Shipshewanna

            I swung by Shipshewanna Indiana on my way home from visiting my mom in Michigan.  These Belgian horses were part of the amazing vistas everywhere around me.  I really enjoy driving around the countryside looking at Amish farms and YES Amish horses.

           I stopped at this book store that sells books about Amish.  Hopefully my book, Under the Heavens, will be on a shelf here when it comes out later this fall.

          There are buggy rides available behind the Blue Gate restaurant and Bakery, in the heart of Shipshewanna.  The Blue Gate restaurant has amazing food, you have to try their Amish peanut butter, apple-butter and amazing pies.

          These buggy rides seems like fun too!  There are Amish buggies and local "plain-people" riding bikes throughout the streets of this little town.


           This is a great place for a day trip, I am thinking of planning a week long visit sometime.

           I was entertained by seeing buggies stopping in at the gas station and by the attendant who kept coming out to scoop up all the buggy exhaust.


           I'm not sure if the man giving horse drawn rides is actually Amish but I'm gonna guess that he is! (Pictured below)

            If you enjoy these pictures check out my Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/AmishHorses I have more pictures in albums there.  Be sure to "like" my Amish Horses page while your there.  Thanks for your support!

Lost Canyon (horse-drawn attraction in Wisconsin Dells)

This is an AWESOME experience!

Anyone who loves horses will really enjoy Lost Canyon in Wisconsin Dells area

 There are so many attractions in the Wisconsin Dells area but this one is a MUST DO family friendly experience. At just over $10 a person it has to be one of the cheapest too. The canyon that the horses pull your wagon through is beautiful and so are the horses. My visit to Lost Canyon last week was at least my 3rd time and I enjoyed it as much as I did the first time I was there. The guides are always funny and friendly, Kevin who you see pictured in these photos was a great young man and his love for his team of dapple-gray Percheron draft horses was obvious!

There are usually several teams of horses waiting to give rides through a cool wooded canyon. It doesn't seem to matter how hot it is everywhere else, this canyon stays nice and cool.  The horses trod through shallow pools alongside a creek on a nice sandy path, and almost seem to be having fun too!

It's fun to meet up with the other teams of horses and wagon loads of tourists. Everyone seems to have a smile on their faces and the guides usually stop for a moment to tease each other.  Be sure to ask lots of questions while on the ride.  I always do; and I learn a lot about the place, horses and even the guides.

There are many places along the trail where you wonder if the horses can even fit through the narrow canyon walls, they do!  This narrow confined area actually makes for a very safe horse drawn wagon ride. I have given wagon rides commercially in the past and I know that there is a risk when you take a large group of people for a ride with horses. Most horse drawn rides are either in town or out in wide open spaces where plenty can go wrong.  I am jealous of this spot because distractions are very limited as well as places for scared horses to go! I could see that whoever set things up here, took many precautions to keep everything safe.

   


 It is really fun to watch the other teams pulling through the canyon as you meet them along the way! I love watching horses in harness, so this place is easily one of my favorite tourist attraction of all time!

Down below is my favorite picture of Kevin with his horses!  He is a really nice young man and got excited when I told him he (and his horses) would be making an appearance on my blog.  He seemed happy to promote Lost Canyon even though he was working his last week, after being there for several years!  We wish you all the best where ever you end up Kevin!  By the way, I think you have draft horses in your blood. Once you have that bug, it doesn't seem to ever leave you.

The Road Less Traveled

Belgian horses on an Amish farm

       Everyday, when driving to work and back home, I have to choose which road I will take. There is a faster, more heavily traveled highway, or I can take a back road that is lined with Amish farms. As you might have guessed, I take the road less traveled.

       Amish buggies take that road too and I often have to wait for a horse to slowly make its way over the crest of a hill before I can pass. Yesterday, it was pouring rain and I followed an Amish teenager riding a horse. A few days back I saw a boy riding a pony, galloping along the shoulder of the road carrying a bouquet of lilacs. I wondered where he was heading at 7:30 in the morning with his flowers.
       I'm glad not everyone takes the road less traveled! (That could be a yogi-ism) It is so peaceful to be one of the few driving a gas powered vehicle. I may have to leave home a few minutes earlier, or get to work a few minutes late, usually the later of the two but I think it's worth it. When all is said and done, these little things make life so much more meaningful!

       A few days back I snapped this picture (above) with my cell-phone, so you could enjoy the moment with me! This line of Belgian draft horses was heading up toward their barn. The Amish family that owns this beautiful herd of horses obviously takes great care of them. I often see these horses in harness, doing a variety of field work. I will try to get you some pictures like that, if I can do it without offending my Amish friends.