Indiana Potholes

After only three hours sleep, I’m off to do some barefoot hiking.  Unfortunately I left too early.  The darkness hides everything except the asphalt of I-74.  I want to see as much of Indiana as possible with my limited time, so I exit at Brownsburg to stall while the earth rotates.   I zig-zag through town on this very quiet, drizzly Sunday morning.  Parking lots are empty and neon signs turned off.  When the sun comes up twenty minutes later it creates a rainbow; the pot of gold seems to be exactly where I’m headed – Falls Creek Gorge near Attica, sixty five miles west.

For thousands of years, Falls Creek has been flowing over sandstone in the hills outside Attica.  Eddying has formed depressions known as potholes in the creek bed.   This unique geologic feature is now a protected preserve governed by the Nature Conservancy.   Getting to the potholes though, takes some risk.  Falls Creek runs just ankle deep as it skims over the smooth and slippery rock of the creek bed canyon.  To see the best potholes, your only choice is to kick off your shoes and wander upstream.  

As I’m capturing images of the potholes with feet submerged, it hits me that no one knows my whereabouts.   Uncharacteristically, I forgot to leave details with anyone.  I’m eighty miles from my hotel room and all alone.   My cell phone has no bars.  My next appointment is not for another ten hours.  If I turn up missing, it’ll be a long time before they find my rental car in the woods of western Indiana.  Ah, but these are the risks, even when unintentional, that spice up life.

I guess I could have stayed close to my Indianapolis hotel today and taken in a museum.   And left my shoes on.  But nature was calling.  Barefoot hiking to the potholes, alone in the woods of western Indiana, made for a pretty spicy day, and I’m glad I took the risk.

See More Here: Potholes

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