Bull Creek Preserve, Swannanoa

Date	Distance	Time	Elevation Gain	Average Moving Time	Year to Date Miles
9/7/2026	3.4 miles	2 hours 7 minutes	174'	2.1 mph	260.8

Parking: 

• Riceville Road, across the street from Berea Baptist Church

Map:

• Gai GPS app

Directions:

• Misc trails.

A nice break in the heat, so we stayed for an extra long swim.

Spotted a bulldozer. Some trails are getting closed as work is in progress.

We spotted this black snake next to the trail

Bull Creek Preserve, Swannanoa

Date	Distance	Time	Elevation Gain	Average Moving Time	Year to Date Miles
9/6/2026	3.5 miles	1 hour 52 minutes	186'	2.0 mph	257.4

Parking: 

• Riceville Road, across the street from Berea Baptist Church

Map:

• Gai GPS app

Directions:

• Misc trails.

Today's highlight was discovering a collection of earth star fungi.

Bull Creek Preserve, Swannanoa

Date	Distance	Time	Elevation Gain	Average Moving Time	Year to Date Miles
8/30/2026	3.5 miles	?	?	?	253.9

Parking: 

• Riceville Road, across the street from Berea Baptist Church

Map:

• Gai GPS app

Directions:

• Misc trails.

Back at home, and Krumm's feet have healed, so its time to go swimming. 

There is some major trail work going on at Bull Creek Preserve. I guess its got to look a lot worse before it looks better. I'd love to hear about all of the plans.

 

Cardinal Flower

Leafy Elephant's Foot?

The trail has been bulldozed! Oddly, we see grass seed planted here.

Trail 3, Turkey Run State Park, Indiana

Date	Distance	Time	Elevation Gain	Average Moving Time	Year to Date Miles
8/24/2026	1.2 miles	31 minutes	121'	2.2 mph	250.4

Parking: 

• Parking lot by Amphitheater

Map:

• https://www.in.gov/dnr/state-parks/files/turkey_run_trail.pdf 

Directions:

• Take the paved trail from the right side of the parking lot. Go on the suspension bridge over Sugar Creek. Turn left on the other side. Then turn right onto Trail 3. Hike to close to the Punch Bowl. Return the same way.

While I sketched at the Lieber Cabin, Glen did a longer version of this hike. When I picked him up, he told me I should really do at least the beginning part of the hike. So he stayed with Krumm, and I went and hiked. I didn't go all of the way to the Punch Bowl, because the rocks were wet and I didn't want to risk slipping. But apparently I should have, due to how cool it is. The trail goes through a sandstone canyon. It is very unique.

The Wizard of Oz stop and the Richard Lieber Grave and Cabin, Turkey Run State Park, Indiana

Date	Distance	Time	Elevation Gain	Average Moving Time	Year to Date Miles
8/24/2026	.5 miles	1 hour 47 minutes	22'	2.2 mph	249.2

Parking: 

• Parking lot in front of Turkey Run Inn

Map:

• https://www.in.gov/dnr/state-parks/files/turkey_run_trail.pdf 

Directions:

• Head to the left side of the Turkey Run Inn. Turn left, still following the road. Take the Trail 11 which ends at the cabin & gravesite. Return the same way.

First stop of the day was to see the grave of Dorothy Louise Gage in Bloomington, Illinois. She was the niece of Frank Baum, author of the Wizard of Oz. Dorothy died at the age of 5 months, and Baum was credited for naming Dorothy in the book after her. In 2018, a tree next to her grave fell down in a storm. A carving of Dorothy, Toto, and the yellow brick road was made from the tree stump.

As we headed home from Michigan, we stopped to hike every day. Well, Glen did. Krumm still had a couple of abraded toes, so he and I would hang out most days while Glen hiked. While Glen did a longer hike, Krumm and I did a short walk to the Richard Lieber cabin and grave. I stopped to sketch. This state park is fancy, it even has an inn. I didn't know anything about Lieber, but there were signs that explained who he was. Lieber became interested in conservation, and decided Indiana needed to protect its land. He became the father of the Indiana State Park system. I believe this is the second state park created under him. Researching more, I read that he believed people should pay to visit state parks, because it would make them value them more. I

Next to his grave his a cabin - actually a church, built in 1871. There are still non-denominational services held on Sundays there during the warmer months.