Ohio Adventure Miscellany

Our shadows will remain
Even after we are gone

 ~ Joseph Arthur

Here are the bits and pieces that didn't really fit anywhere else:

I. Where did we stay?

Chillicothe was the largest town near the Hopewell earthworks, Highland Sanctuary, and the parks we thought we might investigate. We stayed at a hotel in Chillicothe for 4 nights and then moved to a suite at Highland. We were well taken care of at the hotel (Holiday Inn Express by Highway 23*). At first we wondered about the location - not necessarily the best part of town. But for travel, it was perfectly located on major roadways. The staff was terrific! The bed was great! So we were able to rest well after our busy days.

The stay at Highland Wildlife Sanctuary was beyond words really. Our suite in the trees/on the cliff is called the Eyrie Suite and is located on Cave Road.** It really does feel like you are staying in a tree house. The creek sounds lull you to sleep and the bird songs wake you in the morning. Fabulous!

Our last night was at the Holiday Inn Express near the airport. It was fine, but staying only one night did not allow us to bond with the staff. They did have bacon for breakfast so I had a "pig in the blanket" which made me happy as we prepared for the flights home.

II. Where did we eat?

We tried to avoid chain restaurants, but messed up first thing. We were hungry as we headed to Chillicothe from John Glenn International Airport in Columbus. Stopping in Circleville at the Pizza Cottage. The food was fine, but the service was terrible. Our waitress was more interested in talking to other customers. The other wait staff appeared to be much more "with it." We did take the leftovers with us and ate them later.

I wanted to eat at the CRISPIE CREME DONUT shop in Chillicothe, but there just wasn't time. I hear the breakfast and coffee are good.

R Kitchen on Paint in Chillicothe served crab cakes.*** So I took DH to try them. We actually went back two days later. Our first waiter, Josh, was probably the best I've ever seen. I was disappointed he didn't wait on us the second visit. [We also saw a family celebrating two birthdays. The celebration was nice - subdued, but happy.]

DH's crab cakes. I helped him with the broccoli.

We got smart and used an appetizer plate the second go-round.

I had meat loaf on our first visit. It was wonderful. I shared my peas (one of the few veggies he likes) with DH.

I tried the hamburger the next time. It was great!

Happy birthday twice! Mom takes the pictures.

We ate at the White Star Restaurant**** in Peebles, Ohio after we visited the Serpent Mound. This was the best in local diners - wonderful comfort food. The wait staff was on top of things and service was quick. I was ready for a nap after I finished my dinner. [I should note that I was surprised at how similar Ohio food is to what I consider "southern cooking."]

We both were so hungry we forgot and started eating before I got photos - hence crushed bun on this tenderloin sandwich that we would call a chicken fried steak sandwich.

I had pinto beans and cornbread, pickled beets, meatloaf, and scalloped potatoes. Everything was great! We both ate more than we should have, but I'd do it again.

For a fast lunch when we arrived early at Highland Wildlife Sanctuary, we followed a recommendation and went to eat at JR's General Store***** on route 41 out of Bainbridge. What a fabulous place. I cannot even start to say what all is available here. There was a crowd on Saturday so we got a couple of sandwiches made to order, macaroni salad and potato salad. We looked around, but decided to come back early on Monday to shop. We did shop a little (no room in the suitcases). DH purchased an Amish style hat with a large brim and I got dark blue hulled popcorn to share with friends. We also picked up a few things at the bakery. There is really little waiting at either store as this is the hardest working, no nonsense staff I have ever seen.

Whoopie Pies at the bakery. No, I did not get one.

In between hikes on Mothers' Day we went into town in Bainbridge so I could send some text messages and ate at Doc's Bainbridge Restaurant (JR's was closed on Sunday). DH ate a grilled ham and cheese sandwich and fries and I had a bacon cheeseburger. "All the way" is called "delux" at Doc's and it definitely was one great burger.

You can see how I would make him share a fry or two (or 10).

Just look at that burger.

