June 16, 2014
This was a very laid back day, which was just what we needed after all our running around. Aunt Sue, Uncle Bill, and Cousin Zack all came over to Grandma’s to visit for the day, and we took it very easy. We ate breakfast before they arrived, and once they got there we sat around catching up. Hyla napped a bit, and then we had sandwiches for lunch before geocaching around the cemeteries by Harding’s Tomb. I had to venture into the thick, poison ivy filled woods to retrieve one of them. Bill was suffering from the effects of poison ivy, and everyone else was highly sensitive, so it was up to me. It actually wasn’t too bad once I’d gotten past the edge of the woods. The second cache was an easy spot in a bush. I made sure to let them search for it and find it so we could all join in on the fun. After geocaching we returned to Grandma’s house where we relaxed some more, and then we enjoyed a nice dinner.
That evening, Nate, Hyla, and I struck out to geocache, mostly to get rid of a travel bug I had that wanted to go to West Virginia. It was a bit of a challenge, but we found a suitable cache in which to place that one. Then we wound up finding four more in the nearby parking lots. We briefly stopped at McDonald’s for some ice cream sundaes before heading back. We were excited to see it stayed light until about 10pm out here!
June 17, 2014
Refreshed from a quiet day yesterday, we decided to get adventuring again. We had breakfast and then hit the road for Cuyahoga Valley National Park. Once there, we stopped first at the Boston Store visitor center where we got our bearings and our stamp/patch and asked the ranger about the best sites to see. Then we struck out to see Brandywine Falls. We did a lovely hike, taking us past people’s yards where we admired their chickens, through the woods where we helped Hyla discover a toad, across a river, and to the falls where we admired them from both above and below. Then we visited Lock 29 and admired some old orb webs on the bridge. Next we explored Everett Bridge, another covered bridge. Finally, we stopped at the Beaver Marsh, which was my favorite spot on our tour. We saw a number of impressive snapping turtles sunning themselves brazenly in the water. Our approach didn’t startle them in the least. There was a boardwalk over one of the widest sections of the marsh that reminded me so much of Australia’s Kakadu National Park that I was almost looking for saltwater crocodiles and barramundi! So cool! We also saw a great blue heron at close range and lots of smaller turtles, the species of which I couldn’t make out from our distance. It was heaven to a herpetologist like me. The only downside was the oppressive humidity. We really only managed to see a small portion of this large national park, so I know we’ll be back again someday. Next time I’d really like to do the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad and maybe do some bicycling, too.
After seeing our fill of Cuyahoga Valley, we headed down to New Philadelphia with high hopes to get another coaster credit at Tuscora Park. Tuscora was actually a city park, much to my surprise. It was huge, and we really didn’t get to explore much of it, but it did have a small amusement park with rides that seemed geared toward smaller kids. Undeterred, I marched my way up to the ticket booth and asked if adults could ride the kiddy coaster (I have no shame). The girl at the counter was quite chipper when she replied, “No adults!” Gee, I’m glad she’s so happy about that. Grumble, grumble. It wasn’t for naught, though, as Hyla got to enjoy the swings she loves so much – and they were robot themed, no less! She and Nate also explored a unique climbable train area.
Once we’d had our fill, we continued down to Sunbury to meet some of Nate’s family for dinner. Due to our detour which took longer than expected, we were about 45 minutes late, but it turned out not to be a problem, thankfully. We had such a wonderful time catching up and enjoying a tasty dinner. I’m so glad we were able to see them! We made it back to Nate’s Grandma’s house around 10:30. What an eventful day!
June 18, 2014
Woke up after another great night’s sleep and had another nice breakfast with Grandma Crane. We were so glad to have so much time to spend and catch up, though it’s never nearly enough. We had such a wonderful time in Ohio. Unfortunately we had to hit the road before too long, though. We headed southwest toward Bellefontaine, OH where we did a cave tour at Zane Caverns. Luckily you don’t have to wait for a tour time. As soon as you arrive, someone will take you on your way. The Shawnee own Zane Caverns, and one of its members led the way. We enjoyed our private tour, taking in the beautiful cool air and spotting rare “cave pearls.” After that, as we were driving toward the Ohio state highpoint, we were amazed to see a bald eagle swooping down in front of us, trying to grab road kill from the street, right in the middle of the corn fields! I wasn’t sure I was seeing correctly at first, but as it swooped up that white tail was unmistakable. I was SO excited about that!
