For The Birds
By Jerry Hostetler
Monday, March 5 was a very
special day for five local brothers who
embarked on the journey of their
lives. After many months of planning,
Owen, Nelson, Nathan, Norman and
Fred Yoder of Shipshewana started
their five-week bicycling adventure,
which will take them from northern
Indiana to southern Texas, approximately 1300 miles. Some people might
say that, that kind of trip on a bicycle
is, “for the birds!” Well, in this case it
literally is. Owen and his brothers, all
avid bird watchers and apparently avid
bicyclist too, are heading to Texas to
visit one of the U.S.A.’s most popular
migratory areas for birds, Brownsville,
Texas. Brownsville is located on the
southern tip of Texas.
The boys have encountered very
few hitches on their adventure. When
I talked to Owen on March 26, he said,
“We were expecting on having fun, but
we’re even having more fun than we
expected.” The boys have had the ex-
The “Texas Rangers” (left to right): Nathan, Owen, Norman, Nelson, and Fred Yoder on their first day.
Hometown Treasure Photo
pected flat tires and broken spokes and
one day they got caught in a driving
rain storm in south central Arkansas.
They decided to stop at a laundromat
to dry their rain suits. When the dryer
stopped, Owen said, “I opened the door
and pulled them out and they looked
like baby clothes!” The rain suits were
not dryer-safe. The boys replaced the
rain suits with ponchos and continued
on their trip.
The “Texas Rangers,” the nick-
name of the group, had reached Palestine, Texas, near Austin, on March
26. Since they are now in the warmer
southern climate, the “Rangers” are
planning on doing more of another of
their favorite activities, camping. They
had only spent three nights camping
up to that point, due to the cool and
sometimes rainy conditions.
The boys have enjoyed the friendly
people along the way, but he also said
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The Hometown Treasure ··Apr. ‘12 ··pg 17
The Hometown Treasure Apr. ‘12 pg 17