Interlake - Southern Indiana DNR Offroad Vehicle Park

[TripleThreat]

Interlake 7-17-2010

Left Bloomington this morning a little after 7:15 am and headed down to Interlake on my KTM 640 Adventure with thebiglebowski (ADV Member) on his KLR 650. It was our first trip down there. About 108 miles to get there…

My GPS tried to send us in on Friendship Road, which ends up dead ending at a Reclamation Area for Foot Traffic Only, so we backtracked and went in the back entrance.

There were a lot of mud holes, even on the main roads
http://i479.photobucket.com/albums/rr156/TripleThreat719/Interlake%202010-7-17/Interlake2010-07-17-03.jpg

Stopped for a drink on Trail 6
http://i479.photobucket.com/albums/rr156/TripleThreat719/Interlake%202010-7-17/Interlake2010-07-17-06.jpg

View of the Lake from Trail 6
http://i479.photobucket.com/albums/rr156/TripleThreat719/Interlake%202010-7-17/Interlake2010-07-17-12.jpg

Tim navigating the end of Trail 6
http://i479.photobucket.com/albums/rr156/TripleThreat719/Interlake%202010-7-17/Interlake2010-07-17-16.jpg

After enough fun at Interlake, we headed West on 68 past Linville and stopped at the Coal Mining Museum. It’s located about 1 mile West of Linville.
http://i479.photobucket.com/albums/rr156/TripleThreat719/Interlake%202010-7-17/Interlake2010-07-17-22.jpg

If you are in the area, I highly recommend stopping there and seeing some of the cool memorabilia they have on display. Two former miners were there working and talked to us about the history of the mining in the area. When they found out we were looking for a shady spot to eat lunch, they invited us into their air-conditioned dining area and ate with us. Hearing their stories was really interesting and they even offered to share their lunches with us, but we had each packed a cooler, knowing that we would be gone all day.

They directed us to an old Drag Line
http://i479.photobucket.com/albums/rr156/TripleThreat719/Interlake%202010-7-17/Interlake2010-07-17-26.jpg

http://i479.photobucket.com/albums/rr156/TripleThreat719/Interlake%202010-7-17/Interlake2010-07-17-30.jpg

http://i479.photobucket.com/albums/rr156/TripleThreat719/Interlake%202010-7-17/Interlake2010-07-17-31.jpg

The bucket was pretty big
http://i479.photobucket.com/albums/rr156/TripleThreat719/Interlake%202010-7-17/Interlake2010-07-17-34.jpg

So was the chain that connected to it
http://i479.photobucket.com/albums/rr156/TripleThreat719/Interlake%202010-7-17/Interlake2010-07-17-35.jpg

The pivoting mechanism
http://i479.photobucket.com/albums/rr156/TripleThreat719/Interlake%202010-7-17/Interlake2010-07-17-42.jpg

Reciprocating Foot that allows the drag line to walk from location to location
http://i479.photobucket.com/albums/rr156/TripleThreat719/Interlake%202010-7-17/Interlake2010-07-17-44.jpg

Then we stopped by a working mine to take a few pics. This drag line is as big as the other, but it is so far below the ground, you can only just see the top of the boom above the road.
http://i479.photobucket.com/albums/rr156/TripleThreat719/Interlake%202010-7-17/Interlake2010-07-17-46.jpg

We drove around the edge of the mine until we could get a better view of the Drag Line working. Notice how little the trucks look in comparison to the Drag Line. Look to the right of the rig, next to the base of the hills. Those little tiny white specs are full sized pick-up trucks.
http://i479.photobucket.com/albums/rr156/TripleThreat719/Interlake%202010-7-17/Interlake2010-07-17-59.jpg

Cool Video of how Drag Lines are built and how they Operate...
YouTube- How Do They Do IT: Draglines

We had a great day. I learned a lot about the capabilities and limitations of the 640. I ended up dropping it once at a stand still when I put my foot down to turn the bike around and what I thought was dry mud ended up only being a dried crust covering a sloppy mess. No damage to anything other than my pride.

We ended up running into some pretty heavy rain about 30 miles from home, but after being in full gear in the heat all day, we didn’t even bother to stop and put on rain gear, we just enjoyed the cool rain.

Jeff

[Ironheadziggy76]

Looks like you had a great trip Jeff! P^ Coming from a family of Coal Miners I would like to check out the museum some time.

[TripleThreat]

Steve,

They showed me a payroll ledger from 1901 from a company called The Big 4. It was really interesting to hear how the mining industry worked at that time. with Company Stores, Company Housing, etc... They showed me one entry where a guy with a large family worked all month and ended up owing the company money after buying all the food for his family.

Really cool history there.

Jeff

[GroundHog]

Steve here is another one you can check out...Mapsource shows it's only about 300 miles from you...The last time I was there I think they were working on opening up an actual mine..but I'm not sure, my memory isn't that good any more.

http://kentucky.coal.museum/

http://www.benhamky.org/Museum/

[Trailace]

Jeff great report thanks for taking us along. The only time I have fun in the mud is when I'm riding a 250 or smaller two-stroke motorcycle. You can do it on the 650 is just not as much fun and when I'm on my 1150 it's just plain work. When I was up in Alaska the road from Dawson city two chicken Alaska they have a few abandoned or retired drag link. These are a lot smaller drag links that were built on barges.

[George]

I love riding that part of the country. I've got pics of that big drag line somewhere in the albums.

I've got family history in the SoIndiana cola mines, uncle and cousin did full careers at the underground mines around Bicknell, Indiana.

I was just down there in June, rode the general area around Jasper, IN and south into Kentucky. Definitely worth the trip. Next time, check out Patoka Lake, a little west of away you were.

[Ironheadziggy76]

Jeff, the wife and I both have "Flickers" of our Grandfathers that were used as your "ID" for the company stores here locally.

Groundhog thanks for those links. P^

Here is a link to a shovel called "Big Hog"working in Paradise, KY. It was the largest shovel in the world in the early 60's. Of course that didn't last too long as they have built some real monsters in the past. I think this one had a 115 yard bucket. I actually got to see this shovel work in person in the mid 70's.

YouTube- Bucyrus Erie 3850-B Power Shovel (Peabody Coal Co. - Sinclair Surface Mine) "Big Hog"

[Mr. Guy]

I'll have to throw in my pic of a dragline too:

http://lh5.ggpht.com/_eAeUVzxF-uc/Stt95zcmqkI/AAAAAAAAA_U/iDmKJWXL-fI/s720/PICT0213.JPG

Rode by it in Eastern Oklahoma. It's not a "big" one, but still pretty large.

Guy

[Trailace]

OK here is the Drag line from Alaska
http://trailace.smugmug.com/2004/Motorcycle/Alaska-2004/Alaska-2004-114/7584528_2NsBi-M.jpg

[Mr. Guy]

Maybe we need a "big machinery pics" thread?

Guy

[dan1551]

They make a 400 ton truck close to where I live...I hope the picture makes it !

[DILLIGAF61]

http://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/2184
Big Muskie the largest machine to ever walk on the planet 220 cubic yard drag line bucket about 80 miles south of my house I remember this thing working back in the '80s was finally shut down in'91 some where I have a pic of me standing in the bucket
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oODQKhapCoc

[DILLIGAF61]

Maybe we need a "big machinery pics" thread?

Guy
no what we need is a "roadside oddities" thread and for anyone interested in my big muskie post there's a link to a web site called "Roadside America" has all kinds of neat places

[George]

I have an entry in Roadside America. :D