Last weekend (Saturday, May 29th, 2010), I took a morning-trip to Lawrenceburg, Indiana to skate with the OIS crew. While I was in the neighborhood, I realized that I had a couple of "new" skateparks that I had yet to document for the dudes at Concrete Disciples... and thus, my "morning trip" ended up being a "day trip" all over southeastern Indiana (and, a little bit of Kentucky).
Here's a photo-journal of my trip:
First stop: Lawrenceburg, Indiana. This aerial photo shows the whole city, with the Ohio River crossing the bottom of the photo. Blacklist, and the skatepark, are located right in the center of this photo. What's not so apparent, is the 85-degree heat with 100% humidity that I had to deal with on this trip... ug!
Blacklist Skateboard Shop, on Front St. in Lawrenceburg. The skatepark is literally, right across the parking lot from Blacklist. I was planning on doing a "Skateshop Spotlight" while I was in the 'hood... mostly because the guy that owns it, Joe, is a real champ, and an awesome bloke. Unfortunately, Blacklist opens up pretty late... it was stifling hot and humid in Lawrenceburg... and, I had a pretty full itinerary. Next time, buddy...!
Overview of Lawrenceburg's most excellent concrete rolling-pits. Not just one bowl! No siree- Lawrenceburg has three of 'em! Now, this is the kind of shit that I like to see, when I park my Econobubble in front of a skatepark. Wet dreams are made of these.
Next stop: Rising Sun, Indiana's skatepark. Beware of the skateboarding rumor mill at all times, kids: Some local at Lawrenceburg advised me that this place had "a couple of caving-in, dilapidated wooden ramps..." Looks like dudeman mighta been just a little bit off his info game, eh...?
For some reason, the front gate weirded me out a little bit. Because, it looked eerily like the entryway to a concentration camp. I almost could have sworn that it read "Arbeit macht frei". Maybe I've been listening to The Libertines a tad too much lately...
An overview of Rising Sun's new-ish skatepark. Built entirely of prefab Skatewave obstacles, it actually isn't as horrible as most Skatewave creations. There's a shit-ton of stuff to skate (if you're into "street obstacles", at least), and the concrete slab is smooth enough. Just make sure you don't do too many reverts, or fall on your arm. Because, the brushed surface could easily become a flatspot and road-rash hell if you're not careful...
Another view of Rising Sun's skatepark. I think I took more pics, than runs...
Patriot, Indiana. Check out that sign...! Funny stuff.
Across the street from the garage above, is the Ohio River. Despite the many "No Trespassing" signs hovering around me, whaddya think I did? Trespassed my ass off, that's what! Hey: It's not every day that you see a bona-fide, coal-toting barge making it's way downriver. At least, it's not for me...
... although, I'm sure they're pretty common if you live on the river.
One of the only ways to get from Indiana to Kentucky (between Lawrenceburg and Madison, at least) is via the Markland Dam. Tall bridges give me the heebie-jeebies. On the other hand: The views from on top of the bridge... as well as, around it... were breathtaking. This is why we love spontaneous adventure-day trips, people! You never know what the hell you're gonna find out there.
Everything between Markland, and Carrollton, KY (my next stop), was an industrial-complex hell. You've never seen more heavy industry concentrated on one riverbank, as I did on the Kentucky side of the Ohio River. Here's downtown Carrollton- the first sign of civilization for miles.
Carrollton's skatepark. Located right on the riverbank, on the edge of the city park ("city" is being a little bit liberal, of course), it's a fairly typical steel prefab skatepark by ARC. I wasn't surprised that they had a steel prefab skatepark; I was surprised that they had a skatepark at all...!
Getting back to Indiana meant another tall-ass bridge crossing... this time, over the historic Milton-Madison Bridge. Built in 1929, this truss bridge is only 20 feet wide... barely enough for two cars, and that's assuming that oncoming traffic can actually stay in their own lane while they're gawking all over hell and creation....
This photo shows all-too-clearly the tight confines of the Milton-Madison. Yikes...!
Downtown Madison is a beautiful little town, with lots of great architecture, and tons of boutique eateries and pubs. My kinda place...!
This Mustang Mach 1 just-so-happened to be parked right across from Fizz's... so, I shot it right quick. It's a beauty, ain't it...?!
Fizz's Bike Shop is the local "core skate shop" in town. The owners are super cool, and the place has a pretty good vibe around it. I make a point of stopping in every time I pass through.
Madison's skatepark, though, is another story altogether. Another prefab-steel skatepark, it gets pretty boring after about three runs or so.
Hands down, one of my all-time favorite places to stop and have a picnic. Rock overhang on Route 7, just north of downtown Madison.
I'm always fascinated by the old iron that is commonly found on many Indiana roadsides. I swear, this place is an undiscovered hot-rodders' heaven. Bender Lumber mascot, Route 7, heading north out of Madison.
North Vernon, Indiana's courthouse...
And, downtown... so far, a pretty cool place...
And, North Vernon's "skatepark". I stopped in real quick to see if it had changed much since my 2008 Summer Tour. Unfortunately, it hadn't. Bummer...
All in all, it was a pretty fun day out. I saw a lot, I learned a lot, and I even got to skate quite a bit, too.
It doesn't get a whole lot better than that...
