We had intended to head down south and check out the new trails at Fall Creek Gorge and some other natural areas around there Stuart knows. But we had several days of heavy rain and south of us in Tippecanoe County they received even more than we did. I suggested going west then, to look for Grass Shrimp in the Kankakee in Illinois. But no, they received a lot of rain too. We’re not mud averse in this family, but we don’t like to damage trails by trudging through them when they’re too wet if possible.
Okay, what about north then- could we go to the State Park and hike around the dunes? Stuart gave me a “you sweet summer child” kind of look and said “how long do you want to wait in line to get into the park?” Visions of the line of cars stretching onto the main road came to mind, a ghost from driving by the park a few Sundays ago on the way to Bass Pro Shops.
So, in exasperation I threw up my hands and said all that’s left is to go east! And so that’s what we did. We went east to Potato Creek State Park.
A Fishy Excursion
I had ordered a few small plastic fish viewing tanks so that we could dipnet the waterways around Northwest Indiana and then photograph the fish for later identification… and sharing on iNaturalist. One of them came on Tuesday and Stuart said we could use an old dip net he had on some of the ditches, rivers, and creeks on the way to the state park.
We stopped off first at a ditch that fed into the Kankakee River on HW 39 and HW 8. Stuart netted a Blackstripe Topminnow (Fundulus notatus) and a male Northern Starhead Topminnow (Fundulus dispar). The starhead was so pretty. I wish I took a photo of the top of it too. It had a white spot on it’s head and another on it’s back. I thought they were injuries, where it had lost some scales. But it turns out this is just a distinctive feature of the species and the reason for it’s common name- Starhead.
Stuart said that spot will forever be known to him as “Fundulus Corner” because we found two Fundulus species there.
Potato Creek State Park Trail Three
Potato Creek will always be my favorite state park in Indiana because it is where Stuart and I got married and took our first hike as a man and wife. We got married in the Quaking Aspen Shelter and then walked Trail Three while lunch was being set up. It’s crazy to see how much this trail has changed since then, years ago.
This short one mile hike takes you past beaver ponds, pretty nice woodlands, and into some marshy lowlands and along one of the inlets of Worster Lake.
Nature Center Trail: Trails 1 and 2
Porter Cemetery Trail (Trail 4) is my favorite of the long trails as the park. So in the rare occasions when we’re back at Potato Creek, that’s the one I lobby to hike on. But this time, we decided to hike the Nature Center Trail, Trails 1 and 2. Trail 1 starts out in the most invasive species choked, overgrown part of the park but by the time it weaves around the lakeshore and heads up into higher ground, the area transitions into some really nice mature beech maple forest.
The back part of Trail 2 always reminds me of Mychael Danna & Jeff Danna’s “Under High Branches.” I feel wistful and very small, walking under these giant trees.
The Nature Center
It’s been ages since we went to the nature center as well, but it still looks just like I remember, including the little spiral staircase leading to a loft filled with toys, books, and a wilderness puppet theater. Mid loved playing with these when we came here, especially the butterfly and caterpillar.
I love the wood everywhere and the giant window out into the bird feeders. We’re trying to get something like this set up outside the large windows in the Office. I think adding a microphone to pick up the bird sounds outside in winter and speakers to play the songs inside would be really neat.
Ice Cream Compensation
After our five miles of hiking at Potato Creek, we drove into Lakeville to visit Pleasant Lake. The lake was packed- the entire parking area full with people waiting to get into the boat launch. We struck out there, but we did have some excellent ice cream at “The Sweet Spot,” on the corner of 4 and 931. This place used to be called “Carol’s Corner” and has likely had a dozen names since then. I hope that the current incarnation does well. I had butter pecan with hot fudge and more pecans on top. I also tried Stuart’s mint chocolate chip which was pretty darn good. The cold ice cream was heavenly after the long hike.
Darters and Mosquitofish at North Liberty Town Park
Not to be thwarted in our search for little fishies, we headed to the North Liberty Town Park to try our luck in Potato Creek. The park features some excellent stonework that looks like it was from the Civilian Conservation Corps days, including bathrooms which were sadly closed.
We found a Jonny Darter (Etheostoma nigrum), a Mosquito Fish (Gambusia affinis), Elodea canadensis and a crayfish (Faxonius species).
As we worked our way upstream, the little creek got a bit wider and shallower, running over rocks and gravel. Just under the bridge, I noticed what looked like an overstuffed teady bear in the water. Upon further inspection I saw it was a bloated, dead raccoon. After this, we were pretty eager to find a gas station to wash our hands.
Last Hurrah
We stopped for one final fishy exploration in the Kankakee River, along Highway 8 and Ten Mile Road. Stuart remarked he could tell this area was hit pretty hard because the vegetation was trampled and even absent from much of the bank. Here, we found a Grass Pickerel (Esox americanus ssp. vermiculatus) and a few more Mosquitofish. I think they look like guppies.
We arrived home after 6 PM, tired, sweaty, stinky, and very happy, thanks be to God.
