St Genevieve National Historical Park is one of the newer national park sites, established in 2018. It is located just down the Mississippi River from St. Louis, so Tom and I decided to check it out. It was not our intention to see it on the same day as Lincoln’s Home, Gateway Arch, and Ulysses …
Ulysses S Grant National Historic Site
After our brief stop at Gateway Arch, Tom and I traveled the ten miles to Ulysses S Grant National Historic Site. Ulysses Grant was born in Ohio to abolitionist parents, but he fell in love with his best friend’s sister when he was stationed in Missouri. The National Historic Site preserves the home of his …
Gateway Arch National Park in St. Louis
When people complain about places that are designated National Parks and shouldn’t be, one of the top places on their list is Gateway Arch National Park in St. Louis, Missouri. Gateway Arch is not one of those spectacular natural areas like Grand Canyon. It is also not a place where history is preserved like Boston …
Lincoln Home National Historic Site
The first national park site Tom and I visited in October was Lincoln Home National Historic Site in Springfield, Illinois. We visited there once before, in 1988 when John was six months old. Because of his age, we did not take a tour of the house. All I remember doing is standing outside the house …
Casey, Illinois: Big Things, Small Town
Tom and I recently took a fast trip to a bunch of national park sites. We started our adventure in Casey, Illinois, whose motto is “Big things, small town.” We had been to Casey in 2012 to see the “Biggest Wind Chime in the World.” Since then, many more big things have joined the wind …
Hickory Woods Preservation Park
When we last left our heroes, they were heading for the final frontier in their quest to “hike them all.” The last park on the list was Hickory Woods Preservation Park with two miles of trails. Will our heroes make it to this final park? Will they hike all the trails? Will they win the …
Emily Traphagen Preservation Park
With just two parks left, Tom and I headed for Emily Traphagen Preservation Park to conquer its 2.2 miles of trails. Emily Traphagen park is a natural oasis in the midst of the growing suburb of Powell. The park borders the Scioto River, but it also borders many new subdivisions. Tom and I spend a …
McCammon Creek Preservation Park
In our continuing quest to “Step Into Fall: Hike Them All,” Tom and I headed to McCammon Creek Preservation Park. This is the newest preservation park and only has Area C developed out of three areas at this point. This park is the closest park to our house except for Char-Mar Ridge which is across …
Café Istanbul with Sherrilyn and Pat
Tom and I recently tried a new-to-us restaurant, Café Istanbul in Dublin, Ohio. We got a call from our friends Sherrilyn Wilson and Pat Prosser. They live in Flagstaff, Arizona and were coming to Columbus to see an Ohio State football game. Were we available for dinner on Friday night? Of course, Tom and I …
Gallant Woods and Farm Preservation Parks
The next parks we hiked in our bid to “hike them all” were Gallant Woods and Gallant Farm Preservation Parks. These are two separate parks next to each other north of the city of Delaware. Gallant Woods Preservation Park features old growth woods, meadows, restored prairies and wetlands, and wetland woods. Several of the wetlands …