I am a big fan of festivals, fall, artisans, beautiful landscapes and anything deep fried.  So Imagine my excitement when we decided to check out the Parke County Covered Bridge Festival.  This festival is the largest in Indiana and is going on this year from October 14 -23. It spans across 10 different towns in Parke county, that’s right, 10!  Parke county also has an impressive 31 covered bridges to tour.

Unless you are going to make a few days of it, attending the festival at all locations is nearly impossible.  I suggest you do some research and decide what you want to see at the festival.  Then pick a couple towns to visit if you only have one day.  We chose the big names and opted to go to Rockville and Bridgeton, which I referred to as Bridgerton the entire trip to my family’s annoyance.

Our first stop was Rockville. This is a little over a two hour drive for us, so it is doable for a day trip.  Rockville is a small town filled with small town charm.  There is a visitor’s center as well so you can get a map.  Maps are very important down here!  There is no signal, so if you want to use GPS, it sucks to be you.  If you are in a group, you might consider walkie talkies.  I am dead serious about this and it is not just an excuse for me to get a nostalgic toy for me to play with.

The Crafts 

 The main drag was very busy and you had to keep your eyes peeled for pedestrians and parking.  We found parking for 3 bucks and it was very accessible to all the action, and most importantly bathrooms! There were also many artisans that made everything from clay pots and jewelry to wood carving statues.

I spent most of my money in Rockville.  There are many antique booths scattered across the laws in town if that is your thing. It is mine.  I love walking through time and finding gems.  My kids have started to notice my hoarding and may call TLC soon for an intervention. 

Our first stop was just a rummage type booth.  My son claimed a treasure that would be the envy of all the students of Purdue, a 1960’s Jim Beam Whiskey decanter in the shape of a donkey.  Later research would show that this was to represent the Democratic Party.  There is also a Republican elephant out there as well that I assume we will be buying for him at some point. This pride and joy was obtained for a dollar. He carried this around like a trophy for the four hours we were in Rockville.

I also found treasures!  I am a big vintage travel swag fan.  I scored some 1960’s ABCB Convention Soda Bottles for $3.00 each.  I have never seen these before and it showed.  I could not contain myself.  It was like I hit the jackpot.  I should have bought them all

If antiques and flea market finds are not your thing, there are several boutique booths, and foodie finds in the town square.  We probably walked about 3 blocks or so through all the vendors.

The Crowds

We have to talk about it, everyone asks about it, the crowds. Now let’s get into it.  This is the largest and most popular festival in Indiana.  Even though it spans 10 towns.  Most people head to the most popular spots.  Rockville is one of them.

The crowds are pretty bad.  We arrived on Saturday, which was not a great idea, but it was the only day we could all go.  When we first arrived, the crowds were manageable and the atmosphere was filled with excitement.  People were generally kind and courteous and we were all there for a day of treasure hunting and eating deep fried everything.

About an hour into our adventure in Rockville, the crowds got a little heavier and the niceness of most people started to wear thin.  With that many people milling around you know you are going to get to see some prime teachable moments of “Don’t act like that kids behavior”.  And we did, just not at Rockville.  More to come later.

With managing the crowds comes managing the traffic as well.  There were a TON of cars moving along the main drag.  If you attend it is important to watch for the maniacs that are out and have no care for people on foot.  To be fair, people are dodging and weaving like a game of Frogger only with 5000 frogs dodging traffic at the same time. We tried to maneuver up one side and down the other so we could try to keep dying or maiming at a minimum.

The Pandemonium

There was not really any pandemonium at Rockville other than the longer we were there the people were getting a touch more rude.  I was not impressed with my fellow Hoosiers, it kinda made me sad.  So much for Hoosier Hospitality.  There were a lot of people that would run you over, barge into you or put on their brakes in front of you.  A lot of spin moves were utilized to avoid walking road rage.

After looking at all the gems that Rockville had, we decided to head to Bridgeton so we could finish out the rest of our day.  Here is where all the action was.  We are going to reverse the order here.

The Pandemonium

Bridgton is only about 10 miles from Rockville.  Easy peasy drive right?  Wrong!  This drive took us almost two hours to complete.  Remember to bring your patience.  The main drag was so busy and was at a stand still.  So what do you do when you have no GPS, phone service, and only have a very generic map?  Country cruising!

