VAN BUREN TWP. — Roughly 25 years ago, the Bartels family inherited a 500-acre property southeast of Nashville.
In the years since, the family’s business, eXplore Brown County (XBC), has operated on that land, offering experiences both thrilling and serene alike amidst the nature of the Brown County area.
Thrill seekers may be interested in the several ziplines, miles of mountain biking trails or large, ever-evolving paintball fields available there.
Cabins are also there to rent for overnight stays, as well as a large, newly renovated building on the property, designed to hold weddings or other similar events.
Last week, the Bartels — Gary, Patricia and their sons Lance and Chris — said they had a tough decision to make about what to do with the large chunk of land when they first inherited it.
Two main paths stood out to them: either subdivide the area and sell it, or build something on it that would allow people to enjoy the space.
Gary and Patricia originally liked the idea of using the area for a children’s camp, which then evolved into a concept of an adventure camp.
This was because the terrain of the property stood out to Gary, an enthusiastic mountain biker.
At the time, Chris was 8 and Lance was 12. Gary said last week that they sat the boys down at the dinner table and asked them what they wanted to do.
“Basically, I gave them the choice,” he said.
“I said, ‘I’ve got this idea to build this thing. If you help me, and it’s successful, then you’ll inherit it someday.’”
Gary gave the family two weeks to think about their options.
He said then-eight-year-old Chris was the one to step forward with demands — including a two-hour lunch to go swimming, free ice cream and the help of his friends.
From there, XBC was born. Building began in 1996 and the facility officially opened two years later.
Story continues below gallery
Work hard, play harder
The family used the funds from a few selective timber sales on the property to start the facility, leaving polar and oak behind for the structures.
All the primary work was done by the family when they had the time to focus on it — on top of school and work.
“I explained they had to sacrifice their summers and their weekends to do this, and they did,” Gary said.
Lance and Chris helped their parents with nearly every stage of the building process. For instance, according to Gary, Lance was skilled at operating a chainsaw and Chris was known to haul equipment around the property in a truck.
“I strongly believe that even if it had failed, they gained skill sets, and the desire to learn and to build and be successful, and they both have done that,” Gary said about his sons’ time building the facility.
“They both pursued things that they loved,” Patricia said.
Chris was a Lilly Endowment Fund scholar who became a dentist. His went on to practice dentistry at his own office, Tipton Lakes Family Dentistry, on the westside of Columbus. He sold the practice in September.
He and his family live in Columbus and remain active in the community there. Chris serves as vice president for parks foundation and he is running for the Dist. 1 seat on Columbus’ city council.
Lance earned a full ride scholarship to Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and became a pilot for UPS. He is now a broker, buying and selling aircraft, as well as running a plane restoration and repair business in Seymour.
“This was my childhood,” Chris said.
“And growing up here, I thought this was everyone’s childhood. Then, going to school, and talking to friends, bringing friends here, I quickly realized that this wasn’t the normal childhood, and that it is a pretty amazing one.”
He said it was a lot of hard work, but it was also a lot of fun, and great memories were made on the facility.
“Now, as an adult with my own children, it is very noticeable how important this type of atmosphere is for kids and for families,” Chris said.
According to Chris, that is one of many reasons why, starting late last year, the family has decided to refocus on the business, putting their time and funds towards revitalizing the space.
“We as a family decided to make some changes and refocus on faith, family and community,” he said.
“We have a lot of talent in the family, and all our paths have reconnected, and now we’re taking our talents to give XBC the next stage of growth.”
Patricia is a well-known local artist. Her paintings of poppy fields can be found in mosaic form in the newly built IU Health Bloomington Hospital.
Her work also covers the walls in the event center on the XBC property, which is the main upgrade that has taken place in the revitalization process.
The center offers ample space for weddings, including spaces for the wedding party to get ready and a suite for the newlyweds to stay after.
Paintball is another big part of XBC’s changes. Chris described expanded and upgraded fields that will reflect the layout of a number of historical battles or scenarios.
“We have a junkyard, we have a castle we are building, we have a crashed aircraft site,” he said.
“If you think of it like Call of Duty or Fortnite, where you have missions and objectives, the paintball field will play like that.”
More information for paintball updates and events, including test runs on new fields and scenarios, can be found on the XBC Paintball Players group on Facebook.
XBC is also on it’s 12th season for ziplining. The main driver for that side of the business is Gary, who spent his career as an engineer.
He said he was involved in a big zipline build in Hawaii in 2011, which originally planted the seed for including the activity at XBC.
Now, Gary proudly claims the title of Chief Adventurist at XBC.
“Brown County is going through a renaissance,” Chris said last week.
“With the Music Center, refocusing on the artistry downtown. There has been a great revitalization of Brown County…and we want to be a part of that, as far as the adventure and the exploration part of Brown County.”
“Being 72, and seeing both my sons be getting involved,” Gary said.
“(It) makes everything worthwhile.”
eXplore Brown County
Where: 2620 Valley Branch Road
Phone: 812-988-7750
Website: explorebrowncounty.com
Facebook: eXplore Brown County
