The Hobo Consultant

Prophets Town and Cataract Falls

2007-10-18T11:49:00.000-07:00

Back to Indiana, again. This time I car-camped.

First night I stayed in Prophets Town State Park. The camp sites kind of suck--level, but gravel. But the bathroom and showers are state-of-the-art.

I stayed up in my rental car listening to the Red Sox lose to the Indians in the ALCS.

Second night I stayed at Cataract Falls State Park. Great campsites. I've got a photo album from this trip, entitled Week of 10/15/2007.

Chinese Tombs, Skunked in Indiana

2007-10-12T12:42:00.000-07:00

I was back in Indiana and stayed at Mounds State Park and Missisinewa Lake (see earlier post).

I was particularly interested in Mounds for two reasons (at least):

I know that there are other mounds (and parks) throughout the US.
My training is in early (up to about 200 BCE) China. I know little about the mounds in Indiana--or the others throughout the US--but they reminded me of the tombs near Xi'an, ancient capital of China. Both sites appear to be pounded-earth, pyramidal mounds. Also, China's are burial monuments of figures from the Qin (221 -206 BCE) and Western Han Dynasties (206 BCE - 220 CE). The mounds in Indiana are roughly the same period.

I didn't have a camera this time. But the mounds are interesting. I doubt there's any connection between the two. But it fascinates me that such similar structures were built at roughly the same time. There are, of course, lots of differences.

Finally, for this trip I went back to Mississinewa. There a skunk or something sprayed my tent. My tent is now like the car in that Seinfeld episode--the smell is terrible, and I'm not sure I'll ever use it again.

Inagural Trip

2007-10-12T03:32:00.000-07:00

These days I'm traveling to Indiana quite a bit.

I bought a book on Indiana's State Parks that's been helpful. My first week I camped all three nights I was there. I camped at two different State Parks (I'm determined to camp only in State and National Parks).

Mississinewa Lake. This Park--located just outside of Peru, Indiana--has a lot of nice campsites. I chose it for the first night as it was close to the client I was visiting in North-Central Indiana. I stayed in one of the small, back, non-electric sites. Pure car camping.

One of the nicest things about this place is its true Indiana-ness. The people at the gate were very nice; the lake is surrounded by farms; and the terrain is flat as a pancake.
Brown County State Park. According to just about everyone I asked in Indiana, Brown County is the place to camp. And it is a beautiful park. There are many hills with scenic views. To me, though, it looked like a scaled back version of Vermont--where I camp every summer. It was nice, but I think Hoosiers like it because it's different from the rest of the state.

At Brown County State Park, I found a place where I could park my rental car, hike in (just a mile or so), and camp overnight.

More later. On gear and other experiences.

What's a HoboConsultant?

2007-09-28T12:58:00.000-07:00

HoboConsultant: 1. Any person who, for work, travels "hobo class."; 2. Someone who camps during business travel.

Or more specifically, me. I've decided that since I have to travel for work, I'm going to start camping, rather than staying in hotels.

Here, you can read my (very) brief blog entries of where I'm traveling and camping. And what I learn.