Next up we found our way to Campbell Hill, Ohio’s state highpoint. Situated on a college campus, it was a rather odd place, but they graciously have a marker and some information in commemoration. While there, we encountered a couple who are trying to hit every state high point in an effort to raise money for Habitat for Humanity. We enjoyed talking with them a bit. I’d love to do the same, but I must admit there are a few peaks I am not too keen on tackling. I give them a lot of credit! I’d really like to raise money for a cause in which I’m interested by riding roller coasters. How to do that, I’m still working on. At the time we met them, he’d tackled about 42 highpoints, and she’d done about 36. She was also writing a coffee table book. Man, I really admire them! Ironically, they’re from Florida, the state with the lowest highpoint. While there, we watched them do a video about Campbell Hill. It kind of reminded me of Sheldon Cooper’s (Big Bang Theory) “Fun With Flags.” Hehe. If you’re interested in their adventures or donating, their blog is” tothetop50.com “. More power to ‘em!
While we were up there, we also managed to snag another geocache, which is always fun. Then we hit the road back toward Delaware, OH where we were able to meet up with Sue, Bill, and Zack some more. It was really enjoyable! We had some lunch and spent about 2 hours there catching up some more and enjoying Hyla’s antics. What a wonderful time! It was hard to say goodbye, but we had to hit the road to keep to our schedule.
On our way toward Cincinnati we hit some rush hour traffic in Columbus, not to mention lots of construction along the way. We made it to the suburb of Montgomery just a little late despite this and made our way over to the famous Montgomery Inn, a really nice local BBQ restaurant with a great atmosphere, to meet up with Cindy, one of my fellow study abroad friends whom I met in Australia. It was so great to catch up with her again after so many years! The last time I saw her was in 2000, two years after our adventures in Australia. It was so much fun to see her - it really didn’t feel like anything had changed! She brought her sister Katie along, and she was great, too! I really wish we had more time to spend – they even invited us to go with them to King’s Island the next day, which was SOOOO tempting! Definitely next time! A funny aside, the waitress asked me where I was from because I had a “Northern accent.” Haha! I dunno, but everyone there sounded just like me to me! Go figure! Too funny, though.
Once we parted and made our way back to the car, we were excited to see some lightning bugs and show them to Hyla. Not having them is one sad thing about living in the west. Kids need to grow up with lightning bugs! There’s just something weird about not having that opportunity. At least we got to expose her to them here. We spent the night in southern Indiana, dealing with glitchy internet again, but we made do. It was good to stop again for the night.
June 19, 2014
Our hotel wasn’t far from the Creation Museum, so we decided to head over a little before it opened. I really had no idea what to expect, and I kind of envisioned a large roadside attraction filled with poorly constructed plastic dinosaur models and thrown-together exhibits. I couldn’t have been more wrong! We were met with an incredibly professional museum with wonderful displays rivaling big-name institutions we’d visited around the country. From what we’d read, it sounded like the place was quite a spectacle, and that was definitely the case, though not at all in the manner we had pictured. Regardless, we are always game for checking out unique and unusual places, and this place was right up there.
I had very mixed feelings about visiting this place. I consider myself particularly open-minded, but I do have a strong background in the sciences. While I, myself, am not religious, I do have many friends and colleagues who are, and quite a few of them see no conflict between science and religion. This museum, however, promotes the Young Earth Creationist explanation of the universe’s origins. They believe the world is only 6000 years old, basing their beliefs on a literal interpretation of Genesis. It is an interesting take on the history of the world, though they really seem to be reaching to prove their theories. Regardless, this is a very interesting museum.
One of the major themes of this museum is dinosaurs. It seems as though this subject factors in to almost every facet of the museum. It is a fascinating subject, and one that draws people in, so I suppose that makes sense. In fact, some of the first things you see in the parking lot are dinosaur statues, and not the sloppy roadside ones, either, but life-sized, quality, realistic sculptures. Upon entering, you’re greeted by the “Hall of Dragons,” which is cool because I love dragons. Their theory is that the dragonlike creatures in the Bible were actually dinosaurs, and they had several displays in the hall arguing for this idea.
We were really surprised to see just how busy this place was. The parking lot was packed, and droves of people were filing toward the building. I must admit, I was somewhat uncomfortable here, and I couldn’t bring myself to look anyone in the eye. I got better as my visit progressed, but I just felt very uneasy. Luckily there was so much to see that I didn’t really have to look at too many people, even though we were packed like sardines a lot of the time.
