Covered Bridge Gawking (Part 1)

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Today was spent in Parke County, Indiana, which is touted as the “covered bridge capital of the world.” In one county, they have over three dozen covered bridges! To the county’s credit, they have taken pains to make sure the tourists who visit the area are well guided along their routes. They have established color-coded routes that have turn-by-turn directions (so you don’t have to fumble with a map, a GPS, or drive around in circles) in brochures available for free at the visitors’ center. All of the color-coded routes begin from the visitors’ center, which was indeed open today despite the fact that many of the covered bridge festival celebrations in the fall were canceled BOC (that’s “because of COVID, not “Blue Öyster Cult” ). My first stop, Billie Creek Village with three covered bridges, was closed, which didn’t seem to be a big loss if the other two covered bridges were as unkempt as the one that was visible from the road. That one could really have used some TLC. But that’s okay, that’s only a minor setback. I started out on the road along the “red route” and quickly found Crooks Bridge, which more than made up for the lackluster start. That’s the bridge featured here. The Crooks Bridge was built in 1856 (the brochures are very detailed about the bridges, believe it or not) and still allows cars to cross it. If you’re a little squeamish about that, there’s a concrete bridge (photo #3 in the collage), although that looks like it’ll flood with a good spit into the creek. Picture #2 above shows the reinforced floor for the tires. The creek is also visible out both side thanks to windows. This 164-year-old bridge is very well maintained. The county should be very proud of itself. COLLAGE: 1. Front of the Crooks Bridge. 2. Inside view of the bridge. 3. View of the creek and the concrete bridge that crosses the creek. 4. View from the other side of the bridge at the creek.