Traveling Again…

ByDeborah Raney
14 Comments

Except for a quick trip back to Kansas last November, I hadn’t been out in our camper van since last spring when we went to St. Simons Island on a research trip! Ken and his brother were gone camping for 18 days last summer, but for a while now, we’ve both been ready to go adventuring again. So yesterday we hit the road!

First stop was breakfast at The Vault, a wonderful cafe in Marion, IL, that lives in an old bank building. The Vault has been left on view and the whole place is really cool, not to mention the breakfast was delicious!

A cool thing happened while we were waiting for a seat. A man had a book table set up in the entry of the restaurant. He had quite a collection of books he’d written, two of them memoirs about his time in Vietnam as a Marine, time as sheriff of the Illinois county Marion is in, along with some true crime books. We had a great visit about writing, and I thanked him for his service. But later, when I looked up his books on amazon and had a chance to read his bio, I learned that he’d spent several years in the recruiting office in Cape Girardeau, MO while in the Marines! I emailed him and told him those were our stomping grounds! We had a fun exchange via email, and I learned that one of his books had been published by the college where our daughters, their husbands, and now our grandson attend. It was such a fun small-world moment!

Our next stop was the Bridgeton Mill in west central Indiana. What a great place to visit. Besides getting to see a flour mill in action (not one powered by the water, but impressive nonetheless), there was a nice gift shop, and a crafts building where I bought the prettiest green bowl. (The potter wrapped it well for the trip home so I’ll have to share it later.)

We had such a fun conversation with the owner of the mill, who has owned and run it for 30 years! But it is now for sale—he’s TIRED!—so if anyone is interested in owning this gorgeous mill, let Mike know! He entertained us with stories of how some of the millstones and turbine engines came to be at Bridgeton Mill.

We tucked in last night at a little campground on Lazy L Lake near Terre Haute, and today we’re going in search of more of Indiana’s many covered bridges.

I’ve had an interest in covered bridges ever since I researched for my novel titled Bridges, set in Winterset, Iowa, home of several beautiful covered bridges. Are there covered bridges where you live? Do you have a favorite you’ve visited or know of? (Click on the image below to learn more about my novel Bridges or order a copy.)

For now, bye-bye!

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DEBORAH RANEY's first novel, A Vow to Cherish, inspired the World Wide Pictures film of the same title and launched Deb’s writing career. Forty books later, she's still creating stories that touch hearts and lives. Her novels have won RWA's RITA Award, the ACFW Carol Award, the National Readers Choice Award, and the HOLT Medallion. She is also a four-time Christy Award finalist. Deb is on faculty for several national writers’ conferences and served on the executive board of the 2,500-member American Christian Fiction Writers organization for 18 years before retiring in 2022. She is a recent transplant to Missouri, having moved with her husband, Ken Raney, from their native Kansas to be closer to kids and grandkids. They love road trips, e-biking, Friday garage sale dates, and breakfast on the screened porch overlooking their wooded backyard.

14 Comments

  1. Great blog, Deb! And don’t you love those small world moments. 🤗 While we don’t have lovely covered bridges in my area, I enjoy reading about yours so please share as we travel vicariously with you!Great pics, too. (Speaking of, I’m picturing you making your French press coffee this morning🤍)

    1. I DO love those small-world moments. Jesus-dipity, Ken calls them (serendipity compliments of Jesus!) And I made breakfast in the camper, but my coffee this morning was compliments of 1880 Mustard Seed Coffee Shop in Rockville, IN. Delicious!

  2. Thanks for sharing your trip. Tammy is right that it is fun traveling vicariously with you. Wonderful pictures, safe travels!

  3. The Elizabethton covered bridge is in Carter county and the Bible covered bridge is in Greene county.Both in NE tennessee, less than two hours from Ridgecrest conference center. See you soon at BRMCWC.

    1. Laurie, I wish we weren’t racing from the conference to Texas for our oldest granddaughter’s graduation! But I’m adding those two bridges to my wish list! See you at the conference!

  4. I grew up in Central Indiana, so I was surrounded by covered bridges. The annual Covered Bridge Festival was (and still is) a very big thing in Indiana. So many good memories!

    1. Lana, your home state is absolutely stunning! We’re here at the peek of spring when the redbuds and dogwood are in full bloom and the leaves are spring green and still sparse enough to allow us a peek through the trees to see what’s beyond…like covered bridges! We decided we prefer seeing the bridges with almost nobody there instead of with the crowds from the festival, but I’m sure it is a super fun time and the substance of great memories!

  5. Back in the early 90s a 12-passenger van of us ladies hit the Alabama backroads to see all the covered bridges in the state and to write about them. It was a fun adventure and we wound up with an anthology.

  6. I’m with Tammy and Betty – traveling vicariously with you two is always such fun! And Ken’s photos are always the best. Thank you both for another great adventure.

  7. What fun! I’m hoping to emulate you and keep on writing as my hubby and I enjoy our new lifestyle (as soon as condo sells) of RV life.

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