Here we are at the top of Hoosier Hill. Ben has his morpher, you know, just in case we need to become Power Rangers. (Hoosier Hill Photos)

When thinking about high points, one would not consider making a trip to Indiana.  After all, Indiana conjures up images of basketball and farmland, not high elevation, but every state has one and at 1257 feet, Hoosier Hill stands taller than a handful of other highpoints in the United States.

A few things made this trek one that will always lodge a special place in my memory.  For starters, I made sure to hit this highpoint on my way to the Mississippi State-Kentucky football game that weekend.  If you are wondering why this game will always stand out, that game marked the first time the Bulldogs had played a game as the No. 1 team in the nation. As a Mississippi State graduate and fan of the team, I just had to be at that game.

Now, you might be asking yourself, “How did he get to Indiana on the way to Lexington, Kentucky?”  That is a fair question.  After doing some looking on a map, I figured out that this would probably be the closest to Hoosier Hill and Campbell Hill (Ohio) that I would be in a while, so I decided that the only reasonable thing to do would be drive about five or so hours out the way and hit those two highpoints.

The morning of the trip came early.  My son and I took off right after work Thursday and drove to Nashville getting in fairly late.  While I could have slept for hours that morning, Benjamin decided he was ready to head out before the sun came up.  With sleep now a thing of the past, we snagged some breakfast and hit the road.

As we drove through Kentucky, I realized I had forgotten how much one could do on the western side of the Bluegrass State.  We passed Mammoth Cave and Lincoln’s Birthplace, two spots I would like to visit some day.  We then rolled into and through Louisville and into Indiana.

Crossing the Ohio River into Indiana

While on the interstate in Indiana, I figured out quickly that Steve Alford in Indiana is like George Washington in the Mid-Atlantic.  His name pops up everywhere on hotels, exits, and restaurants. Indiana loves the guy.

After a while, we reached our exit, and we started our trip through farmland to a little bump on the edge of a farm called Hoosier Hill.  Based on the drive alone, one would not assume they are approaching a highpoint of a state, but out in this rural area is the highpoint of Indiana.

What I really did not expect was a life changing experience at the highpoint, but a life changing experience is what I received.  It was not the majestic beauty of the area or a moment of zen that came over me.  No, once I reached the parking area for the “hike” to Hoosier Hill, and exited the car, I found an animal that will terrify in a way only a few can.  Upon exiting the car, a swarm of Asian Lady Beetles swarmed us.  I didn’t live in Ancient Egypt when the swarm of locusts came, but this had to be pretty close.  I can’t even testify that I could see the sun after getting out of the car.

At first, I considered just bailing even though I stood about 200 yards from the high point. However, there was no way a few hundred (thousands?…millions? Nah, probably not) bugs were going to keep us from standing on top of Indiana.  I hopped back into the car, told Ben that we had to get our ninja skills ready, and that we would fight through the swarm.  That sounded fun to the little guy at first, but in practice, it did not go over so well.  Thankfully, the entrance to the wooded area took just about a minute to reach, and once inside, the bugs left us alone.

We looked around for a few minutes, but the highpoint is what it is.  There are a few places to walk around and explore, but no one is going to spend more than about 10-15 minutes at the highpoint. It’s just a bump in flat farmland, but it’s there, which makes it worth the visit.

Our descent may have provided the biggest challenge of all. You see, Ben knew what to expect once we got out of the woods.  We ran to the car as quickly as possible, and unfortunately, when we opened the door, we had tons of bugs hop in with us.  We both freaked out driving a bit, and finally, I pulled over and chased out as many as I could. Once I felt we could live with the drive and the diminished number of tagalong passengers, we headed east across the border to Ohio and started the search for Campbell Hill.