Unusual Hikes

Neither cemeteries nor state parks are unusual locations for an afternoon hike but this week’s hikes were unusual. Our first hike took us to Our Lady of Peace Cemetery. Typically, when strolling through a cemetery the old headstones and interesting inscriptions capture my attention. On this afternoon though we were shopping real estate. I will quickly add, we DO NOT intend to need this land any time soon! We were simply adulting; “the practice of behaving in a way characteristic of a responsible adult, especially the accomplishment of mundane but necessary tasks.” We have talked about doing this for several years, finding it easy to put it off. But we both feel so relieved to now have that box checked! We still have small decision to make, but as I noted above, there’s time for that. We actually enjoyed (except for the cold wind) walking all around the entire cemetery together envisioning where our special space would be.

As Benjamin Franklin said in 1789, “nothing is certain except death and taxes.” I am a planner, so why wouldn’t I want to plan ahead when I know death is certain. Ben Franklin has a point, but even more importantly, as a Benedictine Oblate I am reminded in St. Benedict’s writing to “Keep Death Before Your Eyes Daily.” This is in no way intended to be morbid, but simply a meditation on death as a way to live life more fully each & every day and to be detached from things that in the long run, simply don’t matter. I suppose that attitude is a bit of what I was reaching for when starting this blog; to be mindful and appreciate each day to its fullest, to not put important things off and to set aside (detach) myself from the unimportant things in life.

Second hike was to a state park. Yay, I get to note my first state park visit this year…but it was to an urban state park not a wooded, full of nature state park like we’re used to. But it is still an interesting destination. The White River State Park is the “only cultural urban state park.” It has green spaces and cultural experiences, for example the Indianapolis Zoo, The Eiteljorg Museum of American Indians & Western Art, the NCAA Hall of Champions and the Indiana State Museum to name a few possible stops. IUPUI, an amphitheater, and the Indianapolis Indians’ Victory Field all connect to the space as well. There’s a lot going on. I love Indianapolis so it’s not difficult for me to brag on it. Check out visitindy.com for more info

The White River is of course a main focal point. Today while frozen is probably the closest it’s looked white to me. Despite running through the center of Indianapolis the White River is not the "Official River of Indiana", that title belongs to the Wabash River. The White River, running 362 miles, is a tributary to the Wabash River. It passes through three state parks, Mounds State Park (Anderson), White River State Park (Indianapolis) and McCormick’s Creek (Spencer). When moving the capital of Indiana from Corydon to Indianapolis it was hoped that the White River would be a good means for transportation, but that proved to be a disappointment. Instead, the National Road, now Washington Street, was developed in an effort to link the new capital of Indiana to rest of the country until railroads reached us.

As far as wildlife, we only saw one hawk. Instead of nature scenes this week, I captured plenty of pictures of our downtown skyline and one interesting memorial rock…now I know where McCormick’s Creek State Park gets its name. ‘Til next time.