Elkhart – The Heritage Trail through Amish country

  After Niagara Falls, we began to feel as if it is now time to begin moving towards Chicago, where we plan to spend time with Greg and Cherie. One of the wonderful blessings of this trip has been the opportunity it has given us to spend unhurried time with our children – we saw Gary and Veronique briefly on our way over and will see them again in a few months for a longer visit, we had a wonderful visit with Jane and Victor, and now have the opportunity of staying with Greg and Cherie for a while too. While researching our route back towards Chicago, we happened upon something that suits us both really well – there is a Jazz Festival in Elkhart, Indiana, special interest for Sid, and Elkhart is the heart of the Amish Heritage Trail, where they have a Quilt Flower Garden project around the countryside, combination of gardening and quilting interests for Penny! Throw in beautiful countryside, a famous flea market, and – bonus- the Shipshewana Annual Quilt Festival which is being held as we write, and the Elkhart RV Campground seemed like a really good option. The Park is quiet, the sites are level and the fees very reasonable, and it is only two hours away from Chicago, so it is easy for Greg and Cherie to fetch us after we have moved truck and trailer into storage here for the duration of our visit , thus saving us from the fearful task of negotiating Chicago’s metropolis in our rig!!

 

The concept of the Quilt Garden project is a fascinating one – each of seven villages in the county has selected a different quilt design, and then planted a flower garden of different colored flowers to make up the designs. What a job, and how beautifully it has been done, especially as the gardens are all tended by volunteers! There is a signboard at each garden, with a photo of the chosen design and details stating which flowers have been used to make up the pattern in the garden – I was fascinated!.

The first weekend we were in Elkhart, we heard that there is a weekly Sunday afternoon cruise down the river on a paddleboat, so we packed a picnic, consulted town map and Garmin and headed for the river. The River Queen is a pretty good replica of the original river boats, and we had a lovely relaxing afternoon cruising down the river, enjoying the scenery and marveling at the huge houses that line the banks.

  

Driving from town to town on the Heritage Trail, we soon realized that the extra, rather narrow, lane along the side of the road had a very specific function, and that it serves the needs of the Amish community that live in the area. Time appears to have stood still for the Amish, who seem to have rejected all modern technology. They still wear simple, home-made dresses and caps, with the men in dungarees and wide-brim hats, and they drive to town in horse-drawn buggies that stay in the lanes at the side of the road. There are no modern implements, and fields are ploughed using horses too. It is almost surrealistic to drive along the road and see a huge truck approaching, passing a horse and buggy, and the horses do not react at all to the noise or the threatening presence of the trucks. These folk are very creative, and we saw some beautiful hand-crafted furniture, quilts, and large quantities of fresh fruit and vegetables for sale at the flea-market in Shipshewana

While we were browsing in the Shipshewana flea market, we saw banners advertising the annual Quilt Festival. My heart beat faster, and I do believe Sid’s heart probably sank, as he imagined fabric and twittering females! He was quite philosophical about my inevitable interest, however, and was amply rewarded for his patience – when we arrived at the display venue, we found that it was situated in the Town Centre, a huge hall where the modest entrance fee gave access to not only a most magnificent display of quilts, but also an antique quilt section, displayed amongst an extensive collection of Vintage Hudson cars, ranging in date from the 1920’s to much later! The cars were all beautifully restored and the quilts superb, and we both browsed to our hearts’ content, awestruck by the wonder of what we were seeing and inspired by the creativity of so many people.

Our Jazz experience  in Elkhart was a joy – we spent the afternoon on the patio of one of the old historic homes in the town, being entertained by a group of musicians from Chicago, who were excellent at their music and also very friendly. During their breaks, they made acquaintance with

the folk listening to them and resumed playing after having had a good chat to us – it was great to meet them, and they made us feel really welcome. We had a wonderful afternoon and drove back to camp humming happily!

Greg and Cherie arrived at our camp on Sunday and we spent a relaxing afternoon catching up on the missing years, really grateful once more for the opportunity being afforded us on this Great Trek, to spend time with our far-flung family!