Terre Haute, IN
Sky King packs two paved runways onto just 33 acres north of Terre Haute: a 3,500-foot main and a 2,000-foot crosswind, both a trim fifty feet wide and both lit low-intensity. It works under Hulman approach, an unusually dense little airport that gives east-side pilots a second choice in the pattern.
31 historic covered bridges — more than any county in the US. The Bridgeton Bridge (1868) and Mansfield Bridge are the most photogenic from the air. At 2000ft AGL in mid-October, the hardwood canopy surrounding each bridge turns orange and crimson. The annual Covered Bridge Festival draws 1 million visitors. The bridge cluster is concentrated between Turkey Run and Raccoon Lake along Sugar Creek and Big Raccoon Creek.
Deep sandstone gorges carved by Sugar Creek over millions of years. The old-growth forest here was never logged — some trees are 300+ years old. From 2000ft, the gorge system appears as dark shadows cutting through solid canopy. Sugar Creek itself makes dramatic S-curves visible from above. The suspension bridge is hard to spot but look for the clearing at the nature center.
Indiana's largest waterfall by volume — upper and lower falls in a sandstone gorge on Mill Creek. Not dramatic by Niagara standards, but the gorge itself is striking from the air, cutting a dark seam through otherwise gentle terrain. A covered bridge (one of Parke County's neighbors) sits near the upper falls. Best after heavy spring rains when the falls are running full.
The 1898 octagonal study where Civil War general and Mexican Ambassador Lew Wallace wrote much of Ben-Hur — at the time the best-selling American novel ever, eventually adapted into multiple films including the 1959 Charlton Heston classic that won 11 Oscars. The study is a National Historic Landmark with Wallace's original desk, books, and sword collection. Wallace was a fascinating polymath: lawyer, general at Shiloh, governor of New Mexico Territory (he negotiated with Billy the Kid), ambassador to the Ottoman Empire, and author. The ornate Italianate study reflects his global eye. Adjacent to Wabash College campus.