Once we’d paid our rather exhorbitant entry fee, our first stop was the “Men in White” show. This seemed to be geared toward kids and featured two young guys with angel wings touting the Young Earth Creationist point of view. One part basically bashed teachers who teach mainstream science, making them sound ridiculous. If anything, it made the museum look bad. Ignoring the propaganda, misinformation, and lies, the show was pretty high tech, incorporating visual and tactile effects like vibrating seats and mist. The tone of the 22 minute show reminded me of the upbeat LDS comedies that I’ve grown to love after living in Utah, but the inaccuracy of the content left me with a bad taste in my mouth.
After the show, we filed past some live animal exhibits. They had some finches, blind cave fish, and poison frogs, but the majority of their animal exhibits featured preserved or fake examples. Their impressive arthropod collection was presided over by an animatronic scientist. His looped monologue would insist that the vast diversity of insect life could only have come about as a creation of God, with no convincing support thereof.
Continuing through the museum, we were met with a history of the world, according to the Bible. Once again, dinosaurs factored into much of it. There was an impressive diorama of the Garden of Eden featuring Adam, Eve, animals of today, and dinosaurs. My favorite was the velociraptor happily nibbling fruit from a tree. After all, back then all the animals were herbivores. Even the ones with flesh-ripping teeth. Of course.
They also had an impressive number of exhibits featuring Noah’s Ark. I liked the scale model depicting the animal pairs boarding the Ark, including some sauropods. Even though a lot of the arguments are over the top, and the “research” backing them was dubious, I must say they really did give a lot of thought to much of the detail behind everything. It takes a lot of effort to come up with the alternative explanations for things that have scientific proof, but they find a way. Speaking of detail, they went so far as to discuss important things like how Noah would have possibly dealt with all the animal waste on the ship. They even had waste removal drawers built as an example of how this was managed. Fascinating. If nothing else, this place gave a lot of thought to things, and the attention to detail was impressive.
It was concerning to see how many people seemed to interpret the Bible so literally, despite all the scientific evidence available today. Luckily, most people probably thought by being here we also felt that way, so no one really tried convincing us. We only had a few interactions with people. When we first came in, they wanted to take our picture, but we declined. I’m not sure I want a record of our visit on display who knows where. Later, we attempted to see another show which was supposed to blow our minds about everything presented here. As we entered the theater, two of the docents pointed to Hyla and said, “Just think! In five years HE’LL” yes, they called her a he, “regurgitate all this back to you.” Horrors!!! That weirded us both out, so it’s probably a good thing that she started crying during the first minute of the movie, forcing us to leave the theater. Plus, if SHE regurgitates this rubbish, I don’t think it’ll be in the manner they intended. Heh.
Once we’d made our way through the enormous museum, we headed outside to see their other attractions. We passed under the zipline and across the bridge to the botanic gardens. They were quite lush and beautiful, and I enjoyed all the water features. We walked over to see the camel rides and petting zoo. This place felt like some crazy theme park as well as a museum. It was something I would expect the South Park guys to make fun of, really, it was just so out there. We went back to the building and looked at the plans for a real-life replica of Noah’s Ark, complete with rides and everything! It looked pretty impressive, and I must say, if they build a roller coaster, I will have to visit. This place was a spectacle and more, and while I may not believe in what they’re touting, it was definitely worth seeing. I give them a lot of credit for creativity (see what I did there?) and details, but they really need a better grasp of basic biology and science. It’s scary that so many people blindly believe in what’s being said. I’m all for believing as you will, but to just ignore proven science in preference of blind faith is concerning.
Once we’d had our fill of the museum, we headed westward, stopping briefly for lunch at Skyline Chili. We’d only eaten there once before, and while it may not be the best place in town, it’s a quintessential Cincinnati eatery, and we always have to sample the local cuisine. We each had a bowlful of cinnamon-spiced, chili-covered spaghetti. We were a bit confused as to how the place worked, since there were no menus or trash cans. Otherwise set up like a fast food joint, it wasn’t what we were used to. We ordered our food, once we determined what was available, and then sat down and waited for them to bring it to us. When we were done, we assumed they would just pick up our refuse, since there were no garbage cans. Weirdness. Regardless, it hit the spot, and we were ready to continue on.