We didn't eat out again until we were on our way back to Columbus. We had lunch in Circleville again. This time we ate at El Palomar. I knew that la paloma is dove in Spanish and so wasn't surprised that El Palomar means "dovecote." DH loved it. I found the food very bland - no spice at all. But this is how many Americans eat Mexican food. I would have appreciated some spicy picante or something!

DH had the cheese enchiladas in meat sauce. The meat sauce was VERY meaty - chunks of meat, not ground meat.

I had chicken enchiladas verdes. The meat was tender and juicy, just not seasoned. The guacamole was good.

After a 4 hour nap (!) once we shopped and then found our hotel in Columbus, DH took me out on the town - to the Frisch's  Big Boy next door to the hotel. The food was fine, but the service was hilarious and wonderful. Heather was our waitress and she was a pistol, a piece of work, a riot - I could go on and on. Regulars came in and were greeted. Heather helped you order, "get the grilled chicken on the salad, I think it is fresher" and so forth. I listened and had a grilled chicken salad. DH had a fried steak dinner I think. We didn't take pictures of the food. It is a chain. Go to the website. Instead we took pictures with the Big Boy outside.

Seriously - we were here!

 III. Hiking and visiting State Parks, State Forests, and NATURE PRESERVES

Costs and permits for entry into state run facilities depend. Sometimes there is a parking fee. Most have no entry fee or permit. Some facilities may be closed. Do your research!


MANY if not MOST NATURE PRESERVES REQUIRE A PERMIT. YOU MUST GET THE PERMIT by applying TWO WEEKS IN ADVANCE. YOU CANNOT JUST SHOW UP AND GET THE PERMIT. 

I am shouting the bit about NATURE PRESERVES because I didn't get the permit in advance even though I had been planning the trip early and had time. I just got sick and forgot all about it.

We were fortunate that the permit for Miller Nature Preserve came with the rental of our suite at Highlands Wildlife Sanctuary and so we were able to visit and hike in that wonderful place.

Trekking poles make all the changes in elevation much easier...I'm now a believer!

IV. Shopping

We didn't shop much, really. We got a couple of T-shirts at shops on-site at the Hopewell Culture Park and the Great Serpent Mound. I bought blue hulled popcorn for gifts and DH got a straw hat at JR's. There is a great history shop (called The History Store - what else?) in Chillicothe on Park Street. They had everything from miniature soldiers to creche figures to famous people "bobble heads." I kinda wanted the pope, but really had no room in the suitcase. DH got a book.

We stopped to kill time in Circleville at an antique shop called, Two Broads and a Geezer. Had we been in a car I would have cleared the place out. There were mid-century modern chairs I would own (I am still thinking about them) and all kinds of marvelous things with excellent prices. DH found glasses like some his parents had gotten him when he was about 10. I had to figure out how to pack them safely IN MY LUGGAGE (all three glasses arrived safely!).

DH making a "what me?" motion at the antique store's sign.

Early Russell Wright (American Modern). It's interesting, but not my china.

Finally, I always try to locate at least one surplus store on each trip we take. DH just loves surplus stores. There happened to be one near our hotel in Columbus - Surplus World, Inc.  which we visited on our last night in Ohio. Of course DH found a few things. I forget what, but at least I didn't have to figure out how I was going to fit them in my luggage, he stuffed them into his.

I just re-read this. DH did all the shopping. Just wait until next year. I will get those fabulous turquoise plastic chairs (guess you would have to see them to know how fabulous they are).

V. Airport

I love these taxi-way overpasses!

 We traveled in and out of the John Glenn Columbus International Airport. I know I compared airports in Columbus and Cincinnati. I think Columbus had slightly better schedules and I knew the airport was pretty easy to navigate, having been there in 2005 or 2006. We got lucky and were able to upgrade one leg of the trip home. It was the ride in the "puddle jumper" to Charlotte. Those planes are so small that it was well worth just a few more dollars (really, it wasn't expensive) to get more leg room.

