On the way through Bloomington to Nashville on our first day, we stopped for a bite to eat and visited the Wandering Turtle art gallery. I have this thing about turtles, so it was not to be missed! What an ecclectic and fun art gallery! I did make a couple small purchases...!

Bloomington, Indiana is a surprisingly diverse community, due in part to the presence of Indiana University, which has attracted faculty, students and visitors from around the world. Specifically, Bloomington enjoys a Tibetan connection that many are surprised in find in Indiana. The Tibetan Cultural Center was founded by Indiana University professor Emeritus Thubten J. Norbu (brother of the 14th Dalai Lama) in 1979. It strives to preserve Tibetan and Mongolian cultures and Buddhist philosophy through education and philanthropic endeavors, and to support Tibetans and Mongolians both in their homelands and in exile.

The following is a prayer of a bodhisattva (a person who has compassion for others). It is a favorite prayer of His Holiness the Dalai Lama.

As long as space endures

As long as sentient beings remain

May, I too, prevail

To dispel the misery of the world

This is called a ger. The nomadic mongols lived in these and they could be completed taken down and moved to a new area very easily.

These are the two chortens(or stupas)--traditional Buddhist monument reliquaries--on the grounds. This one can be entered on all four sides and contains a sand mandala. This chorten commemorates the Kalachakra Ceremonies for World Peace which took place at the Tibetan Cultural Center in 1999. The Kalachakra, or "Turning of the Wheel of Time", is the most revered of all Buddhist rituals because it is dedicated to creating world peace and harmony.

This chorten is the Jangchub Chorten, which was dedicated by His Holiness the Dalai Lama in 1987, and stands as a monument to world peace and a memorial to the estimated 1.2 million Tibetans who have perished in the struggle to maintain independence.

This sand mandala is inside the chorten, encased in plastic. Yes, it is all sand and created by monks.

This is the Chamtse Ling Temple, consecrated in 2003 in a ceremony hosted by His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Muhammad Ali, and is dedicated t interfaith understanding and world peace. The Center offers classes in Buddhist philosophy and meditation, as well as a variety of other special topics.

Our 2nd stop of the day was at the Dagom Gaden Tensung Ling Monastery. It was founded in 1996 and is nestled at the edge of Lower Cascades Park in a beautiful natural setting. It is a traditional monastery for monks of the Gelugpa lineage of Tibetan Buddhism and also serves as a community resource offering a wide array of religious, cultural and educational programs to the public, including the bi-annual Taste of Tibet. Here is a new friend, a very informative Monk we happened to come a cross during our visit.

The outside of the monastery building is hand-decorated with traditional Tibetan colors and designs and is open to anyone who wishes to visit.

The Old Nashville Jail

Original Nashville jail......built in 1837, last prisoner kept there in 1919. Each section had a chair, bed and a stove. There are three windows open with iron grating iron covers. To the right you can see the steps that go up to the 2nd level.

Okay, I could use one of these out back of our house to be used for the "dog house" when Ken's in trouble! LOL

The stairs run up the outside of the building to the women's part of the jail.

The 'ol ball 'n chains, still in place in the women's jail.

Yes, there really is a Gnaw Bone, Indiana

ENJOY THIS MOMENT FOR THIS MOMENT IS YOUR LIFE

One of the things Ken and I enjoy is driving around the countryside looking at all the sights and seeing what interesting things we can find. We saw this home on the way to Story Inn. It's the House at Stone Head and is now a home you can rent to enjoy the serenity of the surrounding hills and nature. There is no TV or telephone here......just the quiet of nature and beautiful gardens in the rear to enjoy. Or imagine being all cozy and tucked inside by the fireplace in the winter with a good book and enjoying the view of the the rolling hills outside covered with a light snowfall! Peaceful!
The original home was a log cabin from 1851 and was replaced with the more "modern" version seen here in 1891. In 1981 it was entered with the National Registry of Historical Places and the carved stone marker in front was awarded as a separate listing.

This stone marker is the last fully intact marker of three that were carved back in 1851 used as directional markers for the public roads in Brown County. It was chiseled out of a block of sandstone quarried from a local stream bed. It sets in its original place.

A front look at the house and there's the stone head marker right out front.

This is one of the Gnaw Bone flea markets. Yes, there really is a Gnaw Bone, Indiana.....population 71 people within a 1 mile radius! The town's name derives from that of the original French settlement in the area, Narbonne, named in turn for the southern French city of that name. To the ears of English settlers of that time, "Narbonne" sounded like "Gnaw Bone" and came to be know as just that!

It has been promoted as "flea capital of the world", as it is said to have one flea market for every five residents!

This is the Beanblossom covered bridge that used to connect Beanblossom, IN to Nashville, IN until it was bypassed by a new road. It was built in 1880 and because of it's location in Brown County, and thus a proximity to the famous local art colony, this structure probably has the distinction of being the subject of more covered bridge paintings than any other in Indiana.

What's the Story?

Story, Indiana.......the Story Inn.....is located where the Brown County State Park meets the Hoosier National Forest. It is a winding 20 minute drive south of Nashville, past weather-beaten barns, covered bridges and clapboard churches. And a beautiful and fun drive it was!

The Story Inn is actually an entire town, founded as a logging community in 1851. It is perhaps the best preserved example of a 19th century village that survives in the American Midwest.

The little town/inn is dominated by the old General Store and is now a gourmet restaurant. The remaining buildings in town, the Old Mill, Sawmill, several homes and out-buildings--serve as over night accomodations.

The town was founded by Dr. George Story and soon became the largest settlement in the area. In it's heyday (1880-1929) the village supported two general stores, a nondenominational church, a one-room schoolhouse, a grain mill, a sawmill, a slaughterhouse, a blacksmith's forge and a post office. It never recovered from the Great Depression (1929-1933), as families abandoned their hilly,marginal farms in search of work elsewhere.

The second floor of the Old General Store has been renovated into four quaint bed & breakfast accomodations notable for their year-round occupant, the "Blue Lady". The Blue Lady is a mirthful albeit innocuous apparition with flowing white robes, whose cheeky behavior has been observed by Story Inn employees and recorded in guest books since the 1970's.

One of the original Royal Crown gas pumps displayed outside.

Love to swing!! And what a wonderful swing this was in a tree out back of the Story Inn.

The Story Garden.....where they grow vegetables and herbs for their gourmet restaurant in the Inn.

More Brown County

Here are some more pics from Nashville. Hope you are enjoying all the scenery and quaint little shops of this adorable little town. More to come.........!

Now this was a store.......lots of fun things for scrapbooking and altered art and ATC's. Also bought some wonderful paper and diecuts made for Brown County and Nashville.

Always love a Raggedy Ann!

Isn't she a cutie with her little black cat!

The last evening at Nashville, we ate at the Nashville House, known for their sassafras tea and fried biscuits with apple butter......yum!!