Our next plan was to visit one of the bourbon distilleries in the region. We snaked our way through some of the most beautiful horse country – white fences, rolling hills, and immaculately manicured estates carpeted the countryside. I can just imagine how pricy it would be to live here, but it was also heavenly. We made it to the Woodford Reserve distillery just in time for their last tour. It lasted over an hour and got extremely hot at times. I was worried for Hyla, but she was such a trooper through it all. On the tour we saw an extremely old cat (they claimed it was almost 30, I think), a baby deer, and more barrels of bourbon than you could imagine. I wasn’t sure if our guide was super serious, or just had an incredibly dry sense of humor, but he never smiled and was really hard to read. I stayed out of his way. At the end of it all, we returned to the tasting room where we got to sample both the one year and the two year old varieties of their bourbon. The guide told us to take a sip and hold it on our tongues for a few seconds, enduring the burn, and that after doing that we would be able to tolerate it better, sans the burn. I was skeptical, but it really did work! Not only that, it seems to have acclimated my tongue because, even months later, Woodford Reserve bourbon does not burn anymore. Amazing! We both really enjoyed the bourbon – much better than any whiskey I’ve ever had – and we purchased a bottle of the younger version. It is one of the best spirits I’ve had!
By the time we were finished, it was nearly 5 pm, so we decided not to bother with any other distilleries. Instead we headed into Louisville to get dinner at the BBC Brewing Co. We indulged in a fried green tomato appetizer, which was really good, and Nathan had a tofu stir fry, while I had a personal pizza. We tried their beer sample and some mead, all very tasty. Once we were satiated, we struck out west again, trying to cover as much ground through Kentucky as we could, trying to get as close to Salem, Arkansas as we could before we both tuckered out. We made it to Sikeston, MO, a little under 3 hours out from Salem, but better than the 6 hours at which we started. Just outside of Sikeston, we were trailing a tired or drunk semi driver who was driving erratically. A cop pulled him over just as we reached town. Yikes! We also clipped the very southern tip of Illinois. Sadly it was dark, so I don’t know what that looked like, but still cool! In other news, we think there might have been toads all over the road. It was impossible to be sure, or to avoid them, but it sounded like they were jumping against our car at times. Poor things.
June 20, 2014
We left the motel a little after 9, heading westward yet again. Nate did the driving while I stayed in back with Hyla. I started to feel really queasy and carsick, most likely due to lack of food and water and the extremely windy roads of southern Missouri. I’m not sure I’ve ever been carsick before, but that was awful. Nate stopped at the smallest Walmart ever to try to find something edible, to no avail. So we tried McDonalds in desperation. It did help some, as did the lack of windy roads after that point. We made it to my former 5th grade teacher Barbra’s house a little after noon, and it was so good to see her again! It was sad that her husband Al was no longer around, though. Her big property felt lonely, but we were also greeted by her newest addition, a black lab puppy named Shadow. I was so glad to see she had some company again, and what a sweetheart at that! She’d prepared a wonderful lunch of chicken, egg rolls, salad, and some amazing raspberry pie. It was so delicious! Hyla loved her home and explored as much as she could. You could tell Barbra really liked her a lot – her eyes just lit up as she played with her. We stayed about 4 hours, catching up and enjoying Hyla’s antics. It was so hard to leave. She really wanted us to stay, maybe even for a few days, but we’d been on the road so long we really needed to get back. We had such a wonderful time, and I really hope we can make it out again before too long. For some reason I just felt so sad leaving her and cried a bit on the drive through town. Having people you care about scattered around the country can be pretty tough, but I’m so glad we were able to visit.
As we continued down the road, we briefly drove through Evening Shade, Arkansas, which I got a kick out of because that was the setting of the sitcom with the same name. Nathan didn’t remember the show at all, but I thought it was cool anyway. Then we made a quick pit stop at yet another McD’s in Batesville, I think before hitting the stretch toward Hot Springs.
The drive was uneventful, though it was interesting to drive around Little Rock and see it from a distance. The wooded hills outside of town were beautiful, and I told Nathan stories about the adventures Sharon and I had roller coastering in the region. Up on those lift hills, it looked like nothing but you and the woods for miles and miles. Good times.
Once we made it to Hot Springs we were pretty hungry, so we found parking and made our way over to the Hot Springs Brau House, an amazing German restaurant situated downstairs in the “keller, “ or cellar. We were treated to a wonderful and tasty dinner, delicious beer and cider, and a polka band! What a nice way to top off the evening. Then we snagged a quick geocache in the parking lot before seeking out the Park Hotel, one of the historic hotels in town, and getting settled into our room. It had been yet another eventful and fruitful day.
