my favorite pictures of Abbie.

This is the view looking up at the bottom of the Mansfield bridge.

Joey is turning into quite the little photographer. I think he might be getting a better camera for his birthday. This camera is really tough (you can literally throw it across the room without breaking it) but the quality is pretty bad. So we're searching for something cheap enough that I won't freak out if he breaks it but good enough quality to print a decent 4x6 at least. If anyone has any recommendations, leave a comment to let me know :-)

The Brothers Foltz

My boys

The family shot

Looking out the bridge window at the mill and dam

They have their bad days, but they are really the best of friends

We found these weeds on the side of the road...I don't know what they are. They look like dandelions on steroids, but they're a little different. Anyway, Abbie loved them but I'm not really happy with the pictures, so I'll be keeping my eye out for more this summer!

This is how Jack spent most of the day...pretty content for the most part, even though he was a little sick and teething.

After Mansfield we went to Big Rocky Fork Bridge just a few miles away. We started to take the family picture then realized we forgot the tripod at Mansfield and had to go back to get it.

Yummy raspberries that were growing beside the bridge

"graffiti" from 1917

details

Some sort of wildflower growing beside the road. Funny, I didn't even notice the little white spots when I took the picture. It looks big in the picture, but it was actually tiny.

Bridgeton

2009-06-06T10:22:00.000-07:00

love Abbie's expression and Jack's foot in Joey's face!

Don't know who Abbie thought she was waving at...

Joey and Abbie on an antique fire truck...or wagon, I guess.

found this field on the way home and

had to stop!

And so it begins...

2009-06-06T09:32:00.000-07:00

Daniel, for whatever reason, has been obsessed with covered bridges lately. So, we decided to try to visit every covered bridge in Parke County this summer. We tried to do this a few years ago after the bridge in Bridgeton burned down, but we never got around to seeing them all. But this summer, we will. The kids are at a good age...they pretty much love anything we tell them is cool, so they're pretty excited about the whole thing. We'll be taking a family picture in front of every bridge, but please excuse the blurriness and funny faces, because I'll be taking them using my camera's self timer, which can be a little tricky. So anyway, this blog will be a place to keep all the pictures from the bridges and along the way. Coming up first...Bridgeton.