Wolves, Tigers & a Bit of History

Well. It is crazy how quickly life can change. These are my travel stats for the past several years. One of the things I like about the TripIt app is that it not only keeps all of your trip itineraries organized, but it also tracks all of this!

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This year, so far, I have zero miles and zero trips logged, and it looks as if that may be the case for a while. We made the sad, but necessary, decision to cancel spring break plans to Scottsdale, Arizona, and now we are observing the #15days to slow the spread and staying home. Our school is currently on spring break, but we will be doing “virtual learning” until April 6th April 24th. For now. 

So, while we are cooped up here at home, I will be living vicariously through my previous travels, and dreaming of future trips. This will not last forever. In the meantime, I invite you to travel vicariously with me! And, since we are pretty limited on our travel options at the moment, I thought I would share a few locations with you all today that are here in the United States.

I will take you on a short little road trip between Hartford, Illinois (right outside of St. Louis) and Metamora, Indiana (between Indianapolis, IN & Cincinnati, OH). Rest assured this trip was full of lots of humor and drama since it was one of our infamous “girls trips” with my mom, sister, and daughter! But I will spare you the drama. Ha! And who loves animals? I mean who doesn’t love animals, right? They can always make us feel better! There will be a lot of furry friends in this post! And also some history, of course!

Let’s start with Camp River Dubois in Hartford, Illinois. This is an Illinois State Historic Site, and honestly was not a planned stop. We literally saw the sign on the highway and I begged to detour. I am so glad we did! This is where Lewis & Clark and all of their men spent the winter prior to their Corp of Discovery Expedition through the Louisiana Purchase to the Pacific. Did you know that we were still searching for that Northwest Passage water route to the Pacific? 

I would definitely consider this place a hidden gem. The Visitor Center is fantastic!  It is open Wednesday through Sunday and admission is free. They have a journal activity for kids to do as you go through the museum, like tracing a route on their own map to check later against the actual route. Giant maps provide a great visual of the United States at the time. They show the Native American Tribes that occupied “the West,” what countries claimed what territory, and animals that lived in “the West.” Another great map exhibit called “Getting to the starting Line” shows the route taken to arrive at Camp River Dubois at the confluence of the Missouri & Mississippi Rivers. (Fun fact: There is a park on the Missouri side of the state line where you walk right to the edge of the confluence – fittingly called Confluence Park.)

Plenty of artifacts and examples of period supplies and equipment are on display, pistols and powder cartridges, trunks and barrels. The highlight of the Visitor Center for me, was the 55 foot life-size keelboat and the full size pirogue. The keelboat has its sail open, and even shows the storage lockers on the sides full of supplies. This gives you a great idea of how much space these 48 explorers had to live in and utilize when starting their 2+ year expedition to the Pacific.

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The displays inside the Visitor Center include many quotes from the journals of members of the Corp and other primary sources. Outside the Visitor’s Center you can visit the Winter Camp which looks a lot like a military fort. This is because it was considered a military camp and built to military specifications of the time. This fort is obviously a replica, but it is still cool to see how the members of the Corp lived the winter before their journey. This historic site is very informative in a fun interactive way. It is very worth the time to stop by and check it out. They also have a gift shop.

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Unfortunately, we spent so much time at Camp River Dubois that our second stop turned into a drive-by – it was closed by the time we arrived. I would like to get back to the Vandalia State House at some point. Apparently, Illinois has had six state capitol buildings, the Vandalia State House is the fourth. It served as the state capitol from 1936-1839 when Abraham Lincoln would have been in the House of Representatives. It is open to the public for tours Tuesdays through Saturdays.

Our primary destination was Wolf Creek Habitat. Do yourself a favor and call them ahead of time for lodging recommendations. We did not and I will not discuss our hotel arrangements. I don’t even think it is in business anymore. There are some bed and breakfast locations near the Habitat, but there are larger-than-what-we-stayed-in (aka nicer) hotel chains available a little further away – like even just 30 minutes away.

What is your favorite animal? Mine is a tiger. My sister’s is a wolf. At Wolf Creek Habitat, you can interact with their wolves. And when I say interact, I don’t mean just sit for a quick photo or let it walk past you with no touching. I mean get down and dirty (and you will get dirty – how dirty will depend on the weather) and interact up close and personal with the wolves. “Come and play with the wolves” is the slogan on their website. They mean this literally. Wolf Creek Habitat is probably the coolest interaction opportunity I have ever experienced! 

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Before any of you worry, because I know some of you will, and rightly so. These wolves are VERY well taken care of. They have either been rescued or born at the habitat. They are like family to the owners. They can tell you each one’s story. They have strict rules for interacting, and of course you will have to sign a waiver. Anyone 16 and under must be accompanied by an adult, and you must be 60 inches tall (I am not sure how my mother got in haha).

Other requirements from their website: “Please wear long pants, tee-shirts, closed toed shoes. Rubber boots would be ideal. If you have long hair please leave it down as they will pull on ponytails & braids etc.. Please do not wear fur on coats or boots. Under no circumstances will you be allowed to enter the wolves enclosure if you have these items on: SHORT SHORTS, SANDALS/FLIP FLOPS, TANK TOPS, or FLEECE PANTS, JEWELRY, or anything the wolves could take from you. Only thing you should have is a cell phone. NO GO-PROS. No sunglasses or items in your pockets.”

