Amish/Mennonite Land, Northern Indiana

We have been in Grange, Indiana for the past couple of days.  We are just outside South Bend home of Norte Dame and the Fighting Irish.  Sunday is a day of rest here and most small businesses and museums are closed.  The big box stores are open but for the most part it is a laid back day.  It was pouring down rain, reminding me of home, when I got up so Mia decided to stay in the trailer and work on her quilts while I took off down the road to Norte Dame.  The rain was coming down so hard that the only pictures I could take were from the truck.  There was no chance to get out and stroll the grounds.  It is a beautiful place.

Saturday we spent the day driving around the county and into Michigan to see the sights.  There are many quilt shops and we stopped at a few.  We visited Elkhart, Bristol, Middlebury, Goshen and Shipshewana.  With the except of Elkhart and Goshen all are small towns with rural areas around them and a mix of regular farmers, Amish and Mennonite.  Amish tend to stick to themselves and continue to reject technology while still farming with horses.  Mennonites accept technology and while they may still have a buggy and a horse they use older power farm implements and often drive.

We loved being in the area and talking with some of the folks who live here.  The farms are large and generally in very good repair.  You have to watch yourself as you drive 50 mph on the county roads.  Often you will come up over the crown of a hill and find a horse and buggy trotting along the shoulder of the road or several Amish girls riding bicycles.

We visited the RV/MH Museum.  It is interesting to see where recreational vehicles got their start.

We plan to visit a couple of towns we haven't seen yet, this morning and I will get us packed up and hooked up this evening so we can head up to Ypsilanti, Michigan which is only a few miles from the Henry Ford Museum.  We will be there for three days and then try to figure away south to Baltimore without tolls.  I looked at the toll calculator online last night and it would cost us $67.00 to travel roughly 300 miles.  And people in Washington think their tolls are high.

Hope all is well and thanks for stopping by.