Version 2.009 of the Elkhart Truth Fall Color Tour is little changed from Version 2.008. There are added stops for food and recreation, but the route remains the same as last year's. Once again the Color Tour starts at Congdon Park in Bristol. There are a couple of places to stop for refreshment and to stretch legs. The trees have started to change from summer's soothing greens to the delightfully shocking and surprising party dress of fall. Like people dressing for a party, some trees are ready sooner then others, so be prepared to see some more ready for the party than others. The drive takes about 2 hours. Some of the roads are best driven at the speed limit or slower. But hey, that's OK; this is a color tour, not a race. Take your time and enjoy yourself, the drive and the trees. And you might want to take walking shoes for TK Lawless Park and the Purgatory Road wilderness area.
FIRST LEG: NORTH FROM BRISTOL
* You will leave Congdon Park in Bristol northbound on Division, (which becomes C.R. 25) and drive 2.2 miles to C.R. 2.
* Turn left on C.R. 2, 1 mile to C.R. 23.
* Turn right on C.R. 23, (which becomes Sunset Boulevard) and travel 3 miles to U.S. 12.
* Turn left on U.S. 12 and travel 0.2 mile to Birch Road.
* A right turn on Birch Road and 2.3 miles gets you to Carter Lake Road.
* Turn left on Carter Lake Road and travel 3.7 miles to Union Road.
* Turn right on Union Road, travel 1.4 miles through curves until the "T" intersection and then follow Union Road to the right. A sign for Camp Friedenswald marks this intersection.
* Continue north 3.4 miles on Union Road to Brownsville Road, turn right on Brownsville and go 0.7 miles to Walnut Road.
* Turn left on Walnut Road and go 1 mile to Monkey Run Road.
* A half-mile to the right of this intersection is TK Lawless Park. This park is a good stopping point about 20 miles into the tour. Lawless has restrooms, a picnic shelter, a nice park area and walking trails and a biking trail. Some of the walking trails are handicapped accessible. There is also a nice tubing hill, but you probably won't have an opportunity to use it on this trip.
SECOND LEG: LUNCH AT THE LAKE
* Turn left at Monkey Run Road from Walnut Road and go 0.5 mile to Lewis Lake Road.
* Turn right on Lewis Lake Road and travel 1 mile to M-60.
* Right again onto M-60 and go 0.5 mile to Born Road.
* Turn left on Born and travel 7.8 miles to Shafer Bros. Road. About half a mile north of M-60, Born "Ts" and continues to the right.
* For those addicted to historical markers, 2.8 miles down Born Road is your chance to feed that addiction. The intersection of Born and Patterson is Poe's Corner, featuring a historical marker or two, township offices, a graveyard and a historical church. The corner is named after an early settler, but I wouldn't want give away the ending. You'll have to read it for yourself. A warning might be in order, too: Where Born Road crosses M-40, it jogs to the left about 100 feet.
* At the corner of Born Road and Corey Lake Road, the Corey Lake Pizza place sits. If pizza is your thing, this may be your place for lunch.
THIRD LEG: A BREAK AT THREE RIVERS
* Turn left on Shafer Bros. Road and after 1.1 miles turn left on Coon Hollow Road.
* Go 0.8 miles, turn right onto West Clear Lake Road.
* Travel 1.7 miles to Lone Tree Road, turn left and go 0.5 miles to Lucas Road.
* You might notice a language change on signage as you travel north on Lone Tree Road. Relax, you haven't left the country. You're just passing through the Latvian Garezers Center.
* Turn right on Lucas Road, go 0.4 miles to Hoffman Road.
* Turn right onto Hoffman Road, travel 5.4 miles and you will find yourself in Three Rivers with some choices to make.
* You can either take Hoffman Road across U.S. 131 to Main Street and turn right to go through downtown Three Rivers, or turn right on U.S. 131 and follow it around the edge of Three Rivers. Either decision gives you food choices, but the downtown route gives you a nice tour of Three Rivers' historic downtown. Several places to eat or shop are local, not national chains. Pick up U.S. 131 in the downtown and follow it out of town south to Broadway and turn right. It is about 1.7 miles from Hoffman to Broadway if you travel on U.S. 131.
