Day 131 & 132 of 166 Days of RV Adventures in the Summer of 2026

Day 131 - Monday 9/14We left Versailles State Park and made our way to Miles Landing Campground, just outside Evansville IN on Route 50 West for much of the trip! The Busching Covered Bridge is the historic covered bridge located directly at the entrance to Versailles State Park in Ripley County, Indiana. Built in 1885, this classic red structure spans Laughery Creek and remains one of the few historic covered bridges in the area that is still fully open to passenger vehicle traffic. 

I love covered bridges! Becky and I were going to walk to it, but we would have had to walk back up the "mountain" to get back to the rigs! The bridge is a Howe through truss design, an all-wooden architectural style that relies heavily on vertical iron ties to keep the timber under compression. It spans 176 feet long, 15 1/2 feet wide, and stands 16 1/2 feet tall. It was constructed by Thomas A Hardman, a well-known local builder from Brookville, Indiana. Hardman achieved historical notoriety for rebuilding regional infrastructure and bridges destroyed during the Civil War by Confederate raider John Hunt Morgan. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2019, standing alongside the nearby Otter Creek Covered Bridge as one of only two surviving historic wooden bridges in Ripley County.

We passed by the massive Jefferson Proving Grounds. It is an over 55,000-acre U.S. Army munitions testing facility located in southeastern Indiana, spanning parts of Jefferson, Ripley, and Jennings counties. Established in 1940–1941 just prior to the United States' entry into World War II, it served for over five decades as a primary site for live-fire testing of conventional ammunition before officially closing on September 30, 1995. Today, the property is uniquely segmented into a national wildlife refuge, an active Air National Guard training range, and privately owned commercial space. We were never close enough to see the fences, but the "grey" area on the GPS went for miles!

It’s not every day a F14 Tomcat Fighter Jet comes rolling down Hwy 50 in Indiana! We learned that it was Worldwide Aircraft Recovery transporting the F-14 Tomcat to its new home. They started this project on August 18, 2026 and had the aircraft disassembled on August 21. They started the route planning a couple weeks prior to arriving in Florida. That includes a route survey from Pensacola FL to Pueblo CO and talking with states. Once the route surveys were completed it was up to the states to issue the routes. Some states required another route survey due to new construction starting up in some areas. 

They started the transport journey on September 9th and since then they have been able to do a state a day. Due to some travel restrictions they had to sit and wait. If we left Pensacola in our RV and drove to Pueblo CO it would take roughly 1,300 miles. Due to route restrictions, construction and some states that just said no, they are traveling an estimated 2,700 miles. This is the biggest aircraft they have hauled but is definitely up there in the most challenging and not due to the aircraft, but the logistics of working with the states.

They are on their way to the Pueblo Weisbrod Aircraft Museum, in Pueblo Colorado... okay then we are traveling west and they passed us traveling east... They answered the number question they have been asked. "Why are we here if we are going to CO?" When an oversized load puts the request into the states, they give the dimensions and the states give us a route. Each state knows their roads and where construction is located. This goes for any truck and trailer hauling oversized. So when you see them with flags and banners 9/10 times they have to be on that route. When we saw them, on Monday September 14th. They were slowly making their way from Memphis Indiana, north and then east and then west again, to go through Indiana. They will make it to the Illinois State line on Highway 36. On Tuesday they will be picked up by Illinois State Patrol and go through Illinois to Iowa on Highway 34.

BuNo 162710, Fighter Squadron 101, (VF-101) “Grim Reapers” will be part of the "Triple Threat" at the Pueblo Weisbrod Aircraft Museum! The museum will be home to an incredible trio of legendary American fighters — this F-14A aircraft that will join the F-15 and F-16 already on display.

We made a rest stop at the Walmart in Seymour, Indiana. There was a cool mural there... Do you recognize anyone in the mural? Seymour is the birthplace of rock musician John Cougar Mellencamp. The heartland rocker was born here, and the town famously inspired his hit song "Small Town".

Founded in 1852, the city grew rapidly at the intersection of major rail lines and is known as the "Crossroads of Southern Indiana". It is also known as the site of the world's first moving train robbery. In October 1866, the Reno Gang carried out a robbery on the Ohio and Mississippi Railroad near Seymour. 

The Indian Treaty Corner is the junction point of two early 19th-century Indian land-cession boundaries. The Crane Cemetery is on the north side of US Route 50, about one mile west of Seymour, Indiana. It marks where the Grouseland Treaty line of 1805 intersects with the Fort Wayne Treaty line of 1809, locally known as the Ten O'Clock Line. These and other land-cession treaties negotiated by territorial governor William Henry Harrison formally transferred millions of acres of ancestral Indigenous territory to the US, clearing the way for early white settlement and statehood in Indiana.

Brownstown, Indiana is most famous for being a historic hub of southern Indiana, renowned for its premier dirt track racing, its major annual county fair, and its deep pre-statehood history. The famous quarter-mile dirt track has a rich 60-plus-year heritage. It is highly regarded by racing enthusiasts across the Midwest as the home of thrilling, fast-paced Late Model racing.

