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This Spring Break 2012 Was Awesome, Although a Bit Short.

Hocking Hills State Park

For Spring Break 2012, we drove from southwest Michigan to Hocking Hills, Ohio in about 7 hours.  We stopped several times along the way to walk the dog and have a snack or two.

In our first stop in Ohio, we stopped at a large park and walked into the woods and fields.  Before we even turned around to head back we had already taken 6 ticks off our clothes!  I am sure glad we put tick preventative medicine on Kash last week.  Turns out we could not find a single tick on him, but we ended up finding 10 of them by the time we got back to the van and them 2 more in the van!

When we found our destination address, we started up the narrow, steep gravel driveway.  I had to really gas it to make it up the hill to the cabin!  Learned real quick that I need to start up the hill a little faster.

Once we arrived at our super cool log cabin, we immediately went in to find it better than advertised!  It was beautiful, and private.  Complete with a hot tub on the deck and satellite TV!  We immediately unloaded and then sat down for a quick 14 minutes to take everything in.  Kash, our Border Collie-Aussie absolutely loved the place.

What a great place for a survival cabin!  It got me thinking about having our own place like this if shit-hit-the-fan or we had a natural catastrophe.  It got me thinking about a program/course that is online that teaches you what 37 things that disappear off the shelves first in am emergency.

Back to the vacation.  Sorry, I get side tracked easy.

We took off to see if we could get a hike in before sunset.  Turns out the Hocking Hills State Park was just a short drive away.  We went to see Old Man Cave.  It was awesome!  Reminded me of a hobbit fairy land or some peaceful zen setting.  It was better than expected.  Kash loved it and Shelly oohed and ahhed while I snapped photos like starving dog in a butcher shop!

Shelly and Kash

Back to the cabin to watch the National Championship basketball game.  That’s why we wanted satellite TV in a cabin.  We watched the game while munching our snacks we bought at the little local store on the way back.  The dog curled up by the fireplace and zonked.

The next morning I woke up to a low throaty growl.  Kash was at the window staring at a deer looking back at him!  It was only about 40 feet away.  Kash has only seen fleeting glimpses of a couple deer, so this was a real treat for him.  I took a few pictures and Kash never broke his stare or low growl until they passed out of site.

We then headed out after a hot shower and quick breakfast to Ash Cave.  Another better-than-expected natural scenic beauty.  It was where horse thieves kept the stolen horses before selling them.  At least that’s what I was told.  Then we went to a haunted old town that disappeared a while back.  It was tough to find and interesting roads to get there, but we were determined.  It has a 100 yard long abandoned train tunnel that passes through the hill.  Built in 1903, it has survived due to it’s quality engineering and brick masonry.  We did not see any ghosts, but did see Kash jump in the river.

Then we went to Conkles Hollow.  This was a real treat for the eyes and mind.  A concrete sidewalk winds back into the ever narrowing mossy “hollow”.  With big bus sized, moss covered boulders, and peaceful water falls off to the side, the sound of falling water added to the surreal scene.

Once we arrived at the end of the sidewalk, the trail turned into a path and narrowed down until you came to the end of the canyon where a beautiful waterfall splashed into the pond that fed the meandering creek.  An awesome sight that was well worth the walk and the drive.

I ended up taking about 700 digital photos on our trip and loved every minute of it.  Still one day to go, but I’ll hold that one until later.

Still have sore legs,

Thomas

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