June 21, 2014
Got up early, but not too much so, because the things we wanted to do were in town for once, and we didn’t have much further to go than our front door. We crossed the street and wandered around what I call the “city park” section of Hot Springs National Park. I’ve always been fascinated by this particular national park because it incorporates an actual town but transitions into wilderness via a park area with more infrastructure and manicuring, or the “city park.” We worked our way up the same hill that Sharon and I explored when we visited back in 2003, making our way up to the large watchtower. The weather on our hike wasn’t really that hot, but the humidity knocked me for a loop. I was sweating like mad, and I couldn’t even stop when we were inside the air conditioned gift shop at the tower’s base. The saddest thing was that I knew the humidity wasn’t even as bad as it could have been. We decided not to spend extra to go to the top, opting rather to get some water to replenish what I was losing in buckets instead.
We headed down the wooded hillside back into town. We saw the official visitor center and toured the old bathhouse which looked pretty much the same as it had in 2003. Then we found two geocaches, enjoyed some of the fountain hot springs, and searched the town in vain for an ice cream shop. With all the touristy shops, you’d think that they’d have one of those, but alas, they did not. We did get lunch at the Superior Bathhouse Brewery and Distillery. They had just opened recently, so their brewing/distilling operations were not in full force yet, but we did sample what beers they had and enjoyed some sandwiches. We wandered around the cute little town a bit more, getting rained on despite having no clouds immediately above us in the sky. Weirdness! It would have been nice to have had more time to explore, but time was ticking away.
We hit the road en route to Mount Magazine, Arkansas’ highest point. The drive up was a bit treacherous due to some heavy downpours. I was a bit worried because we encountered increasing amounts of lightning as we continued, too. Luckily once we reached the trailhead, things seemed to clear up a bit. We hurried along the one mile wooded path to the marker atop Signal Hill, the highest spot atop Mount Magazine. A stone slab in the shape of Arkansas served as a nice tribute to the state and a level place to take in the view, such as it was (more trees – Signal Hill is nestled in the woods). After geocaching a bit and taking a slightly longer trail back down, we were glad to see the car. Luckily the storm remained at bay the entire time.
We headed toward Oklahoma now, enjoying the green landscape while we could. On the way, we drove through Fort Smith, which was a surprisingly huge town. It just went on forever! It sounds like there is much to see there, so maybe we’ll have to return, if for no other reason than to grab a few more geocaches. Into Oklahoma we continued, trying to make it to OK City before too late. We really wanted to visit with my friend Sam, whom I know from our Girl Scout Wider Opportunity adventure up in the California Sierras in 1994. A New Mexican from Farmington, I hadn’t seen her in years, and as luck would have it, almost as soon as I moved to NM, she moved out to Oklahoma!
It was getting pretty late by the time we made it to town. Always in search of brew pubs, Nathan found one that sounded interesting south of OK City. We didn’t quite realize HOW far south. It appeared we were leaving any sort of civilization as we drove toward the Royal Bavaria Restaurant and Brewery in Moore. We were pretty skeptical it even existed, and I worried where Sam thought we were meeting her. Sam was a trooper, though, and she found her way there, too.
A charming German-themed restaurant awaited us amidst the corn fields. We nestled into our bench seats and did a lot of catching up. It was really nice to see her again, and I’m so glad we finally managed to catch each other at the right time. The beers were nice, and the food was just ok in my opinion, but the company made up for it. Sadly we had to hit the road before too long. It was pretty late, and the restaurant closed with us. We struck out again, trying to get at least an hour and a half further up the road. We stopped for the night at a Super 8 in Clinton, and it was the nicest, cleanest one I’d ever seen! Definitely worth stopping for! We were glad to stop and get some shut eye.
22 June 2014
We happily slept in, knowing that this was our final stretch and we didn’t have much further to go to get home. We also really didn’t have any plans for the day other than taking it easy. That kind of luxury is hard to find on our crazy trips. We grabbed a geocache just over the border in Texas, and then got lunch at the Fazoli’s in Amarillo. Hyla really enjoyed the spaghetti. Then we stopped at Braum’s for some of the best ice cream anywhere, and even brought some cartons home with us in our cooler. That wasn’t the best idea, as it melted despite the ice, but it was luckily mostly salvageable. We made it home just a little after 5 and settled in, glad to be back. Honestly, I could have kept going, but it was nice to have the conveniences of home, especially with Hyla. She did amazingly, though! I think we all had a marvelous trip, and we look forward to our next adventure!
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