In Bedford Indiana is a public mural on the side of the Times-Mail Building. It was commissioned in 2015 as part of Bedford's "Stellar Communities" designation to revitalize the downtown square. It was painted by Chicago-based artist and musician McKenzie, who creates under the name "Mac Blackout". The mural is about 16 feet by 55 feet. 10 years ago, it was a vibrant blast of color that served as a visual tribute to the heritage of Lawrence County. At the center is a rainbow arching over a deep limestone quarry (a nod to Bedford's legacy as the "Limestone Capital of the World"). Surrounding the quarry are symbols representing local pride, including the space shuttle (honoring local astronauts like Gus Grissom), a basketball, rolling hills, and a water tower.

On Route 50, we passed Martin State Forest, which is managed by the Indiana Department of Natural Resources. It was established in 1932 with an initial purchase of 1,205 acres, intensive management, including planting thousands of trees and aggressive wildfire prevention, transformed the once-eroded farmland into a lush, thriving timberland. Following a significant 51-acre expansion in July 2026, the protected area has grown to a total of 9,735 acres across Southern Indiana.

Route 50 is part of Indiana's Historic Pathway. Indiana's Historic Pathways is a 250-mile National Scenic Byway crossing southern Indiana along US Route 50 and US Route 150, connecting pioneer history, small towns, and scenic hills.

What a beautiful church! The St. Joseph Catholic Church is a historic, Romanesque-style parish located in Jasper, Indiana. It was founded in 1837 by Croatian missionary priest Father Joseph Kundek, the church belongs to the Roman Catholic Diocese of Evansville. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It is celebrated for its towering 1904 bell tower modeled after Big Ben, extensive stained glass windows, and grand European cathedral-style architecture. 

The statues of saints on the grounds looked interesting. I discovered they are limestone statues of priests. The statues depict three of the most instrumental priests in the history of St. Joseph Church: Fathers Joseph Kundek, Fidelis Maute, and Basil Heusler. Father Joseph Kundek, founder of the parish, served them from 1838 to 1857. Father Fidelis Maute, the visionary and architect who built the church, served them from 1865 to 1897. And Father Basil Heusler, the man who finished the church tower and beautified the interior, served them from 1898 to 1942. 

The downtown mural in Jasper Indiana is towering in size. It was created as a gateway piece near downtown, this historic mural depicts imagery from Jasper's past over the last 200 years. The mural has many images including the flags for the Sister Cities, the courthouse, the Jasper City Mill, The Jasper Depot, furniture manufacturing, and logging. At the top, the mural reads: Jasper Born from Rich Soil. A banner across the bottom reads: Built on strong work ethic and entrepreneurship.

We arrived at Miles Landing campground, our home for the next two nights, while we visited Marcia & Larry Blankenship. We got set up and headed over to their house. We enjoyed dinner and half priced burgers and drinks at Prime Time North. They specialize in hefty, comfort-food classics. I have to rave about their award-winning burgers, I had the Bacon Jam Cheeseburger and could only eat half! 

Becky even got a 1/2 price bottle of wine! She could get a glass for $4 or the whole bottle for $8... no brainer! We all enjoyed the food and fellowship. We were just missing Jim & Debbie! We were close to the campground, so Marcia & Larry came back for a few, but we were tired form our day's travel, so it was an early night! More fun tomorrow!

Day 132 was Tuesday September 15th, Becky and I enjoyed our walk around the campground. We created a route that got our 3-miles in and never left the property! the leaves are really starting to fall here and I love the crunch under our feet!

When we were here a few years ago, this place was being built. We thought it was going to be a fire station. But it is a private residence that really likes Sasquatch! 

They even have two big Sasquatch at the end of the driveway holding lanterns. We counted four Sasquatch statues total! A single documented report of an official Sasquatch sighting in Vanderburgh County, Indiana, occurred in June 1980 between 5:00 a.m. and 6:00 a.m. before sunrise. It was a semi-rural, wooded suburban area in the northern part of the county near the city of Evansville. We are staying in a semi-rural area near the city of Evansville.....

The girls enjoyed a little thrift store shopping and then we met the guys for "Taco Tuesday" at Los Bravos Mexican restaurant. It is a regional chain that was founded by owner Ana Bravo and her family. It has created a local staple for Tex-Mex and traditional Mexican dishes in Evansville, IN. 

After Taco Tuesday, we had to hit a brewery. We headed to Myriad Brewing Company to the Newburgh Taproom. Husband-and-wife team Jason and Jamie Elliott first launched Myriad Brewing Company in late 2018. The original brewery established its roots in the historic McCurdy building in Downtown Evansville. 

After a successful first three years, the Elliott's planned for an eastward expansion. They selected a 6,094-square-foot space in Newburgh, IN. We have been to this place before with Marcia and Larry. Charlie & I were full, so we got a flight to share! I loved how they served them! Until we see you in Florida, Marcia & Larry!

God gave us a beautiful sunset for our last night in Evansville, IN.