So, what do you get special in first class, you ask. Actually, you probably don't ask because you have flown first class before. Well, this was my first time. Yes, I was a first class virgin and so I paid attention. First thing - they call you priority. It is written on your boarding pass and on a bright tag they put on your checked luggage. You are served a drink and snack before take-off. I think you might get a free alcoholic drink, but we just had our usual (DH is a Diet Coke man. I have Bloody Mary mix. Alcohol doesn't mix well with motion sickness meds.). The leg room was heaven.

No vodka in that "Mary."

VI. WILDFLOWERS

Since the trip was for wildflowers and the Serpent Mound, I will repeat the wildflower report. The wildflowers were not their best. They were past their peak. In places they were pretty sad. The time to see wildflowers in Ohio is the end of April and the first week in May at the latest. Still we saw a few things we had not seen before LIKE THIS:

Pink Lady Slipper Orchid

AND THIS

Eastern Shooting Star

AND THIS

Red Columbine

  

AND THIS

Jack-in-the-Pulpit

VII. FINALLY - DRIVING!!!

Speed limits in Ohio are slow. I think the fastest we saw was 65 on a highway that was so full of potholes and other damage you couldn't really drive that fast safely. County roads are winding and there are many blind hills and blind turns.

And you may encounter farm equipment or the horses and carts/buggies of the Amish and Mennonites.

So, be prepared for all travel to take some time. And SLOW DOWN!

Enormous farm cart - taking hanging baskets to market.

In the distance you can see a young fellow sitting on the bank of the stream.

NOTES:

*https://www.ihg.com/holidayinnexpress/hotels/us/en/chillicothe/chloh/hoteldetail/hotel-reviews#scmisc=nav_hotel-reviews_ex

**http://arcofappalachia.org/eyrie-suite/

***After the pizza - which was really decent food, but a chain nevertheless - I said, "We are just going to eat crap in Ohio." DH responded, "We're going to eat crab?" I meant fast food - certainly not crab, but found crab cakes here: http://www.rkitchenonpaint.com/

This is just as good a place as any for a couple of other jokes from the trip:

     At breakfast one morning there were two guys in work clothes sitting at the
     elevated table. The shorter, heavier guy said to the other fellow: "So I says 
     to my wife, imagine if I ate right and exercised, just how sexy I'd get. It's
     not gonna happen, but just imagine."

     And then there was this:

     Heather, the waitress at the Columbus Big Boy said to another nearby
     customer pointing out how she and her family endure: "... New house, 
     seven kids, we're doin' it."

     DH comments to me sotto voce: "Apparently so."

****https://www.facebook.com/White-Star-Restaurant-639148172835528/

*****https://www.facebook.com/pages/JRs-General-Store-Farm-Market/200130306673785

******https://www.facebook.com/Docs-Bainbridge-Restaurant-1528928317333943/

*******https://www.frischs.com/


Final Note: 

How far did we walk? Not really that far:

8th    1.7 miles, 2 floors (travel day)
9th    3.2 miles, 1 floor
10th  4.4 miles, 23 floors
11th  5.9 miles, 9 floors
12th  2.4 miles, 7 floors (travel day)
13th  5.1 miles, 14 floors
14th  1.4 miles, 0 floors (travel day)
15th  1.2 miles, 0 floors (travel day)

We saw this disaster in Bainbridge. We have no idea what happened, but it looks like a building fell on these cars. But there is no building there.

FINAL WARNING ---> WEAR YOUR INSECT REPELLENT! 

[I had to remove two ticks! YUCK!}

Ohio Day 5 - The Last of Our Ohio Hikes - Highlands Nature Sanctuary and Miller State Nature Preserve

Here is your country. 

Cherish these natural wonders, 

cherish the natural resources, 

cherish the history and romance as a sacred heritage, 

for your children and your children's children. 

Do not let selfish men or greedy interests skin your country 

of its beauty, 

its riches 

or its romance.

~ Theodore Roosevelt

The birds woke us. Well, the birds woke me and I took my cup of coffee out on the deck and listened as first one and then another bird joined the morning chorus. They had to compete a bit with the sounds of Rocky Fork Creek burbling far below. A few times I heard what I knew must be a frog calling. But the frogs never called long enough for me to investigate further.

A sign for the preserve

Morning coffee on the deck.

