Life has changed quite a bit from my last post. I don’t travel nearly as much as I used to, but that may change. I bought an RV motorhome and have been exploring backroads not far from home. I’m doing it through a site called Harvest Hosts and I absolutely love it!
For a reasonable yearly fee, you can join Harvest Hosts and get access to thousands of host sites across North America. Some hosts offer electric or water hookups (sometimes for a small fee), and some are simply places to park at night as a boondocker (not hooked up to anything, though using your generator is allowed in some places).
I recently headed off for a stay at the Mid-America Windmill Museum in Kendallville, Indiana.
American Windmill History
The Mid-America Windmill Museum is the only museum to display all eleven models of windmills that the Flint & Walling Company of Kendallville manufactured from 1870- mid 1950’s.
As explained by the McLean County Museum of History, “the American or ‘prairie’ windmill is self-governing. This means the fan automatically rotates with favorable shifts in wind. The rotating blades and their maximum speed are also kept in check to prevent the whole mechanism from being shaken apart by centrifugal forces during extremely high winds.”
Our volunteer docent that day took a break from studying a book full of water-pumping windmill patents to explain some of the mechanics to us. He said he often has school groups that come in and the kids are completely mystified when he starts off outside in front of this mechanism. The kids have no idea what it is.
So he asks them where they think water comes from? Rarely do kids know that it is pumped up from the ground. He always asks for a volunteer and shows them how to pump water and pretty soon all of the kids want a chance to try.
Then he shows them how windmills power the water pumps. Sadly, I’m afraid I was no more knowledgeable than the kids he described. We’re not mechanically-minded enthusiasts who could appreciate all the knowledge he shared. But we got the gist.
Toward the end when he said, “Every windmill sings a song,” I couldn’t wait to get outside and listen.
The Mid-America Windmill Museum
I enjoyed wandering around outside. I saw a few other visitors there on the blustery day we visited.
I love windy days. I love watching things blow in the breeze and have my windows open every chance I get. How perfect that I was at the Windmill museum on a brisk fall day. It made it that much more delicious.
But apparently, winter is a great time to visit, too! You can see that the staff have already begun winding lights around the windmills to create a magical atmosphere for the community. They’ll have Santa and Mrs. Claus inside the barn available for pictures this winter, along with other holiday festivities. I can imagine that this is a fun destination for families all over this rural area of northeastern Indiana. Maybe I’ll come back someday for that.
For now, I enjoyed the autumn wind blowing through the steel blades, and listening to the chorus of windmill songs on a backroad a few hours from home.
If you were RVing, what kind of places would you seek out?
Browsing The Atlas 
Hi Julie,
Looks like you found another local gem!
You should check out Casey, IL when you get a chance. The Little Town of Big Things! It was our last stop of our summer trip.
We leave the second week of December for a few months. TN to AR to OK and TX. Then NOLA, AL, a few weeks in FL before we move to Tybee Island, GA. Then we’ll determine if we come home in early or late March.
We need to have lunch again! Sue
Thanks, Sue! I’ll definitely check out the IL spot!
I am really looking forward to taking a longer RV trip next spring.
Juliann, I loved this blog! I never knew all that about the windmills but have always loved seeing them out in the country. Now I want to go see these windmills! Maybe in the Spring.
Yes! It made me appreciate all the windmills I saw as I drove through Amish country on the way home. The old ways still work!
I like windmills, especially the old fashion type that were such a symbol of years gone by. I can’t resist photographing them along backroads. Glad to hear you have an RV. Peggy and I bought our first one in 1999, a small Pleasure Way. As to what kind of places would we seek out. It’s a long, long list. The past five years alone we have traveled over 50,000 miles over the backroads of America. We have seen many many things, but our primary focus has always been on national parks and national monuments. Fun post. Thanks!
I’ve loved traveling along to the parks with you and Peggy virtually through your stories and pictures. I retired recently and decided to fulfill my dream of RVing. It won’t be full-time, but there are plenty of places to explore that aren’t too far. I can’t wait for Spring!
Glad you have been along on some of those trips! One really doesn’t have to go to far… There’s a whole world out there! Looking forward to your adventures.
That’s fun and unusual – educational too which is clearly a good thing. You have lots of space there in ‘Murica but I’m afraid motorhomes & camper vans are getting a bit of a bad reputation in the British Isles. City folk heading off for the lakes and mountains, clogging up the narrow roads, filling up the car parks, generally exasperating the locals.
I can certainly see how that could be a problem. We definitely have plenty of space to roam here. I actually bought this RV from a European couple who were moving back to Europe. They loved driving through the US and Canada and I can’t wait to follow in their footsteps.
My brother-in-law flew to the States once, bought an old car close to the airport. Drove around sightseeing for months until it broke down at which point he dumped it and flew home again 🙂
A kindred spirit!!