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! :)
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