For Part 1, please scroll down.....
Cincinnati to Terre Haute is an easy afternoon's drive, even passing through the south end of Indianapolis. It was a Sunday, and traffic wasn't too bad at all. Leaving around 12:30 pm, we arrived about 3 pm. We had to do some shopping for the hiking portion of our trip, so a giant Wal-Mart just east of Terre Haute was chosen. It was coffee time, and there was a Starbucks right across the road. Coffee first, then the ungodly job of some quick shopping. Hiking lunches were needed (usually giant bags of popcorn, juice, Lara and Clif bars), and a few other things, like orange vests for hiking deep in hunting territory in the autumn. We made short work of the chore, and soon checked into our motel. We had purchased two frozen vegan dinners, so we heated them up, ate in our room, then headed out to the breweries.
Terre Haute has two breweries and a craft beer friendly pub called Moggers. We began at a brewery new to both of us, called Afterburn. It was beer only, though a food truck was parked outside. Beers sampled were "Slash," a 5.7% hazy pale ale; "Joker," for Deb, a dry stout at 4.3%, "Turbo Joker," also at 4.3%, and "Midnight," an imperial stout at a hefty 9.5%. No complaints, it seemed a good follow up pub to the Belgian place in Cincinnati for our two week long road trip.
A. P. Yorick's 3rd cousin joined us for a pint at Afterburner.
Literally two blocks away was Terre Haute Brewing Co., Deb's first visit and my second. This is an old place, where booze was distilled in underground tunnels during Prohibition. The place was pretty quiet compared to Afterburn. They use to have a fabulous guest beer list here, but that is now gone. Eventually more customers drifted in, but it wasn't busy like my last visit in 2018. Another flight of small pours helped my good mood even more. Deb had a 4 oz pour of "10 Gallon Mexican Lager," which she declared was quite tasty. I had Citragenesis, a hoppy wheat beer at 5%; "Wango Tango IPA," (I had ordered Mango Tango, but oh well); and "Rose Belgian Dark Strong Ale," at 10%. That one tasted like an alcohol-soaked plum pudding, and was quite delicious.
It was time for a walk. Terre Haute, IN has about 58,000 people. It is the birthplace of Philip Jose Farmer, who left when he was still a baby. The downtown boasts a wonderful old theatre. The outside of it is amazing, and the lobby can be seen through the doors. We have never been inside. We walked around town until I felt that I could drive, then we went the short distance to Fairbanks Park, along the Wabash River, and walked some more. It was a warm and still evening. The area was in a bad drought. It had only rained twice the entire summer, and everything was droopy. The river was slow and sluggish. There were hardly any cicadas, either. We watched the sunset, then headed back to our motel to rest up for tomorrow's adventure. We would cross the Mississippi and officially be in the West (well, the western part of the mid-west, at any rate).
Exterior of the historic theatre in downtown Terre Haute. Next shot shows the lobby, behind those large windows.
A very dry sycamore tree, along the Wabash River near downtown.
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As soon as Terre Haute is in the rear view mirror, an hour of time is gained as one enters the Central Time Zone. It's a great help westbound. The only regular stop between Terre Haute and St. Louis is a gift store called Driftstone Pueblo. It's always about time for a rest room anyway, and the shop is large and filled with Native art and artifacts and books. I had already purchased a small stone token, the Hopewell Hand, something I could leave atop Jicarita Peak if I made it up there. I found it at a booth at the Cincinnati outdoor market Saturday. At Driftstone I broke down and bought the Rider/Waite Tarot Deck, and the book that accompanies it. I had seen both here on our Arkansas trip visit in late March, and thought about buying it. I finally did. We also bought a small sage smudge stick, to be burned somewhere in NM.
We passed St. Louis without any trouble, and were soon zooming down vast hills in the Ozarks, and then up the other side. The ride is like a giant roller coaster, and the scenery is non-stop for a long time. Another stop in St. James at the winery and craft beer stores, then back on the highway all the way to Springfield. We arrived at 3 pm local time, just in time for coffee! Coffee Ethic is right downtown. We parked for free not far away, leaving the car there until evening. We did a lot of walking in Springfield. But first, the coffee. We purchased a bag of Kenyan beans and got a free coffee. We chose a cold brew, sharing it, and also ordered some ridiculously good vegan carrot cake coconut balls. The long drive was slowly washed away from our bodies as we relaxed for a long sit. The Mississippi was a long way behind us, and tomorrow we would visit our first major hiking area. When things go well for us, they go really well. Our Springfield afternoon was definitely a trip highlight.
It was the warmest part of the day, currently about 87 F. We had a 1.3 mile walk to the first pub. We eventually got underway, trekking to a new place called Tie and Timber Brewing. We stayed on the shady side of the street as much as possible. We were warm and thirsty upon arrival. There is nothing like arriving at a welcoming brewery or pub after a somewhat intense walk.
Some local scenery on our way to Tie and Timber.
Our first flight of the day consisted of my first pumpkin ale of the season. Jack Blast was 6.1%, with a nice mix of spices, pumpkin, and a suitably dark colour. Next came a very fine Hefe, at 4.6%. Deb had a Passion Grove Ale, at 5.5%. I continued on with a decent Cherry Street Sour, at 5%. Staying with the fruity theme, I finished off with a Peach Kolsch, at 5.5%. We sat at the only booth with a "leg" lamp. There used to be a friendly black pub cat, but the owner ended up adopting it and keeping it at home.
By the time we headed out for brewery #2, the sun was lower and there was more shade on our return to the downtown area. This was the 4th cloudless day in a row. Nature would fill that void soon, unbeknownst to us. Happy are the unknowing. Hold Fast Brewery was almost a mile from Tie and Timber, housed in an old firehouse. There is no air conditioning, but they have a lot of large doors that were opened today, with a giant fan in the back one blowing air gently through the pub. Besides some great beer, we met Jengo, a friendly Australian sheep dog at the next table over.
Deb had a small pour of their basic brew, called Lazy Day Lager. At 4.7%, she liked it and said it actually had a lot of flavour. I enjoyed Lemon Meringue Lager, with lemon juice and marshmallows (4.6%), followed by a delicious Blood Orange one at 4.7%. I finished up with Boondock Brown Ale, at 5.9%. I was feeling no pain by now, though Deb still was. She still looked as if she'd gone a round with Mohammad Ali, and had not done too well in the ring.
A return visit to Mothers was our third and final brewery sampling of the day, and, as things turned out, for the trip. At least it was a good place to end things. Although there were a few people sitting outside in the huge garden area, we were alone inside the pub. Our flight consisted of New Prague, a dark lager for Deb at 4.8%; Mr. Pumpkin, my second such ale so far, an amber ale with pumpkin and spices at 5.2%; Way Hey, a 4.2% Hefe; and the cutely named Flip Cider at 5.5%.
It was a Monday, a day that most breweries in Detroit are closed. So we did just fine. But our little vegan restaurant was closed Monday and Tuesday. Wah! Deb even wore her Bosky's Vegan Grille tee shirt today. It didn't help. So we ended up at Springfield Brewery. No more beer, but we split a decent veggie burger, and I left with a few cans of ale.
Dinner minus ale was at Springfield Brewing Company.
It had been a long time since we had seen our car, but we found it in good condition and drove on to our motel. We were both looking forward to seeing some (smaller) mountains tomorrow. In that we would be successful. As for hiking in them, well, that is a different story. A tale of woe. Stay tuned for Part 3.
Mapman Mike
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