Today, was our best shot at a day
here without rain so we opted to do our “nature day” today. The day started out
cool (like 48*) and got up to the low 70’s.
Hocking State Park was beautiful, but
full of people. It’s Father’s Day weekend and gaggles of people were there. We
hiked the trails around Old Man’s Cave including Upper and Lower Falls, Lower
Gorge and Devils Bathtub. Old Man’s Cave travels along a breathtaking gorge cut
through the entire 150 foot thickness of the Blackhand sandstone.
We heard a lot of birds, but the
trees were thick, and they were hard to see. (plus the hordes of people made it
hard to stop in certain areas)
We hiked a couple of hours and since
this was the first day that I have had any exercise since the surgery, I was
feeling all the downhill steps. It was a beautiful area and so worth it.
We stopped for lunch at a general
store. (the main restaurant in the park burned down and isn’t quite rebuilt
yet) They had a Texas pork tenderloin that Greg & I split along with an
order of onion rings. They didn’t serve the pork tender flat and hanging inches
out of the round bun, but on a long bun and they folded it in 3 pieces. It was
tasty (and so not on our diet).
After lunch we visited another area
in Hocking State Park. There are tons of trails there in 7 different areas. We
hiked less than 2 hours at Ash Cave through a beautiful gorge lined with
stately hemlocks. The cave was named for the huge pile of ashes found by early
settlers in the cave shelter, though the source of the ashes is still a
mystery. There was a beautiful waterfall, and a wide recessed cave.
On the way back to the hotel we
stopped at another general store since it advertised 24 flavors of soft serve
ice cream. It was good, but we wouldn’t go out of our way to have it again.
We got a bit more organized back at
the hotel and had a light dinner to make up for the “bad” lunch.
The blog isn't letting me add any photos. I may need to start a new one. For now, I'll include the link to the online albums. Sorry!
The blog isn't letting me add any photos. I may need to start a new one. For now, I'll include the link to the online albums. Sorry!
Tomorrow, intermittent rain is
forecasted, and we are going to visit the Columbus Zoo. (Jack Hanna’s zoo)
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