Our trees

What a place to escape!

We had watched this grey squirrel for two days. It had been removing nuts from a cache at the base of a tree on Sunday. Today it climbed into a tree with a nut.

I love these grey squirrels. They have strangely long legs and appear almost black when in the forest shade.

A nuthatch showed up at the same time as the titmice. Of course, I did not know it was a nuthatch.

I madly took photos as the bird made its way madly around the trees. I was shocked to get these two photos. A birds of North America book provided the identity. After I determined it wasn't a sapsucker or woodpecker I paged through the photos until I found the right bird - White-breasted Nuthatch.

Barrett's Rim Trail (part of Highlands Nature Sanctuary):

We ate our breakfast and headed out. We planned to hike four trails starting with Barrett's Rim Trail. To reach the trail head we walked across a large field that is wild save for the one mowed path. A cardinal flitted from one small tree to another - one of ten cardinals we would see that day. We would take this longest trail first during the coolest part of the day.

The bugs were already upon us, but we hurried along to keep just ahead of the swarm. We hiked along the edge of the creek and then along the edge of the gorge cliff. The hike is moderately challenging - rocks and tree roots that threaten a trip on the narrow trail. We were glad to have our trekking poles with us all day as they made a difference in keeping our balance and managing the changing elevation. 

There's a cardinal in this photo.

The path was bordered by this grass. I wonder if the plan is for this area to return to prairie.

The signpost for Barrett's Rim trail and another. We did not notice the walking sticks until we were finished with the hike. We had our trekking poles and they did make a huge difference...seems some kind folks provide these sticks for them what forget theirs.

We "crossed water" a number of times. Some were just rock crossings.

There were many plants we saw only here.

Solomon Seal

Woodland Stonecrop

Woodland Stonecrop

Eastern Shooting Star

Eastern Shooting Star

Stonecrop, columbine, ferns, and more (and that guy who seems to get in my photos all the time).

Rocky Fork Creek

This is a favorite hike - especially during the wildflower season. It was gorgeous.

Jack! You're back! Jack-in-the-pulpit

Miller State Nature Preserve

The Miller family created this preserve from their vacation home property. Three easy and lovely hikes are laid out here. The paths are good with some new bridging. Signage throughout provides information on the flora.

We started down the Falls Trail and saw what we thought was a boulder on the path. Then the boulder flicked its tail. I was a few feet ahead of DH and stepped back and slightly off the trail to keep a tree between me and whatever was on the path. "Is it a boar?" asked DH. And then the creature turned its face to me, looking over its shoulder. It was a bull. Then it stood - no question it was a bull. He was only in minor confrontation mode. There was no snorting or "male posturing" or whatever bulls do besides run you down.

The bull wandering away. [It was a bull! No bull!] You can see I had no intention of allowing it to get very close.

I kept the tree between me and old "Ferdinand."* He was deciding if we were a threat as we made the same judgment about him. Then he turned and ambled along down the left turn of the trail. We chose to take the right, knowing that in 2.5 miles we would be looking for him again.

The wildflowers were much the same as we had seen on other hikes - trillium, wild geranium, columbine, cancer root, and scouring rush. The wildlife showed up but didn't stand still. There was a Great Blue Heron, cardinal pair, chipmunks (or something very like them) and something dark that flitted through the woods just far enough away for us to see it and then disappear. It was a little creepy.**

This is one of my favorite photos of DH.

Great Waterleaf [There were times I felt the wildflowers "hung on" because they knew I was there.

We found the bull again  - he was further into the woods and up-hill from where we had last seen him. He saw us, but then ignored us. We felt comfortable enough to hike a second trail, the shorter Arch Loop.

This too was a lovely and easy hike with arches/natural bridges along the way. We started hearing voices as we neared the turn-around on the loop. That was a little surprising, because we had seen no other cars in the parking area. As we came around the turn at the creek we observed two fishermen across the creek, fishing from a large rock jutting out from the bank.

