#5: [04-May-08]

#3: [31-Jul-07]

#4: [24-Jun-07]

#2: [13-Sep-01]

#1: [27-Dec-99]

08-May-2018 -- As I had been invited to the region for the purposes of promoting and supporting the use of geotechnologies at universities and at the Indiana Geographic Information Council's GIS mapping conference, a confluence visit seemed like the most perfect capstone. And thus, after the second campus visit of the week, that to the wonderful campus of Taylor University, and because my next stop would be the state GIS conference in Fort Wayne, the presence of a nearby confluence was too good to pass up.

I traveled north on I-69 and then northeast on I-469. The Tillman exit was closed for construction but Minnich Road was open a short distance later. I took this road south. Actually, the section line roads here are slightly tilted off of the cardinal directions from the original survey done here. Minnich Road was very busy with traffic and no shoulder existed. Hence, I parked on Rohrbach Road where there was no shoulder either, but less traffic. Then I walked west past an absolutely beautiful house, lake, and gazebo property, and then north on Minnich Road to reach 41 North. Then I stood on 41 North at the side of the road on the west side of the ditch. I pondered there a few moments and took photos and then, with no fence and clearly only 30 or so meters left to walk, decided to walk into the field, reaching it five minutes later. It did not appear that anything had yet been planted here but I took care in walking just the same. As can be seen in the prior visitors' photos, at times, the corn is so tall here that an accurate reading is challenging. This point thus looks quite different depending on the season of the year and what is planted here.

The confluence lies on flat ground, on the east side of the field. The temperature on this glorious spring day stood at about 78 F (25.5 C) with no clouds and a moderate breeze blowing. I had visited 41 North at least 20 times in the past, from Utah on the west to New Jersey on the east, and also 85 West a half dozen times from Michigan on the north to Georgia on the south. This was my first time on 41 North 85 West and I was glad to be here; having amassed a tidy sum of at least 5 Indiana confluence points in the past. This was my first Indiana confluence in several years. I did not stay long on point as I was in the middle of the field, but took more photos and videos here and then carefully walked out the way I had come in.

I arrived back at my vehicle after about 1:15 total round trip visit and hike time. I took a different and beautiful way back out the area on the next major north-south road to the north, through Maples where a wonderful old roadhouse still was operating, north to US Highway 30, and then west to downtown Fort Wayne. I was reluctant to depart but had some work to do in preparation for the conference and for tomorrow's visit to Ball State University. Get out there and explore the world!