I will say they are very strict with their bring nothing policy. This is for your safety, but even more so for the safety of the wolves. They are wolves, so they do have claws, and they sometimes jump. If you follow the “dress code” you will be fine. Anything dangling or shiny on you attracts their attention and they think it is a toy. I would also suggest that you wear OLD clothes, and maybe even bring a change of clothes. You will for sure want to bring a pair of shoes to change into when you are finished. You might also want to bring some wipes!

It rained the morning we went, so it was very muddy. And, like I said, they are wolves. It wasn’t just muddy if you catch my drift. I am pretty germaphobic – ok VERY germaphobic – I wrap the paper from the silverware & napkin bundles around the salt & pepper shakers in restaurants and always have a spare mini hand sanitizer in my pocket. Thankfully, my sister had been before, and knew to warn us ahead of time, so we were prepared. I brought a complete change of clothes AND shoes. All of the “muddy” clothes went in a trash bag until they made it to the washing machine as soon as we got home!

Admission is a little pricey ($50). But. It. Is. WORTH. IT! As I said before, you can get up close and personal with the wolves. We had people in our group literally laying in the mud spooning and snuggling with them! Yep. I know what you’re thinking. Yes. Laying in the “mud” snuggling. I stuck with head and back scratches and belly rubs, and took some selfies, but I stayed on my feet!

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The wolves were all very friendly and loved the attention! It was a blast! I ALMOST forgot about all of the poo-mud. Almost. Seriously though, I feel like if it hadn’t been raining literally up to the point we went out to the enclosure, it would have been fine. The admission price does include a brief tour of the facility, and you do get a significant amount of interaction time. You will not leave disappointed. They have a gift shop, and you can “sponsor” a wolf or fox if you like. If you love wolves, you HAVE to add this place to your bucket list!

Hopefully you are feeling a little warm and fuzzy now. Our other animal stop on this trip brought us up close to MY favorite animal. Tigers! Not as close as we got to the wolves, but close enough to full grown tigers. We visited the Exotic Feline Rescue Center in Center Point, Indiana. This is strictly a rescue center. They have around 150 cats. Tigers. Lions. Jaguars. And several other breeds. Their cats are also very well taken care of. 

The Exotic Feline Rescue is open from 10-5 every day, and they offer tours to the public for $10 for adults and $5 for kids 12 & under. The tours are not interactive, but they are very informative. And you still see the animals pretty close up. I was able to put the lens of my camera close enough to the enclosure fences that it appears I am inside the enclosure. They also have one overnight accommodation now, but I have not stayed. 

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In between our furry friend stops, we hit two more historic locations. One, was the Whitewater Canal in Metamora, Indiana and Cataract Falls Covered Bridge in Lieber State Recreation Area, Owen County, Indiana. The covered bridge can be accessed from the parking lot for free without having to enter the Recreation Area. It was built in 1876, became pedestrian only when it was bypassed in 1988, and has since been listed as a historic marker. You can also see one of the Cataract Falls from the parking lot as well. If covered bridges are your thing it is definitely worth a stop. It is also a good place for a picnic lunch. There are picnic tables on the bridge out of the sun. 

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Now back to the Whitewater Canal. This was another unplanned, pleasant surprise for me! The Whitewater Canal State Historic Site is located in Metamora, Indiana, a quaint, historic, “canal town” that has plenty of fun shops, restaurants, a grist mill, and a train ride, that you can explore in addition to the canal. The canal’s historic marker reads, “Important waterway of pioneer commerce. Built 1836-47 from Lawrenceburg to Hagerstown, with branch to Cincinnati. Used until 1860. Fifteen-mile section restored by state.”

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Being short on time, I was more interested this time in the history of the canal and taking photos of the gates on the locks to show my American History students. The canal was finished in the 1840s shortly after folks began settling in the Ohio Territory. Remember during this time period, waterways were still the most efficient means of transportation in most cases. The canal system was constructed to connect rivers, and was used to transport people and goods because it was easier to move by boat than by covered wagon. 

The original Whitewater Canal was 68 miles long and changed elevation by 500 feet. It had 56 locks and 7 feeder dams, and cost over one million dollars to construct! Keep in mind this is in the 1840’s economy! This is almost $30 million in spending power in 2020. So in other words the canal cost over 30 million dollars in today’s money! Twenty-ish years later, in the 1860’s the railroad made the canal system obsolete.

One of the cool things about this Canal is that you can also take a 30 minute cruise on a small section of the restored canal – old school style – towed by a horse – on the Ben Franklin III boat/barge. Prices are $7 for adults, $6 for seniors, $4 for youth 4-17, and free for kids 3 & under. I wish we would have had time to do this! One of the features on the canal is the Duck Creek Aqueduct, which is basically the canal running through a covered bridge (yes a WOODEN covered bridge) to cross over Duck Creek. The boat ride goes through the aqueduct! It is the only one still in use in America. So THIS is on my list for next time! I am sure we will be back at some point since my sister is a frequent flyer at Wolf Creek Habitat. In the meantime, stay safe out there!