Hoosier Holiday

May 23, 2009

Wolf Park





Hoosier Holiday

My annual trek to the Memorial Day weekend classic, The Indianapolis 500, started a day earlier than usual this year and it gave me an extra day in Indiana before the race festivities got going. That left me with an entire day to select something of interest to do.

Prophetstown



While I attended college at Purdue University, which is about an hour north of Indianapolis, I never really found much time to explore the area around the school. I guess that I either spent my time studying or more likely…partying to really examine the environs. There are a number of places in Tippecanoe county that now, after all these years, I have an interest to see, so I headed up I-65 after my arrival in Indiana to check out a few places in the area of Battle Ground, Indiana.





My first stop was Prophetstown State Park which is the site of Historic Prophetstown which features a working 1920s era farm as well as the remnants of a famous Native American settlement. Prophetstown was the site where the infamous Shawnee spiritual leader Tecumseh (known as the Prophet) created a settlement from which he led an attack on US forces at the Battle of Tippecanoe in 1811. US forces defeated Tecumseh and his warriors and went on to destroy the settlement at Prophetstown.





The Native American portion of the park was somewhat of a disappointment, but the 1920s farm was pretty cool. They had all sorts of farm animals and the set up was impressive. My next stop was the actual battlefield park, located about 10 miles away.







I visited the museum and the battlefield as well as the small nature center.
The final stop of the day was perhaps the most interesting. Wolf Park is huge facility that is home to a large collection of gray wolves, bison and foxes, most living in a wonderful natural setting. I once visited the park when I was about 8 years old as part of a cub scout field trip and I had always wanted to return but never got around to it.







I had no real recollection other than the opportunity to get up close and personal with the amazing and beautiful creatures in the wolf pack. It is really an awesome experience and the park itself is fantastic. I spent a few hours taking the tour and just watching the wolves before heading back to Indianapolis.






Prophetstown

Tippecanoe Battlefield

Wolf Park