Planned my Ohio marathon in Amish country – yes, on purpose – like stepping back in time. Remember Kelly McGillis & Harrison Ford in “Witness”? I do. Intrigued – had no previous exposure to the Amish.
Flew red-eye to Cincinnati, hour nap (across airport seats) ‘til stores opened, rental car pick-up, then another 2 hours sleep in nearby Brown County [rest area]. 9am, splash of cold water – awake, ready to get my Amish on.
Early autumn in southern Ohio: leaves starting to yellow, corn already harvested. Crossed a covered bridge, entered Adams County – sighted my first Amish road sign 🙂
BUGGY!
Kept my distance in the car, not wanting to frighten the horse. Clip, clop, clip, clop, clip, clop – down the paved road.
In only its 3rd year, tomorrow’s race would draw more than 1,000 runners – 300+ would run the full 26.2. Followed the race director to bib pick-up after my GPS left me 4 miles rural at a local farm. No frills race expo with big frills swag.
Left my car at the wood ‘Expo’ building raised by the Amish; took a short walk to Millers Bulk Foods, followed by a trip to the Bakery. Turkey sandwich on homemade pretzel bread – soft & salty, garnished with local tomatoes, onions & lettuce…food LOVE!
Filled the afternoon driving tomorrow’s race route – my first 2-loop marathon – one long grind, 2 big hills…one the Amish call “Hell Hill”. Course not as hilly as West Virginia but bigger elevation gain (higher grade hills).
fave moments:
- horse envy – both carriage & plow horses: well-groomed, beautiful animals
- steaming blackberry pie pulled from a wood oven at Millers Bakery
- Amish bicycles/scooters – big front wheel, smaller back wheel, no pedals (pedals considered a technology, forbidden by the Amish); kids were crazy fast, flying down hills, racing home after school
- buggy parking at the evening’s Amish auction
Unique culture – living much as they have since the 1800’s, an agrarian society with strong religious leanings & no electricity.
Ate with the community at a school fund raiser – smoked chicken, potato salad, homemade ice cream & pie (whole lotta pies). Stayed for the Amish auction – not that I needed a horse halter, but digged the life experience 🙂 Pretty amazing day.
No hotels in Amish land. Stayed 45 minutes away in Maysville, Kentucky (just over the mighty Ohio river).
Early to bed, early to rise – tomorrow I run with the Amish!
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- Good Morning Appalachia!
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- early Autumn: leaves turning, corn harvested
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- steaming blackberry pie at Millers Bakery
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- turkey on homemade pretzel bread – soft & salty, garnished with local tomatoes, onions & lettuce…food LOVE!
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- Ridge Way Lumber
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- buggy (overflow) parking
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- community dinner fund raiser (supporting Wheat Ridge Amish School)
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- whole lotta pie
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- Amish auction – not that I needed a horse halter, but digged the experience
my first Amish buggy
Amish auction (gas-generator lights provided for us non-Amish)
First ‘chapter books’ I read as a boy were the Little House series by Laura Ingalls Wilder. My 3rd grade teacher read a chapter aloud from Little House in the Big Woods everyday after lunch. I was hooked. Re-read that book, then the next 8. The family dreamed, struggled & endured. Followed their saga from Wisconsin to Independence Kansas, from Walnut Grove (Minnesota) to De Smet, South Dakota.
The Ingalls lived in the unsettled West – an American West still inhabited by Native Americans, a land teaming with wildlife, a time full of opportunity. Later these books were adapted into my favourite childhood television series. I cheered the Ingalls ‘country girls’, admired Caroline’s quiet inner strength, despised the show’s bully Nellie Olsen, rooted against her mother, Harriet. I loved Miss Beadle, crusty Mr. Edwards and of course – Michael Landon (Pa/Charles Ingalls). Every Monday evening their family was my family.
Fast forward to 2015.
From the time my spot in the Sioux Falls Marathon was booked, my intention was to visit Little House – to go ‘home’.
Friday after work:
- Boulder to Denver (via RTD bus)
- Denver to Omaha (overnight train)
- taxi to Eppley Airfield (Omaha airport), rental car pick-up
- Sioux City, Iowa
- Sioux Falls, South Dakota
- then an hour half of corn – miles & miles of cornfields
All roads lead to ‘Little House’ in De Smet SD, population 1,089 – where 15% of the population still identify as Native American.
Walking thru Ingalls Homestead was more about recalling MY childhood. I walked the grounds; rode a covered wagon to the school house. Thanks Laura Ingalls Wilder for retelling your childhood & introducing us to your family.
Travelled to the town cemetery where Charles (Pa), Caroline (Ma), Mary & Carrie are all buried. Crazy, yes – but needed to know my Monday night fantasy family existed. In some whacked way, guess I needed closure.
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- built into the side of a hill, ‘Dugout’ protected settlers from winter wind gusting over the Prairie
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- Burvee Shanty – mattress stuffed with corn husk, walls insulated with Newspapers of the day
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- Ma’s Little House
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- Singer sewing machine
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- tens acres: corn, oats & wheat
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- covered wagon from Ingalls Homestead to Johnson Prairie School
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- one-room school house
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- Charles Ingalls’ (Pa) final resting place
miles of cornfield, then this…today I walk ‘Into the Wild’ — FAAANNNTASTIC!
Passed a road sign 15 miles south of De Smet on State Highway 25 – “Into the Wild Was Filmed in This Area”. Kismet.
Have watched this film 20+ times, had a profound effect on my life. Allowed me to dream again…that anything is possible, at any age.
Looped west to Mitchell to view the infamous Corn Palace before [marathon] bib pick-up in Sioux Falls closed. WOW, whatta day!
Early to bed, early to rise – Fall marathon season begins at 630am.
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- “World’s Only Corn Palace”
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- each year the Corn Palace is stripped & redecorated with new corn & grains
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- 275,000 ears of corn are sawed in half lengthwise & nailed to the building
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- getting my South Dakota on before tomorrow’s Sioux Falls Marathon
Johnson #20 Prairie School (1881)
Let’s just say, this wern’t my first rodeo – AND when talking ‘bout Cheyenne Frontier Days, won’t be my last either.
Because of my marathon schedule, attended Frontier Days on opening weekend this year (running San Fran next Sunday). Crowds were down slightly…but only slightly – still “the Daddy of ‘em All”, still America’s largest outdoor rodeo.
Being my third year, have learned the drill – FOOD, then rodeo. 2013: bison burger topped with elk brats; 2014: elk burger plus a bite of Ash’s camel patty. This year settled on rattlesnake bratwurst, an order of spiral fries – YUM! – & fresh squeezed lemonade (of course). Frontier Days is as much about the FOOD as it is about buckin’ broncs 🙂
Bought a seat in Cheyenne’s new ‘South 40’ section. Closer to entertainment (trick riders & pageant winners) but further from the real action (this year’s pics are not as sharp). Live and learn.
Bronc buckin’, bull riding, steer wrestlin’ & calf roping – yep, LOVE this stuff. Next year, tickets to both weekends 🙂
Finished the day in Indian Village; watched a Native American hoop dance. Sharing this clip should be less controversial than last year’s calf roping memento. LOL> LOVE native music – another FAAANNNTASTIC day!
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- Miss Wyoming x 2
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- trick riding
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- bronc buckin’
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- bull riding
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- steer wrestlin’
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- team roping
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- day’s leader — clean ride, scored 84
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- LOVE Frontier Days — back again next year!
Native American Hoop Dance
