Spring Mill State Park- History Has Never Been This Fun!

Today's post is about a place called Spring Mill State Park. Spring Mill is a national park in Mitchell, Indiana. There are a lot of sights to see and things to do at this park. Be warned- there is a very small fee to get into the park- usually less than 10 dollars per car. The park is a big economic center- there is a hotel, gift shop, toys and trinkets to buy many places in the park, and lots food and drink, some modern, some not as much. It also draws people to Mitchell in general, which in turn also benefits the city.

The grist mill (girlsinwhitedressesblog.com)

I've been to Spring Mill 3 times so far, and I've enjoyed it every time. The first thing you'll want to remember is an extra pair of clothes if you have kids, even if you're not staying overnight. In the pioneer village, if you follow a trail over near the grist mill, there's a large waterfall and a stream. The stream goes throughout the village, so even if you don't go on the trail you can still potentially need the clothing. The waterfall and stream is a fun place for the kids to cool off (the water is pretty cold, just be aware). Even if you don't have kids, it might be fun to spend a little time in the stream up near the waterfall. It's a beautiful area to simply relax and rest your feet, and if you go up the stairs near the waterfall, there's a plaque explaining about the cave beyond the waterfall. You can't get to the cave from the waterfall area, just a note. 

The waterfall (flickr.com)

If you know you'll want more than one day to explore Spring Mill (there's a high chance you will), there's a hotel actually within the park. It's the Spring Mill Inn, and has been in operation since 1939 (Spring Mill Inn, in.gov). The hotel hosts hundreds of people every day, and you'll want to make reservations just in case (Spring Mill Inn, in.gov). There are several caves to explore at Spring Mill- many are private and require permission from the owners, though. There is a cave available to anyone who comes to the park, and is an unguided tour. Donaldson Cave is a good spot to hit to get a bit of spelunking in. Unfortunately, all caves on DNR property in Indiana and various other parts of the country are currently closed to stop or prevent the spread of white-nosed syndrome, a fungus killing a large amount of bats (Spring Mill State Park, in.gov). The only cave tour still open is the guided Twin Caves tour, which only requires a small fee. This is a boat tour, and the boats seat about 8 per boat, using two boats for a total of 16 people able to be on the tour including the guides. 

The main attraction of Spring Mill State Park is, of course, the grist mill. This mill was built in 1817, while the pioneer village where it is housed was built in 1814 (Spring Mill State Park, in.gov). There are several sights to see around the pioneer village, including a blacksmith (you can potentially buy some things made by the blacksmith, but they will not be pre-made and up for sale- you have to order it), a woman weaving on a loom, a beautiful garden, the bath houses, several plain houses, an apothecary, and, of course, the mill (Spring Mill State Park, in.gov). The grist mill grinds corn every hour on the hour and also sells the corn meal. The 2 upper stories of the grist mill are devoted to a museum of the pioneer village. Personally, I loved seeing the corn being ground, as well as Donaldson and the Twin Caves.

Another great feature of the park is an assortment of picnic tables near the pioneer village. If you don't feel like buying food or drink there, bring a cooler- it's fun to eat lunch and walk around a little in the stream before going to explore the pioneer village. There are also bathroom with plumbing, just in case you or someone with you is twitchy about plumbing.

Overall, I love Spring Mill. There's a lot to do and a lot of memories to be made. On my previous trip this July, I decided to stand under the waterfall. I was soggy for a good hour before I was able to change, but it was well worth it. There were a whole assortment of people simply relaxing by the stream, and a few kids standing in the water, as well as one man who decided to stand under the waterfall for a short period of time. No one could stop laughing because he made a few very odd and entertaining noises when he felt the water.

I loved being able to ask a whole assortment of questions to the people who worked at the park, who were wearing clothing from 1836 era pioneer village (Spring Mill State Park, in.gov). My father had a lot of questions about the mill and the cornmeal, and the man in charge of the mill was more than happy to answer. If you're in Indiana and have the ability to go to Spring Mill, it is definitely worthwhile.

Citation

"DNR: Spring Mill State Park." DNR: Spring Mill State Park. Indiana State Legislature, n.d. Web. 31 Oct. 2013.

"Spring Mill Inn." In.gov. Indiana State Legislature, n.d. Web. 31 Oct. 2013.

Spring Mill. N.d. Mitchell, Indiana. Girlsinwhitedressesblog.com. Web. 31 Oct. 2013.

Beauty In The Outdoors. N.d. Mitchell, Indiana. Flickr.com. Web. 31 Oct. 2013.

Mammoth Cave- You Don't Have To Worry About The Bats!

Mammoth Cave is the largest cave in the world. It originally belonged to many farmers, before being eventually bought by the government; it is now a national park.  It was one of the first national parks in the US. The cave has over 400 explored miles, but it is unknown how large it actually is. Because of its unique nature, it has some wildlife found few, if any, other places. If you're in the cave when an earthquake happens, you're actually completely safe- it's too far underground for anything to happen. If you're going to the cave, I suggest two things- wear shoes that you don't mind getting wet, and bring a jacket. The cave is cold and water drips in many places. I loved Mammoth Cave- there was so much to learn and the environment was just very different from anything most people experience on a daily basis. And if you're claustrophobic, that's not a very big problem in the cave- for the most part, it is a reasonably big and open space. There were many young children and children in general on the guided tour that I went on, and none of them had a problem, either.

A little bit of the beauty of Mammoth Cave

I'll be talking about one piece of Mammoth Cave history in this post. Like I mentioned earlier, Mammoth Cave used to belong to many farmers; the cave and many times an entrance or two was under their land, so they owned it. 

Sand Cave and Crystal Cave were two entrances to Mammoth Cave. Crystal Cave had been found and opened by Floyd Collins, but it quickly dwindled to where it made little profit. He wanted more profit, so he decided to explore Sand Cave, which was his neighbor's. Their deal was to split the profit if anything came out of the exploration, if they could turn it into a profit at all. Floyd started exploring. In many places it was very difficult to get through; he would have to inch along, barely moving. He kept on going for a while, at least until his lamp began to flicker. Floyd knew it was incredibly stupid to be in a cave without a light, so he headed back. At one point, he was inching along and his foot hit a 27 pound rock. The rock fell, trapping his ankle. He couldn't move; he had rock close in on all sides. Floyd was effectively trapped.

For the next 17 days, rescuers tried to get him out. The whole country was buzzing about Floyd Collins. Many people were traveling to the area with all of the caves, appropriately called "Cave City." Military troops were called in to keep order because things got so out of hand. 

One man, a reporter, managed to get into Sand Cave. He was a small fellow, so it wasn't as difficult. He got an interview with Floyd Collins that won him a Pulitzer Prize. Try as they might, though, and even with 17 days, rescuers couldn't remove Floyd. After 18 days, he was pronounced dead of exposure. The cave was sealed, and Floyd's body couldn't be moved for many months, until they were finally able to get him out for a proper burial.

There's a moral of this story, for any traveler- don't do stupid things. And as a general rule of thumb, don't go exploring caves when you're just a random citizen. Leave that to someone who actually knows how to do it to where they won't end up severely injured or dying.

N/A "I'm Trapped, and Trapped For Life!" National Parks Service. National Parks Service, 03 Sept.     

           2013. Web. 13 Sept. 2013.

N.d. Photograph. Redefining The Face Of Beauty. Oct. 2012. Web. Sept. 18.