September 13, 2010

We have been camping in Shipshewana, Indiana for a week now. My brother Bob and his wife Janet are here also. They have their 5th wheel parked next to us. We have been enjoying the sights and sounds in the area.

We went to the Keystone factory for a plant tour. We saw them building the Montana 5th wheel trailer. It was very interesting and we learned a lot.

Rollers are placed under the wheels and the trailers are manually pushed sideways through the plant.

We drove the 90-mile Heritage Trail through the Amish Country. It was a beautiful drive along rural roads with stops along the way at many local landmarks and farms.

We saw farmers filling silos.

We stopped to check out the Jumbo Jelly Bean store in Wakarusa.

We stopped at the Bonneyville Mill. The mill started in 1832 and was operational until the 1960s. It still grinds grain for the tourists.

Water turbines like this power the mill.

We watched as these two grinding wheels ground wheat into flour.

This is the holding pond that provides the water power for the mill.

We loved this windmill.

One of the beautiful flowers in the Dahlia Garden at the mill.

The local farms and merchants have another fascinating tour - The Quilt Garden tour. Bob had fun driving around trying to locate them. Our lovely wives exhibited extreme patience while Bob took many left, right and U-turns on our tour. I’m sure my navigation skills are excellent; perhaps Bob was having difficulty hearing because of the many rural sounds.

Char and Jan

We visited the farm of Bob and Jan’s Amish friends, Sonny and Frieda Bontrager. Sonny’s son and daughter-in-law milk thirty six cows. They milk at 4:00 A.M. and 4:00 P.M. each day. Even with modern milking equipment and a large bulk tank, it stills take the two of them more than an hour to complete the milking. Then they start the cleanup. It sure looked like a lot of work to me. The work didn’t bother them and they really enjoy milking time together.

The milking parlor holds eight cows.

I think they are saying, I want to be next.

This wonderful barn was built in 1915.

Here are two of the fourteen working horses on the farm.

A week really goes quickly when you are having fun. We had a great time and enjoyed the time with Bob and Jan.