Mercer PA to Cloverdale, IN

It's the morning of Wednesday, September 11th and we are heading west again as a heat wave continues.  I had so been hoping for cooler temps by now but it feels like August instead of September.  Joyce and I have reservations
at a campground in Leiber State Park, Indiana for tonight en route to St. Louis but I have my doubts we will end up there.  I don't do camping when it's so hot even the night air doesn't offer any relief and thankfully Joyce is of the same mind about it.  We will play it by ear but from what the forecast shows it's going to be a hot and humid night in Indiana.  

After saying goodbye to the Pattersons (Evelyn we will see again in just a few days), we pop into Mercer to take care of a couple things before getting on the highway.  It is a small town where the landscape is dominated by one of the prettiest courthouses I've ever seen.  I remember seeing it a couple years back when they were finishing up some major renovations but even with some scaffolding around it the building was impressive.  The bell tower rises up into the sky and can be seen from all over town.  I've never been inside and Joyce has not seen it since all the renovations were completed.  We decide today we won't wait any longer to check it out.  

The first thing I notice is a rush of cool air and my sigh of relief is audible upon entering the main hall where marble floors and pillars convey strength and longevity. There is a fresco in the curved ceiling and as I stand there with my head craned back the bells start chiming even farther above the painted dome. This is the county seat, established in 1800 and the home stomping grounds of many of Joyce's family.  While the town of Mercer is of a small to moderate size, the courthouse has the look and feel of a federal landmark.  It's obvious this community is proud of their heritage in the care they have taken of this beautiful architecture.  Joyce took a few photos before we ventured back out into the heat and spent the day on the ribbons of highway crossing through a bit of America's heartland.  On to Ohio first and then Indiana...

We managed to make it to Cloverdale, Indiana by the end of the day with a short break in Columbus, Ohio for a couple geocaches Joyce wanted to try for.  Her goal is to pick up at least one geocache in every state we are in with a likelihood of more once we get into the national park areas.  Joyce managed to find one in Goodale Park near the Short North District of Columbus.  

All told for Wednesday's time on the road was from 12:30pm to about 9:45 tonight with some stops here and there.  As we predicted, it was just too hot for setting up a campsite so we ended up at an EconoLodge just off the interstate in Cloverdale.  Leiber State Park is just a couple miles away.  We plan on checking out Cataract Falls within the park tomorrow morning and hopefully finding a few geocaches before back on the road again.  

For future reference in travels across this route,  don't stay in the EconoLodge in Cloverdale.....not impressed at all!  A non-smoking room that smells like an all-night poker game and carpeting that turned the bottom of my feet almost black after only an hour of being there.  Joyce and I will make do though and be happy for the air conditioning.  The temperature when we parked the car in front of our room was 85 degrees at 10pm.  Regardless of the heat, I still feel good about covering a lot of ground today and I'm very excited about what tomorrow will bring.  After more than a year I will be seeing my good friend Cathy again in St. Louis and with whom we'll be staying a couple of days with.  

-Kelly