Night Drive

The other night I was on my way home from yet another trip to Warsaw. This time, it was almost 7pm before I was able to head out the door for the trip, which meant it was dark when I got in the car. We'd received quite a bit of rain over the weekend, and it was still drizzling. I don't like driving at night. I don't see very well, and the country roads are not marked very well. Add water to the mix, and you have a recipe for an accident. I've gotten to know the route between Warsaw and Noblesville pretty well though. So I wasn't too intimidated by the task.

Starting in Warsaw, the first town you get to on the way south along State Road 15 is Silver Lake. There's not much reason to stop in Silver Lake. The town has one stop light, and it always flashes red. There are a couple of restaurants on the north side of town, and a service station near the lot. Next on the trip is Wabash. Wabash is the largest city to visit along the route. I've been stopped by the train in town several times. In Wabash I switch from SR 15 to SR 13 to continue south. Sometimes I stop here at one of the fast food joints near the intersection of 15 and 24. I'm always tempted to stop at the Wabash Country Club to play a round when I drive by too. There are three golf courses I pass along the way: Purgatory, Wabash Country Club, and Highland Hills Golf Club. I've played Purgatory. I'll have to be sure to make time to play the rest.

Anyway, once you get south of Wabash, you run into the only Swayzee in the world. Swayzee is kind of funny. Every time I drive through, there are three police cars out. And they are always at the same places. There are two in town, parked next to homes and pointed toward the state road. There is one parked at a house on the north side of town. Occassionally, I see one driving around, and there is an EMA vehicle parked by a barn as well. I'll have to remember to take my camera with me on the next trip to snap some photos of this stuff. I think they are setup to frighten people into obeying the speed limit. Once you see them a couple of times though, you know better.

So after slowing to a crawl along 13 to get through Swayzee, it's a right turn onto 35 towards Kokomo. I take this as far as Greentown. Greentown is well known for their yearly glass festival, and for hosting the 4-H Fair for Howard County. As I get into Greentown, I turn South onto 213. It might seem kind of crazy, taking all of these country roads. It does save me time though. If I take 15 south out of Wabash, I end up going too far East and have to fight traffic through Marion. I could also take 30 east until I hit I-69 South, but the time saved by taking the interstate is less than the extra time traveling through the country to get there. So I take the windy way.

The last town I hit before getting to Noblesville is Windfall. It's another one stop light town that I have to slow down for. There are a couple of other landmarks I have during the trip as well. There is Twin Lakes high school, which is between Swayzee and Wabash. And then there is a set of curves in the road just south of Windfall. Finally, before I hit 37, there is an intersection with a church and the roadsign says Omega. Not really sure what's going on there, but cool name for an intersection.

So as you can tell, my travels between Noblesville and Wabash are REALLY exciting. Maybe you'd like to keep me company on my next trip? Doubt it :-P