Knowing that the weather was going to be good this weekend, I suggested to my partner that we do something "outdoors". Not outdoorsy, because as we all know - I'm not, never have been, and never will be "outdoorsy". But I thought - how about a hike in the Cuyahoga Valley National Park? Looking at the maps they provide, I thought we could hit the Towpath and venture off onto the Buckeye Trail and it wouldn't be so bad... well, when we got home I plotted our route - turns out we hiked about SEVEN miles  :-o http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=1339100

 

Anyway, here are some photos from our death march hike:

 

Pulling into downtown Peninsula, we first stop and fuel up for the hike at the Winking Lizard (hey, two black and golds count as fuel!)

 

The Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad train ready for departure:

 

The entrance to the Ohio and Erie Canal Towpath Trail:

 

Off we go!

 

All kinds of interesting bits of nature to see - a birds' nest:

 

Hard to imagine that this (former lock of the Ohio & Erie Canal) was the infrastructure that made Cleveland boom into a major city:

 

My partner wanted to take a photo of the flowers - not bad! :-)

 

A tunnel underneath an old rail line:

 

Either a crane or a heron - tried to get a pic, but the little bugger got away:

 

Some flora:

 

I have to interject with some fashion commentary. There are shorts out there that are loose-fitting and make jogging enjoyable but are long enough to prevent blinding everyone with your pasty thighs - please consider them. Thank you!

 

"Lonesome Lock" - so called for its isolated location:

 

Some leaves starting to change color - we'll probably be back later in the fall:

 

A portion of the trail is on an elevated boardwalk; something about "sensitive ecosystem":

 

Looking back at the Cuyahoga:

 

Some more flora - Baby's Breath I believe:

 

The marshy Stumpy Basin area:

 

Aflac!

 

The Turnpike bridge looms in the distance:

 

Thought this might look good in b/w:

 

There's that d@mn bird again - got him!

 

Pretty colors!

 

No idea what this is, but it was colorful:

 

Under the bridge... wasn't that a song by the Red Hot Chili Peppers?

 

Gooo Turnpike!

 

Now officially on the Buckeye Trail - a little less groomed than the Towpath but it'll work:

 

*Ahem* - reason #247 not to let the partner hold the camera when nature calls  :roll:

 

Back to the trail:

 

The trail leads to a clearing on a hill - lovely view:

 

These paint stripes were how we knew we were in the right place:

 

Now over the Turnpike on a bridge:

 

Pine trees!

 

Grassy knoll?

 

The fungus among us:

 

 

Once we got closer to Peninsula, the trail was brick paved - pretty cool!

 

Back where we started:

 

And taking the Turnpike back where we belong (downtown just visible in the lower left):

 

Home sweet home - hope you enjoyed!

 

Beautiful shots. I'll be doing my own death march in two weeks in the CVNP: Towpath marathon.

Love that second-to-last shot!!!

Ah, what fun!  And come on, a strapping young man like you, seven miles is a...er...a walk in the park!

 

Great shots! The towpath trail is wonderful; I've biked part of it. I was amazed at the crowds that gather in Peninsula on summer weekends.

Death march haha!

Love that second-to-last shot!!!

 

I'm not sure but that has to be one of the farthest visable views of downtown (about 20-25 miles away).

I'm no mushroom expert, but that first pic looked just like the ones they were selling at the Shaker Square farmers' mkt this wknd for $19/lb (it's a good thing mushrooms are light!)  Think they're called "sulfur shelf" or "chicken-of-the-woods".  Like I said I'm no expert, so if you go back eat them and die, don't blame me :-)

Thanks for the heads-up but I'm more of a shitake kinda guy ;-)

That under-the-bridge shot is fabulous if you scroll the bottom of your window to cover up the tree; it looks like two separate pics reversed.

Nice. Im not much of a fan of state/national parks or woods of any kind; I get bored easily and start to have visions of Skyline Chili in the distance.

Thanks for sharing, Mayday.

Great shots.

 

It must have been the weekend for everyone to go out into "nature." I was out near Mohican National Forest the past few days.

great back to nature tour. i do get the feeling all of the tour wasnt depicted tho  :laugh: !

great pics..it always suprises me we have such natural beauty minutes away...

great back to nature tour. i do get the feeling all of the tour wasnt depicted tho  :laugh: !

 

If you're suggesting what I think you're suggesting - as if! Like I want bits o' leaf and tree bark in places they don't belong! :-P

great pics..it always suprises me we have such natural beauty minutes away...

 

You're not kidding. I went to Holden Arboretum yesterday. That place is beautiful.

I enjoyed the greenery.  Thanks!

Great photos.  I think this is one of our region's best assets.

ahh...nature.

I really need to go there one day!

 

You just earned Cuyahoga Valley National Park an expedited place on "My list of things to do".