August 23 2024. Salamonie State Forest Campground to Dream Acres Campground, Indiana

     It was amazing that we woke up right at 6:08 which is the time our alarm is set for at home--and how dark it was. We needed to turn on our little tent light to aid us in packing for the day. By the time we got all packed up and had breakfast and were ready to leave, it was nice and light. Our shadows stretched way before us as we headed west in the early morning light.
    Another cool morning that gradually warmed as we went along, but it was made for bicycling.
     We were pleased that we would be going through Denver, Indiana. Two years ago, we went through Denver, stopped to get some ice cream at DeAngelo's Pizzeria, and the owners said we could camp on the grass next to the shop. Then a youth who had been kicked out of his home showed up on a bicycle too small for him, trying to get to Michigan. The owners, Kevin and Hailey, fed him, got him a sleeping bag and pillow and, after they closed, he slept next to our tent under their roof over the picnic tables. So we were excited to try to see them again. We had googled the pizzeria and found that they opened at noon, but when we got there about 11:15, the sign with lit up hours showed it opened at 4. As we had their number, we texted them, identifying who we were and asked if we could take them out to lunch. Hailey was all excited that we had contacted them and we found out the pizzeria actually opened for lunch but their sign didn't allow two sets of hours for one day, and the locals all knew they were there at lunch. We met her there and got to visit for a while before she had to leave. We found out that since we were there, they had had a dramatic change in their lives; they had taken in a young distant relative of theirs who was in a bad situation, and since May they had custody of this boy who was now almost seven. They are in their early 60's, their own kids are in their 40's and they have grandchildren who are 2 to 16.
    Today was roughly about 70 miles so it's a longer day for us. Once again, there is a dearth of grocery stores on the route (the one in Denver that we stopped at 2 years ago is closed now). So besides lunch, we also ordered some pizza to go to have for dinner, which was packaged up very nicely for us to transport. The private campground at which we are staying has mainly seasonal trailers, but they do have some open spots for short term stays, showers are available and all at a very reasonable price. The people were very welcoming, and even stored some leftover pizza overnight in their refrigerator for us.
    While we sat at a picnic table, eating our dinner pizza, pieces of hickory-nut shells kept dropping on us. Although we couldn't quite see it, a squirrel was apparently high up in the tree above us, eating its dinner as well. The table was littered with the shells, so it must have been a popular dining spot for the squirrel.


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