August 5-10, 2024
Black Moshannon
I left Anne’s place on Monday morning, hitched up at the Village Scene and made my way to a one nighter at Black Moshannon State Park PA. This park is about 20 miles off of Interstate 80 near State College. I wish I could have stayed there more than one night, it was very nice, despite the E Coli warnings on all of their water taps.
Parked about two sites from me was another 23′ Airstream. We go to chatting, his was a 1972 model that he bought in 1992. He used it for years then did a total frame off restoration. The work he did was incredible (sorry, no pics). He showed me his and I showed him mine, haha. Crazy – his name was Dean also.
Here’s my site and a few pictures from morning walk.
I had a work Teams meeting at 11AM on Tuesday, I planned to join by phone. I had zero cellular at the park and lots of blockage on the Starlink Antenna. I set the phone to calls over the internet, shut down all other devices and managed with only one disconnect.
At 11:45AM I started heading to Ohio. I fretted about the turn-around situation at Black Moshannon, needlessly.
Streetsboro KOA
About 3 1/2 hour drive to Streetsboro KOA. Google maps was warning me I could impacted by severe thunderstorms. While there was rain, some pretty torrential, was not that bad. Streetsboro is about 20 miles south of Cleveland – pretty much Interstate 80 all the way.
I arrived at the KOA and the humidity was EXTREME. And not quite sure why I reserved a site without sewer hookup but we’ll make it work.
I set up quickly as I could see rain was on the way. It was so damn humid, turned on the AC and took shelter. Wasn’t long before I received text messages from the KOA office informing that there was a tornado warning and, if wanted, shelter was at their office. I stayed in the trailer – thinking about all the crazy what ifs. No tornado hit us and all clear was given an hour later.
As it turns out a tornado did hit the area, I witnessed many road closures and trees down on my way to the park the next day.
Cuyahoga Valley National Park
Quoting the National Park brochure:
“Along the Crooked River – Before the Cuyahoga River empties into Lake Erie in downtown Cleveland, it snakes through a green, welcoming valley. People have relied on the river for thousands of years. The lower Cuyahoga was part of early transportation networks. Later it powered industry and grew cities. It became infamous for its pollution, rallying the nation. Today a cleaner Cuyahoga River show’s us how nature’s renewal benefits the entire metropolitan area.
Cuyahoga Valley National Park protects the river between Akron and Cleveland. It is a patchwork of natural areas, villages, and small farms. Families stroll after dinner along a canal towpath. Water lilies part as a lone beaver swims across a marsh. Valley slopes team with skiers and sledders in winter. Uplands offer forests, rock ledges, and waterfalls to inspire the spirit”
The ranger at the Visitor Center recommended three “must see” trails – Brandywine Falls, the Ledges, and Beaver Marsh.
Brandywine Falls
I headed to Brandywine Falls and the Brandywine Gorge Trail.
Time for a refreshment.
Crooked Pecker Brewing Company
I did a little research on area breweries and two seemed highly rated on brewerystars.com and untapped. Crooked Pecker tonight. A few excellent IPAs and another sticker for the frioge.
The Ledges and Pine Grove
The next day, Thursday, August 8th, I headed to the Ledges and Pine Grove. Weather forecast was for rain in the afternoon so I hit the trails by 9:30-10AM. Here’s the trail:
It was a decent 4+ mile hike, some fairly easy and some scrambling rocks. I took a bunch of pictures of the ledges and the trail – they get repetitive but here are most of them.
Missing Mountain Brewing Co
That night there was rain forecast and I went to Missing Mountain Brewing Co for refreshments and dinner.
Beaver Marsh
The third trail the ranger recommended on my first day here was the Beaver Marsh trail. This is an easy 2 mile flat trail that follows the Ohio & Erie Canal Towpath. I should have brought my better camera … here is what I captured with the phone camera.
The only beaver I saw:
and definitely did not see an otter:
The trail:
Back in the day there were locks along this tow path:
A Mallard:
This is Beaver Marsh:
I think this is a pond Lily with a bee:
And this is a Water Lily:
The Great Blue Heron:\
The Green Heron:
Common Hibiscus:
Some form of hemp (according to google lens):
Painted Turtle:
These guys were way out there and why I need to bring my better camera:
And the last photo-worthy object was this nest. I asked a ranger if they knew what the bird was – they didn’t and recommended an app called “i-naturalist” – the app didn’t know either.
