New Harmony, Ind.

While we were out west, we stopped at New Harmony, Ind., the site of two former utopian societies.

First, we walked down a path alongside the Wabash River. Due to ton of rain the area had gotten recently, the walk was pretty buggy. Even though we sprayed our hair, arms and legs with bug spray, we were still covered in little, black flying insects!

We did see other insects on our walk, too.

I really loved exploring the Roofless Church.

This is a statue in the middle of the Roofless Church.

There was also a labyrinth garden. My mother-in-law, Margie, and I walked around the labyrinth as Chris and his dad, Dana, waited. You're supposed to walk around it slowly, meditating. The fountain in the park and the landscaping was beautiful.

The town's library is the former New Harmony Workmen's Institute. I loved the architecture of the building, but the inside was a little bit musty.

I loved the door handle, so I had Chris take a picture. :)

The library was hosting a sale, and Dana picked up a CD or two.

Here's some more photos from around town:

This doorway used to be part of a church. It's now an entry into one of the town's gardens.

A very modern building for such an old community.
This houses the visitor center and is where you can start tours.

The town was also hosting the Golden Raintree Antiques Show, so we did a little browsing, too.

Angel Mounds Historic Site, Evansville, Ind.

Not too long ago, Chris, Sidney and I headed out west to visit family. While there, of course, we made sure to visit some sites. Many of those Chris had visited often when he lived in the area, but this was my first time seeing a lot of these places.

One place Chris has wanted to take me for several years is Angel Mounds Historic Site, Evansville, Ind. Since we usually visit in December, we haven't made it to the mounds, though it's nearby.

I've been to a few Native American burial and ceremonial grounds (see Serpent Mounds and Grave Creek Mound), but never had I seen so many mounds together nor over such a large area! I now see why Chris didn't want to take me in cooler weather. Most of our time was spent outside walking around the mound.

This post is just in time because Angel Mound's annual Native American Days are Sept. 23-25! So, start planning your trip now.

After walking through the Interpretive Center, you walk out across a bridge to the Mounds. There you follow a mowed trail around and over the mounds. If I remember correctly, the whole trail is about a mile long.

Signs point out the various mounds and what they may have been used for.

There were also models of a stockade that would have surrounded the community and different buildings.

This is a reconstruction of what the stockade may have looked like.

After our walk, we stopped at the bridge so Chris could take photos of turtles and dragonflies. I wonder if any of the turtles or fish found the lens cap I dropped into the water. Oops!

Big Bend Picnic Area, Big Walker Mountain, Wytheville, Va.

Updated: I had a plant mislabeled. See below

We've visited the Big Bend Picnic Area twice in the past couple of months. Though it's a picnic site, we didn't take a lunch with us. We were there to explore the Big Walker Mountain area.

A turk's cap lily.

A mondara, or bee balm. A friend corrected me and said this is a "wild bergamot." Oops!

Chris has lamented the lack of butterflies this year. He's almost convinced they're all hiding out here on the mountain. There are many butterflies and other insects along the dirt road by the picnic area.

The last time we visited, Chris was able to get a few good photos of butterflies, including the rare Diana fritillary.

This is a male Diana fritillary. The female is brown with blue. (Please correct me if I'm wrong.)

Other areas to check out while you're on Big Walker includes the country store and Monster Rock Trail, which has a trail head located behind the store.

There's also Seven Sisters Trail and the Stony Fork Campground, which are both located at the foot of the mountain. The Seven Sisters Trail winds 4.8 miles up the mountain to the campground.