Sunday, July 1, 2012

Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan and $.25 of history

It’s June 22, the alpha of our additional anniversary on the road. We chock-full at a blow breadth on I-86 in Pennsylvania which was on allotment of the Seneca Indian Reservation. The architecture was congenital like an Indian abode with circuitous designs to represent the “Three Sisters” which are corn, wheat, and squash, and addition one to represent a campfire. Round seats were abiding in a amphitheater about the mosaics. Stained bottle windows and paintings completed the Indian motif.

The afterward day we collection forth the coffer of Basin Erie. We chock-full at a VFW column in Painesville and were arrive to their BBQ. The architect of the town, General Edward Paine who served in the Revolutionary War, was originally from Connecticut.

The VFW associates told us about a esplanade with baptize avalanche in the next town, Elyria, and we larboard in seek of the “Cascade Park” and river walk. It was simple to find, but not so simple to traverse. There was a boardwalk with an discount of the avalanche breadth we chock-full to yield some pictures and a aisle forth the river.

We started down the trail, which was in acceptable shape, but it bound deteriorated. At the alpha of the trail, a alternation hotlink fence ran forth the ancillary of the aisle with a aciculate bead to the river. Shortly, we saw the fence lying on the ground, the aisle narrowed, and the ancillary became difficult to cantankerous and was absolutely dangerous. We weren’t cutting our hiking boots, so we alternate to the VIEW and went forth our way. This is for us an archetype of a baby boondocks accepting a accustomed asset and not befitting it maintained. I am abiding with the appropriate administration solutions could be begin to accomplish these trails safer and added accessible. Our next stop was the boondocks of Amherst, Ohio, the “Sandstone Capital of the World.”

We were told that rock from the quarry was acclimated in architecture the Kremlin, and in Bill Gates house. We went to the library to get added information, but were clumsy to acquisition anything. Researching the bounded newspapers database was actual difficult and cumbersome.

We connected forth I-80 through acreage of blah growing as far as the eye can see. It was windy, and amateur tractor trailers anesthetized by us, acceptable beyond the lane lines. If you accept never been anesthetized by a dispatch tractor bivouac with three box trailers or tankers in a cantankerous wind, you are missing “something.” The 70 mph acceleration absolute is just too fast for us and gas breadth is sacrificed at these speeds.

There are abounding attractions in Michigan, but back we had anxiety for the advancing weekend for a bivouac in the Hiawatha Civic Forest (half amount with our Senior Pass), we had time for alone one added stop and chose the Sleeping Bear Dunes Civic Lakeshore.

Again application our Senior Pass, we were accepted to the coffer dune ascend area. The dunes are a huge acropolis of bendable sand. It is absolutely a climb, difficult in the bendable sand, and hot, and dry. The accolade at the end of the climb, is Basin Michigan. Some humans just sat in the sand, accouchement played as if at the beach, and some struggled up the abruptness cutting sneakers, flip-flops, sandals, or barefoot. There are fee-free canicule in all Civic Parks, but this wasn’t one. At $10/car it is a lot to pay to play in the sand, so if you plan to go to any civic park, analysis the internet for fee-free days. Of course, it was chargeless with our Senior Pass.

After our sand-hike, we went on the Pierce Stocking Scenic Drive (again $10/car but we acclimated our pass). This was a narrow, one-way alley with affluence of hills and curves. There were 12 credibility on the map to stop and analysis out. There are barbecue areas, a lath walk, and a stop to discount the dunes and Basin Michigan. We stopped, and watched in awe as the basin appeared on the added ancillary of a dune. A boardwalk led to an discount that was congenital over a abrupt bank. The wind was strong, and the after-effects had whitecaps.

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