We thought we would be slick and follow the only map we had down some lonely gravel roads.  At one point I swear we passed a snake church and I could hear banjos playing.  Then it happened.  Gridlock, apparently we were not the only people with this glorious plan.  So we traded sitting in traffic on one road for another. This is when the mayhem happened that changed my views of our fellow Hoosiers forever. 

We could see the famous covered bridge of Bridgeton, we were that close. I will admit, it was very frustrating sitting there for so long and I could not believe there was no police presence to help direct traffic.  It may have helped with what was to come.  While everyone was waiting their turn to turn left towards the festival, for some reason, an entitled hillbilly with a big truck decided that he was far too important to wait in such a line.  He floored it and took off driving down the wrong lane just as another car(whose lane was being obstructed) started down the road.  The truck veered off into the field escaping a collision. Then the most incredible thing happened, the JACKASS TURNED LEFT! This was what we were all in line to do.

After that, all hell broke loose.  The King of the Hillbillies started a parade of other dipshits flying down the wrong side as well.  There were a few heroes who tried to deter this behavior by blocking the way.  This did not dissuade the bad behavior.  The hillbilly trucker gang then began driving in the ditch and the field.  Windows were down and fingers were flying in the air as lots of bad words were being yelled from both sides.  This was insane, and I could not believe the behaviors I was seeing.  Again, a police presence directing traffic may have deterred this.

After seeing an almost traffic jam brawl, we finally made it to the parking lot. Whew! Parking here was 3 bucks so that was good.

The Crowds

This is by far at least twice the Rockville crowds.  If you are not a crowd lover, you better stop here first.  Bridgeton has a beautiful covered bridge and a working grist mill.  This town was so cute so I get why everyone was here. This town was also put on the National Register Historic District, and has a historic mill town to meander through.  This has many artists, craftsmen, and antique shops.  On top of the usual storefronts there can be over 400 vendors that come in for the festival so this is the reason for mob-like crowds.

The Crafts

There is pretty much something for everyone here.  We even found a new toy, Russian nesting dolls.  These were handcrafted and half of the proceeds went to relief for Ukraine. I & AA Group had many different styles to choose from.  We settled on some Christmas gnomes.  My only complaint was that prices were not clearly marked and you had to ask for pricing while the crowd was also raging, it made getting pricing and making a purchase difficult. So I did what anyone in my position would do, I handed my card to the kids and made them do it.

If you are a foodie, there is also a food truck for anything you have a hankering for.  We didn’t buy too much since there were five of us.  We did get some sausage sandwiches and the kids bought some mini donuts.  

For some reason while we were there, we somehow thought we were magically in a higher tax bracket.  Along with the artists, and craftsmen, there are also some commercial booths.  I spotted my husband at one of those swanky adjustable beds places and he was talking a little too long to the salesman.  I had to intervene.

Salesman Bob looks at me and says, “You know you have never had a good night’s sleep.  This bed will change your life!”  Now I am rather jaded, and will not be sold, but somehow Bobby got me to lay down on this beast of a bed.  It had all the bells and whistles, copper, massage, it bends in the middle and raises your head so you can watch T.V.  

“It is usually $10,700 and has a warranty of 25 years.  But at this festival you can get this for $6,700.  That is a huge savings!”  Bobby continued with a wait but there is more ploy to try to seal the deal. “If you buy the floor model, you can save an additional $1,000 bucks and there is 0% financing!”

My God, what a deal I thought as I lay there in comfort of copper and cooling gels, in the zero gravity position, while getting a back massage.  I don’t know if it was the comfort of the bed or if they were pumping some kind of hallucinogenic drug into the tent, but I had to have this thing!

My husband, seeing the glee in my eyes, yanked me out of the bed so fast my head almost spun, “We have to think about it,” he yelled, ushering me out of there as fast as he could.

And just like that the glitter was gone, I started to feel like myself and was almost shocked at how we almost spent almost 6 grand on a bed.  My son and his girlfriend were happy as well as they started to sweat thinking we were going to spend their college apartment money on a swanky bed.

All in all, the Parke County Covered Bridge festival was ok.  The crowds and traffic has made it hard for me to say I will go back.  If you want to experience the countryside and the covered bridges, you can go any other time and probably enjoy it more.  We came home with some treasures, we almost were in a traffic brawl, or at least a demolition derby, and I survived the temptation of comfort.  I almost felt like Galadriel when Frodo offered her the ring.  I too, like Galadriel, fended off temptation, however now I have to lift my own head up at night like a peasant to watch T.V.  What a cruel world!