They appeared to be father and son. The boy's bare feet hung out of his cuffed pants. He had a straw hat on his head. I waved and shared a "good morning." Then I asked, "catchin' anything?" Well, the young man was off. He  told me what he'd caught and jumped up to pull up the stringer and show me 10 or 12 good-sized fish. "These on the bottom are all mine!" We talked a little about how he liked to cook them before I headed down the creek-side trail and he went back to fishing.

An arch

Cancer-root, also known by other names. It is a type of broomrape (they are all parasitic) that grows on oak roots.

More Eastern Shooting Star.

This may have been the final trillium.

Carpet Bugle

It is hard to see, but this is a natural bridge.

We saw quite a few of this bracket fungus.

Some kind of oxalis/woodsorrel. I haven't looked it up yet.

Bluebells. This was the only blossom I found still on a plant. They must have been gorgeous.

Yellow wildflowers in a meadow - I have to admit that these were either some wild mustard akin to our bastard cabbage or a ragweed. Those were the two flowers blooming in masses like this. My allergies knew all about it.

Ohio is proud of their tiger beetles.

We headed to town to check messages, send messages (it was Mothers' Day, after all) and eat. When in Bainbridge eat at Doc's. Really. Doc's is a diner with a good variety of food and a helpful staff. I suspect that burger was one of the top 10 I have eaten (get the bacon cheeseburger deluxe). We headed back to Highlands where our oldest child managed to get through on the phone as we rested for what would be our final hike.


Etawah Woods Trail

We thought this was to be a short hike, but we took an extension and got tired before we gave up and turned around. These trails close at 5 p.m. and we also didn't want to make the volunteers wait on us. It too was lovely and delivered a patch of Jack-in-the-pulpit and a grey squirrel who posed - somewhat unhappily (he couldn't find a way away from us).

We also watched some inexperienced folks in kayaks we'd seen almost an hour earlier (and maybe a quarter mile upstream).  There was some serious sunburn going on.

More caves

These are somewhat challenging hikes with a good bit of changes in elevation.

Sunburned

We haven't a clue where people were renting the kayaks or where they "put-in" and "took-out" but we might want to find out.

FINALLY - Canadian Violets (it has to do with the way the blooms come off the leaves).

Eastern Grey Squirrel

He climbed up this wood and then had no place to go - until the humans left him alone.

Jack is back!

There are a number of Jack-in-the-pulpit flowers here.

Just one more!

Then we were up and out.

I have to say it was difficult to leave this peaceful and lush sanctuary. The only way we could manage it was to promise ourselves that we would return.

[I probably should mention that one or more photos might be demonstrating some slippage in my 60+ year old brain and or my chronic disorganization. I could have moved one wildflower (photographically only)  from one trail to another - or even from the sanctuary to the preserve. I am going to "call this good" and start planning the next trip.]

NOTES:

*https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Story_of_Ferdinand

We would later report the bull-on-the-trail:

     "Are you sure it was a bull?" asked the volunteer.
     "Ma'am, I am from Texas. I know what a bull looks like. It was a bull. Please call and report it to the sheriff." [Remember - I had limited cellphone service.]
     "But that property is not ours."  
     "Ma'am, at home when an animal is out we call the sheriff. They will know what to do. And you need to tell anyone who comes for a map to those trails there's a bull out there. I think most hikers would want to know."

They did report the bull to the sheriff's office. I don't think the sheriff's people were too excited. They just noted it in the event someone called looking for their bull. Maybe Ohio bulls roaming the woods aren't the threat that Texas bulls would be.

**We thought maybe foxes or squirrels. These grey squirrels were large and had very long hind legs. Most of the creatures moved too fast for us. I also found that the cell memory was full most of these last few hikes. I deleted what I could and took many fewer photos here. TRUST ME all of the hikes are worth the time and effort. I plan to hike them again - during wildflower season. April 2019 - OHIO!

FINAL NOTE:

I am going to include these photos so I will be able to find them later. I should remember this was the day that we almost took a wrong turn and saw this young man sitting at the edge of the creek. Later we returned and saw that he had company. Young people are pretty much the same whether they drive a car or a buggy.

Waiting

Another buggy was there