Hocking Hills, Day Two

Sunday was forecasted to be a mostly rainy day.  The weather man from Columbus said he expected anywhere from 1/2 to an inch of rain.  Sure enough we woke in the night to the sound of rain on the roof of the camper.  A soothing sound at night.  But when day came along we needed to find something to do.

We decided to drive over to Nelsonville to take a journey on the Hocking Valley Scenic Railway.  I love riding on trains.  I've only been on a few including the Cuyahoga Valley Railway.  I think we might have also been on one in Sugar Creek.  The HVSR was pretty cool with a fully restored diesel engine and passenger cars that liked to rock back and forth.  The scenery was more historic than anything, and it was interesting to learn about the area.  I didn't know that the area was so known for bricks and mines.  Had a fun discussion with one of the volunteers who tried to recruit us.

The rain started to abate as we discovered we were pretty hungry.  Somehow we discovered Jackie O's in Athens.  I hadn't been to Athens in almost 20 years and I thought it would be a fun little trip - after all we weren't that far from there at that point.  Boy has Athens changed.  I remember a bunch of little mom and pop shops on the main drag.  Now there are more chain places, but the overall vibe is the same.  And the College Bookstore is still there and even smells the same.

After a tasty bite to eat we decided to try to get to one more part of the Hocking Hills State Park - the Rock House.  After Tom Tom took us on a circuitous route we made it and embarked on the downhill trail.  It was very downhill and we noticed quite a few people huffing and puffing on their way up.  Once we made it to the cave we were instantly glad we made the trek.  The Rock House is actually the only real cave in the Hocking Hills (versus the other places that were large rock overhangs).  It's situated in an interesting place - about halfway up a 150 foot cliff.  The cave itself is about 200 feet long with 25ft ceilings.  What is crazy that there are spots where you really have to be careful because you could step right off of a cliff if you don't watch yourself.  After trying to get some decent pictures inside the cave - which is fairly difficult in the low light - we started the hike back out.  We soon figured out why people going up were so winded..

We got back to the campground too late for the community pork roast, but we still had plenty of time to have our dinner and unwind and enjoy the campsite.  It was hard to believe that our 4 day weekend was coming to a close already.  But we really had a great time, and I'm pretty sure we'll be back!

I'm amazed that having lived in Ohio for 32 years I've never been to Hocking Hills. It is a wonderful area with so many natural resources to explore!  One could easily spend a week or more exploring the area.  The Ohio State Parks are wonderful.  Add to that many good places to eat and fun things to do.  I really want to try ziplining next time!  If you're looking for a place to check out that rivals some of the National Parks, Hocking Hills is worth checking out.  Just don't expect to get any phone calls while you're there! :)

Hocking Hills, Day One

Today was an adventure in Hocking Hills.  We went to three different areas of Hocking Hills State Park.

The first area we went to is probably one of the most popular, and from the number of people there would seem like the most visited - Old Man's Cave.  Several people apparently lived in it starting in the late 1700s.  It was amazing how big it is even though it's not really a cave but more of a huge rock overhang.  There are trails that follow along the gorge, although the river that created it was a bit low this time of year.  We got to see the Sphinx Rock and the Devil's Bathtub at the same park.  Just amazing scenery there.  We took a lot of photos, but I won't subject you to all of them!

The next park we went to was Conkle's Hollow which has some cliffs that tower about 200 feet above the floor of the gorge.  It was pretty amazing to see something like this in Ohio - where we are from in NE Ohio everything is pretty flat with some rolling hills thrown in for variety.  The path was interesting to start because a good portion of it was paved and accessible for those with disabilities.  It also made it a nice relief after the crazy paths around Old Man's Cave.  At one point I was looking at the cliffs when I heard a family walking by talking about the shape of some of the cliffs.  I clearly overheard, "Do you see the butt crack?"  The woman leaned over to the other then whispered in her ear something apparently more salacious and they broke out in laughter.

At the end of the path there was what I think would be a waterfall under more wet conditions.  As I saw it there was a steady dripping...

The last park we went to was like saving the best for last - at least for the day.  Ash Cave took us almost full circle for the day, but it was very worth it.  We walked along the relatively short path until we came across two amazing things.  One was Ash Cave itself which again isn't really a cave but more of a massive stone overhang.  It is about 700 feet from end to end and almost 100 feet high.  It was really breathtaking.

The other cool thing was that a wedding was going on as we walked up to the cave.  I think they had just said "I Do" and kissed shortly thereafter as we were walking nearby.  A pretty cool place to get married I think.  Although our hike out was a bit strenuous so I hope the bride and groom took the lower pathout.

We just scratched the surface of the Hocking Hills today - there are so many parts of the park to visit!  And of course the night ended with a campfire, some cider, and some cool views of the campground at night from our hillside balcony.  All in all a pretty amazing day!

Labor Day Weekend

I’m almost in disbelief that it’s Labor Day weekend - it seems like it was just Memorial Day weekend and the summer was just beginning.  Time flies when you’re camping!

We’ve chosen to spend this weekend somewhere we haven't been to before - The Hocking Hills in SE Ohio.  We’ve talked about coming down here a number of times, but we’ve never seemed to make it.  With a four day weekend we had plenty of driving time so here we are.

Of course yesterday was a work day, but we wanted to leave anyway.  So we took a short drive south on I77 to just south of Canton, OH and stopped at the Canton/East Sparta KOA.  It’s not too far from the highway, but it’s definitely not near much - except some noisy goats. We had a quick (and delicious) bite to eat at Sublime Smoke in Bolivar.  Despite it sounding like it should be a tobacco shop, it was a great BBQ place.  Small but tasty, and worth a stop if you’re traveling on I77.  When we got back to the KOA the goats were asleep and soon we were as well.

After getting up early then taking a work-related recovery nap, we set back onto the highway south towards Logan, OH.  The highway drive was easy, but once we got onto some back roads it got interesting.  We haven’t traveled on hilly, twisty-windy roads much with the trailer, but we certainly have now.  There were a few 15mph banked, twisty, downhill curves that made my knuckles white.  But we made it without incident.

Now we’re at the Hocking Hills KOA which is very nice so far.  The staff here is very friendly, and the sites are nicely laid out.  Ours pretty much overlooks the main part of the campground from a patio which is almost like a little balcony off our site.  The only downside is that there isn’t any cell service here, and for super connected folks like us that’s interesting.

There’s lots to do here, so tomorrow will be an adventure.  Thanks to actual working campground wifi hopefully I will be able to blog about it!

About to float away...

It's a little wet today at our lovely campsite.  Actually, there is a small stream running where I was sitting about 45 minutes ago.  We had a view of Mosquito Lake a little while ago, and now we have our own private lake right here on the campsite.

Morning view

Morning view at Portage Lakes State Park campground.