Day 22: Kaboom!

Three weeks behind us, 23 ahead of us!! We've had such a wonderful Independence Day weekend and are more excited than ever to visit the places in which our country was born.

A few observations...first, Hoosiers LOVE fireworks! Second, they're not afraid to set off things that rival professional shows--and they do it from the cul-de-sac around the corner. Third, based on what we've seen, we assume it's easier to find and purchase M80 firecrackers than sparklers. Seriously, these folks can't get enough of July 4th! The fireworks show following yesterday's "Symphony on the Prairie" was the best I've ever seen; and smaller displays were happening all around us in neighborhoods. Everywhere we looked, beautiful blooms of fireworks were falling through the sky. Coming from Colorado, where such things (aside from the professional shows) are illegal due to our dry forests, the last few days of these incredible displays--most of them just around the corner--have been a huge treat.

Yesterday's concert was held on the grounds of Conner's Prairie, one of the best living history sites in the entire country. Today we returned and explored it, engaging in conversations with folks from 1836 through 1900. The girls learned to dip candles, spin raw wool into yarn, cook over a hearth using an iron crane and hooks, and so much more. The park is broken up into sections, one of which is brand new. It depicts the real town of Dupont, Indiana, which was raided by Confederate rebel forces in 1862 under the command of Capt. John Hunt Morgan. The experience is multi-dimensional...you enter buildings which then place you into the setting using video, animatronics, lights, sounds and live actors. We can't do it justice with words...we make it sound hokey. But it was really incredible and gave all of us a small sense of what people in that town actually felt/thought/heard/smelled during the raids. The Civil War came to life in a real way for us.

We're preparing to move on from our great friends and Indianapolis. We'll get an early start; we plan to visit one or two National Park system sites on a winding path to Elizabethtown, Ky. We're a little sad to leave Indiana...we've had such fun here.

a section of the crowd at the concert

carding wool in preparation for spinning it

making a candle from beeswax

Kelsey and Stan kicking up their heels at a barn dance