After I managed to get up, grab a bite to eat and pack up the tent, I sought out a place to fill up the gas tank and get some more ice. I found myself in a little town called
, on the Tuscarawas River. I considered going to the
instead.
I wandered around the path a little, and thought, "I think Pat would say this place looks
." I decided to look at how much a one-day out-of-state Ohio fishing license would cost, and if it was less than $20, I'd fish for a little while for the heck of it.
It was $14. Fish on!
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| Yay! It may be little, but it was a largemouth bass on a top-water lure, so it was good. |
After switching from a ned rig with a coppertreuse
Z-man Finesse TRD worm to a "yoda"
Whopper Plopper, I started to see interest from the small (6-8 inch) largemouth bass in the area. I finally not only enticed one to bite, but stay hooked until I could land it.
Minutes after that, I saw feeder fish scrambling to get away from something out by the turtle basking logs in the middle of the creek. I cast in that area.
It bit. And it fought. And I had it barely out of the water and was reaching for it when it unhooked itself and swam away. It was a chunky 16-ish (maybe larger) inch largemouth. It kept antagonizing the feeder fish while I kept trying to entice it to bite again. I tried
Reaction Innovations Skinny Dipper swimbaits, went back to the Whopper Plopper, and nothing.
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| More and more turtles showed up to watch the show during the two hours I was here |
I'd only planned to stay maybe an hour, but that stupid fish that got away made me stay another hour trying to get it back. It was still a fun diversion, and I caught more fish than guys that showed up for 30 minutes with their catfishing gear (I caught the first fish as they were leaving and they saw me bring it in).
From the dam, I drove south on I-77 and thought about visiting
Hopewell Culture, since I hadn't been there in several years and I'd gone to
Cahokia Mounds last year. Instead, when I stopped for gas outside Newark, OH, I saw a sign for the
Great Circle Earthworks -- another Hopewell site -- and chose to go there instead.
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| The entrance to the circle, looking directly at the Eagle Mound |
Photos alone really can't do justice to this structure. The circle itself is 1200 feet in diameter, with an arrow shaped mound in the center that is called Eagle Mound. Archaeologists found the remains of a wooden structure in the mound, and think it may have been a ceremonial building that was intentionally burned and buried when the inhabitants left this site.
Inside the circle wall is a ditch which was probably full of water when this area was inhabited. It's thought that the circle symbolized the turtle in an ocean, an Indigenous motif of the world in the universe.
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| The inner ditch just inside the entrance to the circle |
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| I was being watched while I walked around the interior of the Great Circle |
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| Standing on Eagle Mound, looking towards the opening to the Circle |
A nearby Hopewell site and part of the Newark Earthworks is called the
Octagon. It is only somewhat open to the public because it's been
leased to a country club since 1910. This actually upset me, because both the Great Circle and the Octagon were evidently sacred sites tied to the moon, and in fact may have
represented the moon at perigee and apogee. Fortunately, I have since discovered that I'm not the only one disgusted and angry that an historical and sacred site (one that is part of a nomination as a UNESCO World Heritage site), and that the battle to remove the country club (has gone to the Ohio Supreme Court). Here is a
NY Times article on the subject from 2021. Of course, if this truly was a
lease to the country club (which, according to the article, runs through 2078), there should be provisions for ending the lease early.
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| Part of the view from the viewing platform, which Moundbuilders Country Club considers "open access" to the grounds by the public. |
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| The golfers can walk on the earthworks for a shot. |
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| Observation Mound, from which Woodland period native peoples would have watched moonrise. This view is from the "public access" trail. |
From the Octagon, I headed south through Cincinnati into Kentucky, thinking maybe I'd try
Mammoth Cave in the morning. I made a reservation at a
KOA in Horse Cave and set Waze to get me there. Construction on I-65 at the Horse Cave exit backed traffic up by two miles, making the trip take almost an hour longer than it should have, so I found myself putting up the tent in the dark. The Horse Cave KOA is not very tent-camper friendly, as the tent area is not flat, and is about as far away from the restrooms/showers as can be. In the dark, it was difficult to find my site, especially with no clear place to park the car.
 |
| At least there was a little bit of firewood left in the firepit, so I started a short-lived campfire. |
The next morning, I looked at Recreation.gov for cave tours at Mammoth Cave, and it looked like I wouldn't be able to get anything that I haven't done previously. I contemplated my next steps while avoiding the group of murder ducks wandering the campground, as well as a loose dog that was looking for a friend.
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| Murder ducks. It's like being in Hershey all over again. |
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| What do you guys what to do today? |
In the end, I decided to skip Mammoth Cave and go to
Hidden River Cave instead. It was only about ten minutes away from the KOA, and when I got there, they waved me right into the tour.
 |
| This is the Horse Cave, because when it was first settled, "horse" was just a term for something really big. It's now called Hidden River Cave. |
The river is right at the bottom of the opening, and you follow along it a little ways before going into the other two dome rooms. This is a cave much like Mammoth in that it has domes and very few "wet" formations like stalactites, stalagmites, flows or columns. And of course, the "big sell" for Hidden River Cave is the bridge, which was more than a little nerve wracking for someone like me who doesn't like bridges.
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| The hidden river |
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| No one wanted to be the first (behind the guide) across the bridge |
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| One of the few places of "flowstone" |
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| Sunset Dome, the third of the three rooms on the tour |
 |
| Heading back out of the cave |
From Horse Cave, I meandered northward past Louisville and into Henderson, where just before crossing over the river to Evansville, IN, I saw a sign for
John James Audubon State Park. I pulled in and immediately saw the Civilian Conservation Corps work.
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| The Welcome Center, gift shop and museum are located here. |
The museum is a paltry $6 to visit, and I would share photos, but due to copyright issues, you aren't allowed to take photos of the amazing collection of original Audubon works they have, including multiple copies of his
Elephant Folio. There is also a comprehensive history of Audubon, who spent several years in Henderson, KY trying to find his way in the world.
Of course, there were hiking trails, so I took the opportunity to stretch my legs. I saw birds, but also myriad other animals!
I walked away (they were going in the opposite direction I was), and I didn't hear them again.
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| Campsite for the night |
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| Buggy campsite also means spiders |
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| A friendly lightning bug that looks just slightly different from the Maryland variety |
I cooked up some "
Forever Young Mac and Cheese" for dinner, and it wasn't as good as the
spicy sausage pasta. Maybe it would have been better if I had some
Old Bay to put in it. I still had no itinerary besides being in Salt Lake City by next Friday, so I figured I'd just drive through St. Louis, take I-70 for a while and then either find some things in Kansas or head up towards Lincoln, NE.
But first, sleep.
note : some links are associate links to sites where I received minimal compensation if you make a purchase through the link
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