Destination: Cuyahoga Valley NP
Date: Sept 15, 2018
Reason: Day Trip
Day 1 September 15, 2018
Despite Cuyahoga Valley National Park being in the same state (and only a little over 3 hours away) neither Julia nor I had ever visited. We decided to rectify this error with a quick day trip on a Saturday.
We left our house at 5:00am after giving the dogs half a breakfast. We hit very dense fog all the way up I-71 through Columbus. It was surreal, driving a very familiar stretch of highway but being unable to recognize any landmarks. Just north of Columbus, as the sun was peeking over the horizon, Julia nodded off. She missed out on some spectacular farmland scenery, with the fog filling meadows and valleys. One farmstead stood out in particular. The house overlooked a low-lying field that was rimmed with small hills. The fog filled the depression and made it look like the house was sat next to a placid lake.
Julia woke up when we were nearly to the park. Our first stop was Brandywine Falls. Despite all the websites warning that parking at the falls is miserable, we had no trouble. It probably didn’t hurt that we arrived at 8:30am. The walk to the falls was easy. Julia found numerous objects to photograph. Unfortunately, the path to the lower observation area was closed because a fallen tree damaged the boardwalk, so we had to stick to the top. It was still a beautiful experience. We saw where an old factory and mill used to be, powered by the rushing water, and stood on a bridge at the top. Chipmunks and gold finches were plentiful, and Julia even saw a frog.
After the falls we headed into the heart of the park. The park itself is bizarre, very unlike the parks we had just visited out west. Major roads and highways run through, and there are many small towns. Pretty suburban, in fact, being located between Cleveland and Akron. Despite this, there were plenty of beautiful sites, forests and meadows to see.
The Boston Visitor’s Center was our next stop. The parking lot there gave us trouble, since it’s also a hub for the main hiking/biking artery. A kind ranger let us in the center, even though it was 9:27am and they didn’t officially open until 9:30am. When another ranger arrived she was pretty grumpy. We checked out the tiny gift shop but were underwhelmed, so when the nice ranger mentioned that the actual store across the street had better fare we decided to wait.
We went to the Boston Trail Mix, the store across the street, but it didn’t open until 10:00am, so we checked the map and discovered that Blue Hen Falls was nearby. After a very short drive we parked and started our hike. Before we reached the falls we left the paved path at a creek to explore. Julia built a small cairn on the stream banks. I noticed some trash up the way a bit, and when I went to retrieve it my foot slipped in the creek and soaked my shoe.
When we reached Blue Hen we scrambled down some rocks to get to the bottom. I accidentally touched a slug while gripping a tree. At the bottom we took pictures and climbed rocks. Back at the top, Julia met a dog that was hiking with a group of backpackers doing the Buckeye Trail. She named her Adventure Time.
After walking back a steep incline that wore us out, we drove back to the Boston Trail Mix store. There we picked up our customary pin, magnet, and map, and a couple bags of potato chips. Then we headed off for the Beaver Marsh.
I told Julia that we had the potential to see beavers and otters in the marsh. Sadly, we were disappointed in that regard. However, we had a very pleasant hike. The path follows the Towpath Trail, a section of road that runs parallel to the defunct Miami-Erie Canal, the same road that mules trod when pulling commercial boats. Now the canal is overtaken by nature. Although we didn’t see beavers or otters, we did see ducks, turtles, and water birds like herons and egrets. We ran out of time on the path since we were on a tight schedule for the most important part of our trip- the train ride.
We arrived at Rockside Station early for our 12:50pm departure time. The train arrived early though, so we didn’t have to wait long. It was Julia’s first time on a train, and she was very excited. We boarded in our coach car and began the journey. The train made many stops on its way south through the whole park. Julia visited the concession car and brought back sandwiches, cheese puffs, and beer. We passed forests, marsh lands, and rivers. At Akron we reversed direction and headed back north. On the return trip Julia drowsed.
There was a very loud, annoying guy on the train. He talked a lot, but slept on the return leg, giving us some peace. Altogether the ride took about 3 ½ hours, which was 30 minutes longer than anticipated. This made some patrons grumpy.
After disembarking we bid the park farewell. We stopped for gas and grabbed dinner at the gas station, hit a detour in Columbus, and made it home around 8:00pm. We decided that we would make a trip back in the future to hit some sites we missed out on.
Robinsons on the Road 