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 1. 2026-1004_001.jpg, Sunday, 10/4/2026: Just before our trip, the trees in our subdivision started to change color. |
 2. 2026-1005_001.jpg, Monday, 10/5/2026: We arrive at Essenhaus in Middlebury, IN. It is about 4 hours from Mequon, WI and 8 hours from Wellsboro, PA. We are greeted in the stairway with this lovely quilt. |
 3. 2026-1005_002.jpg, As we head to our room, in the Fourier there is another beautiful quilt hanging on the wall between the rooms. |
 4. 2026-1005_004.jpg, Bob, Debbie, Amy & Kevin, standing outside Bob and Debbie’s room. |
 5. 2026-1005_006.jpg, Another beautiful quilt hanging on the wall of one of the many shops at Essenhaus. |
 6. 2026-1005a_001.jpg, Amy awakens with rainbows in her room, excited about the trip to come. (photo by Amy) |
 7. 2026-1005a_003.jpg, Along the way we stop at a Pilot truck stop and enter the Sizzler restaurant. To our surprise the place is nearly empty. The waitress informs us that the truckers are on strike. Nonetheless, there are plenty on the road. (photo by Amy) |
 8. 2026-1005a_008.jpg, This is our bedroom at the atrium section of Essenhaus. It is furnished with Amish-built furniture—no nails or metal parts. (photo by Amy) |
 9. 2026-1005a_009.jpg, A beautiful floral arrangement in the hallway. (photo by Amy) |
 10. 2026-1005a_013.jpg, An old-style phone in the hallway. (photo by Amy) |
 11. 2026-1005a_016.jpg, Inside one of the many shops which surround the restaurant. (photo by Amy) |
 12. 2026-1005a_017.jpg, A nickolodeon Music Machine. It was made in the early 1800s and was purchased in Oregon by the owner of Essenhaus, Bob Miller. (photo by Amy) |
 13. 2026-1005a_023.jpg, The outside landscaping is impecable. (photo by Amy) |
 14. 2026-1005a_025.jpg, A floral garden and gazebo spotted at the back of the complex. (photo by Amy) |
 15. 2026-1005a_029.jpg, Debbie & Bob on the stairway. (photo by Amy) |
 16. Heritage01.jpg, Tuesday, 10/6/2026: We listened to this CD which features an audio driving tour of the area. (Elkhart County Chamber of Commerce) |
 17. Heritage02.jpg, Back cover |
 18. Heritage03.jpg, Inside cover, featuring Elkhart, Bristol, Middlebury, Shipshewana, Goshen, Nappanee & Wakarusa. We listened to tracks 01 through 56. |
 19. 2026-1006a_052.jpg, Kevin, Bob, Amy & Debbie (on the TV screen). Amy figured out how to activate the back seat camera. (photo by Amy) |
 20. 2026-1006_001.jpg, Debbie & Amy. We visited Krider Garden Gardens in Middlebury, IN. |
 21. 2026-1006_003.jpg, Debbie & Amy up close. |
 22. 2026-1006_004.jpg, Vibrant red zinnia (Zinnia elegans), it is late in the season, so that you can see that many of the flowers are now dying. |
 23. 2026-1006_006.jpg, Cacti in a planter. |
 24. 2026-1006_007.jpg, Red zinnias, purple Chastetree (Vitex agnuscastus) and white Dusty Miller (Jacobaea maritima). |
 25. 2026-1006_010.jpg, Possible golden Dune Tansy (Tanacetum bipinnatum). |
 26. 2026-1006_013.jpg, A pink Zinnia alongside violet Blue Sage (Salvia farinacea). |
 27. 2026-1006_015.jpg, Bob, Debbie, & Amy walking along the cobblestone path. |
 28. 2026-1006_016.jpg, Bob, Debbie, & Amy close up. |
 29. 2026-1006_017.jpg, Base of a redwood tree that Debbie says is over 200 years old. |
 30. 2026-1006_018.jpg, The top of the same redwood tree. |
 31. 2026-1006a_012.jpg, Celebration of our 250th birthday (photo by Amy) |
 32. 2026-1006_019.jpg, Debbie, Amy & Kevin standing next to the Dutch-style windmill. |
 33. 2026-1006_022.jpg, We stopped in Shipshewana and spot this Amish horse-drawn taxi. |
 34. 2026-1006_023.jpg, A great display outside one of the many shops. |
 35. 2026-1006a_021.jpg, Outside display (photo by Amy) |
 36. 2026-1006_026.jpg, Another horse-drawn carriage seen in town. |
 37. 2026-1006_027.jpg, Inside the main shopping mall on the top floor is a old-fashion Carousel. |
 38. 2026-1006_028.jpg, A mural along the street, locals call it ‘Shipsie’. |
 39. 2026-1006_029.jpg, Happy Chickens at the parking lot near the shops back at Essenhaus. |
 40. 2026-1006_031.jpg, This is the atrium just outside our hotel room. It was very relaxing to come out here in the morning, pour some coffee and do some reading. I made sure to bring back a dogie-bag for the two dogs warming themselves by the stove. |
 41. 2026-1006_032.jpg, Another beautiful quilt hanging in our room. |
 42. 2026-1006a_009.jpg, Another great quilt. (photo by Amy) |
 43. 2026-1007_004.jpg, Amy & Debbie took a bike ride while Bob & I took a nap. They both have lots of energy. |
 44. 2026-1006a_002.jpg, Another quilt which hangs in the hallway. (photo by Amy) |
 45. 2026-1006a_010.jpg, Grandfather clock in the hallway (photo by Amy) |
 46. 2026-1006a_020.jpg, Bob, Debbie & Kevin (photo by Amy) |
 47. 2026-1006a_027.jpg, A quilt inside one of the stores (photo by Amy) |
