It was almost as if we had stepped backward 200 years into the mists of time! We marveled at a herd of bison grazing peacefully on Indiana grassland near the banks of the Wabash River.
Almost, but not quite. The animals were confined behind a sturdy double wire fence and we could hear the sound of vehicles in the distance! No, it wasn't two centuries ago. In fact, it was just this morning.
We are again staying at the Ouabache (pronounced "Wabash") State Park near Bluffton, Indiana. The unique spelling of the name of the park is the French spelling of an Indian word. The area in which the park is located was home to the Miami tribe of native Americans several centuries ago.
The park is lovely. It has many hiking trails, an accessible fire tower, fishing and boating on a small lake. It also has a beautiful bike trail which connects to the bike trail into the city of Bluffton.
We have enjoyed our two-wheeled travel on this route in the past. But this very foggy morning, it was our feet that were carrying us on our morning walk when we stopped to admire the bison.
The park and its staff maintain the herd. Perhaps that is another reminder of the original inhabitants of the Wabash Valley.
The animals are amazingly large when viewed close-up! They must be quite used to being watched by humans because none of them paid us the slightest bit of attention!
The lady who checked us into the campground reported that the bison herd consisted
of about a dozen animals
including this spring calf!
We really enjoyed this visual history lesson of east central Indiana that we got on our morning walk this morning -- as well as the exercise.