* Turn right onto Broadway and travel 3 miles to Arthur L. Jones Road. About a mile west of Three Rivers along Broadway is Meyer Broadway Park. Picnic facilities, a disc golf course, walking trails and restrooms are all available.
* Another turn, this one left, onto Arthur L. Jones Road. After 1.4 miles you should see M-60. About a mile south of Broadway on Jones is Corey Lake Road. A half-mile west on Corey Lake Road is the Corey Lake Orchards. Open daily 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., they will have seasonal fruit and veggies to buy. Saturdays feature brandy tasting in the afternoons. The orchard is online at www.coreylakeorchards.com.
FOURTH LEG: OUT TO NATURE OR BACK TO BRISTOL
* Turn right on M-60 go half a mile to Young Prairie Road.
* Turn left on Young Prairie Road and go 0.8 mile to Harder Road.
* Take a right on Harder Road and go 1.5 miles to Beers Street, an unmarked intersection.
OPTION 1: NO TIME FOR BACK ROADS
At this point, the Color Tour moves onto dirt roads for several miles. If you are not comfortable driving on dirt (or if it is raining) you might want to consider this detour:
* Rather than turning left onto Beers, continue on Harder Road to M-40.
* Turn left on M-40 toward Shavehead Lake Road (fourth intersection, I think).
* Take a right on Shavehead Lake Road to Robbins Lake Road.
* Turn left on Robbins Lake Road to U.S. 12.
* Right on U.S. 12 to Sunset Boulevard and backtrack south to Bristol.
OPTION 2: DIRT ROADS AND A STROLL AT THE GAME PRESERVE
If you decide to explore the more primitive and interesting dirt roads, continue directly from the third step of the fourth leg:
* Harder Road and Beers Street is an intersection without a street sign. However, there is a large white house and red barn on the corner. Beers runs only to the left. Continue on Beers after it turns to dirt, after a mile.
* Take a left onto Beers and go 1.4 miles to the "T" intersection at Preston Road, which is another intersection without a sign. You turn left here (head east).
* Follow Preston Road as it winds 0.6 miles southeasterly to another "T" intersection at a large fenced house. Preston Road continues to your left (east), but you'll want to turn right (west) to get on the ominously named Purgatory Road.
* You'll only drive 2 miles (hardly an eternity) on Purgatory, which quickly bends south, to Millers Mill Road. This is where the walking shoes come in. Purgatory Road winds through the middle of the Three Rivers State Game Area. Parking places are spread along the road; so parking for a walk isn't a problem on the narrow road. Be advised, though, various hunting seasons are active this time of year. Perhaps hunter orange would be a wise fashion statement to make for this walk.
* The southern end of Purgatory Road signals your return to pavement and civilization. You want to take a right on Millers Mill Road for a short tenth of a mile to Maple Road.
* Turn left on Maple Road, travel 2.1 miles to North River Road. Turn right on North River Road (County Highway 114) and go 1 mile to U.S. 12.
* Enjoy this one because it's your last right turn: onto U.S. 12 and go 0.5 mile to South River Road.
Turn left on South River Road and travel 4.2 miles to the state line, where the road becomes C.R. 25 in Elkhart County.
* C.R. 25 swerves west and south, jogs a bit at C.R. 2 and leads you back into Bristol and Congdon Park to end where you started.
THREE RIVERS FOOD AND FUN
FUN
* Liquid Therapy in Three Rivers: Canoe and kayak rentals until the end of October (www.liquidtherapypaddling.com/)
* Love Your Mother: Natural, organic and recycled goods
* World Fare: Fairly traded goods from around the world.
* Lowrey's: An independent bookstore
All of these places except Liquid Therapy are on Main Street clustered in the downtown center. Liquid Therapy is on Main Street just to the south of downtown in Conservation Park.
FOOD
* Brewsters at the intersection of U.S. 131 and Hoffman has nice river views.
* Main Street Café is open until 2 on Saturday afternoons
* Paisanos on Main Street
* LA Café on Michigan Street (lascafe.tripod.com/)