 48. 2026-1006a_028.jpg, The Davis Mercantile Tree was 56 feet tall, 44 inches in diameter and over 370 years old. It is preserved in the center of the shopping mall. (photo by Amy) |
 49. 2026-1006a_034.jpg, Bob & Debbie waiting in line … (photo by Amy) |
 50. 2026-1006a_036.jpg, Mural to Hezekiah Davis (1825-1891) (photo by Amy) |
 51. 2026-1006a_037.jpg, Mural to Reifsnider (photo by Amy) |
 52. 2026-1006a_040.jpg, Bob, Debbie & Kevin (photo by Amy) |
 53. 2026-1006a_041.jpg, Pumpkins can do summersaults (photo by Amy) |
 54. 2026-1006a_043.jpg, One of the paintings in a shop (photo by Amy) |
 55. 2026-1006a_047.jpg, Momster: What happens to Mom after she counts to three … (photo by Amy) |
 56. 2026-1006a_048.jpg, A cornucopia of gords (photo by Amy) |
 57. 2026-1006a_053.jpg, Flowers and pumpkins at the entrance. (photo by Amy) |
 58. 2026-1006a_054.jpg, Inside one of the shops. (photo by Amy) |
 59. 2026-1007_001.jpg, Wednesday, 10/7/2026: The quilt hanging on the second floor of the atrium. |
 60. 2026-1007_024.jpg, We arrive at Lindon‘s Enchanted Gardens, 315 County Rd 17, Elkhart, IN. |
 61. 2026-1007_007.jpg, I disturbed this emu. |
 62. 2026-1007_010.jpg, Debbie, Bob & Debbie outside Lindon's Garden |
 63. 2026-1007_012.jpg, Yellow Chrysanthemums (Chrysanthemum morifolium). |
 64. 2026-1007_014.jpg, Red Chrysanthemums (mums). |
 65. 2026-1007_015.jpg, Yellow plumed Celosia (Celosia argentea). |
 66. 2026-1007_016.jpg, Yellow French marigolds (Ki>Tagetes patula). |
 67. 2026-1007_018.jpg, Debbie & Bob deciding what they want to purchase. |
 68. 2026-1007_020.jpg, Red Celosia. |
 69. 2026-1007a_003.jpg, Bob, Kevin & Debbie at the oriental bridge. (photo by Amy) |
 70. 2026-1007_022.jpg, A bunny happy just sleeping inside the greenhouse. |
 71. 2026-1007_023.jpg, Big Foot was roaming around inside the greenhouse. |
 72. 2026-1007a_009.jpg, The view from inside the store. (photo by Amy) |
 73. 2026-1007a_010.jpg, Another view. (photo by Amy) |
 74. 2026-1007_026.jpg, At dining car at the National New York Central Railroad Museum, Elkhart, IN |
 75. 2026-1007_028.jpg, An historic photo taken in the early 1900s of the train depot at Elkhart, IN. |
 76. 2026-1007_029.jpg, Niagara-type Passenger Locomotive |
 77. 2026-1007_030.jpg, A painting of the Toledo Union Station circa 1948. |
 78. 2026-1007_031.jpg, The computer in the late 1950s typically used thousands of vacuum tubes to operate as switches. On any given day, usually one or two would ‘blow’ and would have to be replaced. They were not turned off since the stress of booting the massive machine would stress the circuits. |
 79. 2026-1007_032.jpg, In the freight-yard is the hump tower and hump. The cars would be pushed up the hump, and then roll down the tracks to their proper position. A switch operator would direct the cars to their destination, and a rail pinch mechanism would brake the cars before they would reach their destination. |
 80. 2026-1007_034.jpg, As we toured the museum, an active train passed on the tracks. |
 81. 2026-1007_036.jpg, An old map showing the extent of the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern railroad. Buffalo, Toledo and Chicago were major hubs. |
 82. 2026-1007_038.jpg, Workers often reached a section of the track using this pump action car. |
 83. 2026-1007_039.jpg, Elkhart Passenger Depot in the early 1900s. |
 84. 2026-1007_040.jpg, Some of the many workers who worked on the railroad. |
 85. 2026-1007_041.jpg, This is a model locomotive that was constructed in 1991 consisting of 421,250 toothpicks. The total weight is 50 lbs. It is based on the Pennsylvania Railroad K-4 Pacific engine. It is a 6:1 scale model. |
 86. 2026-1007_050.jpg, Bob, Debbie & Amy standing next to the toothpick model. |
 87. 2026-1007a_017.jpg, The schematic of the E8 Diesel Locomotive, with two engines in series. (photo by Amy) |
 88. 2026-1007_043.jpg, One of the multi-ton engines after derailment. |
 89. 2026-1007_044.jpg, The Hudson Locomotive engine. |
 90. 2026-1007_046.jpg, A stock certificate issued in 1951. |
 91. 2026-1007_048.jpg, The Stationmaster's Office. Notice the safe in the left corner, the stove used to heat the room, the hoops to the far left used to retrieve mail from a moving train, and the map case to the far right which held Rand McNally Railroad Maps. Each draw pulls out to display a different map. |
 92. 2026-1007_052.jpg, This may be an S-gage scale model train setup. |
 93. 2026-1007_054.jpg, The right side of the display. |
 94. 2026-1007_056.jpg, Detail of one of the trains emerging from one of two main tunnels. |
 95. 2026-1007_058.jpg, Looking outside at the Elkhart Depot. |
 96. 2026-1007_060.jpg, The main engine at the museum. |
 97. 2026-1007_061.jpg, Another view of the Elkhart Train Depot. |
 98. 2026-1007_063.jpg, A long line of cars along the outside track. |
 99. 2026-1011_011.jpg, Once we returned home, we are greeted by these lovely stand of trees changing color. |
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