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 …
Blues Creek Preservation Park
Continuing our quest to hike all the trails in the Delaware County Preservation Parks system, Tom and I headed to Blues Creek Preservation Park. Well, first we returned to Hogback Ridge, but I’ve already written a post on that. We hiked the trails in Hogback Ridge during our Delaware County Scavenger Hunt. Here is the …
Deer Haven Preservation Park
When last we left our heroes, they were trying to find a place to hike. When they were thwarted by Hogback Ridge being closed, they headed for Deer Haven Preservation Park in Delaware. Would it be open? When we first pulled into the parking lot we weren’t sure. It looked like a bunch of soccer …
Step Into Fall: Hike Them All
Step into fall, hike them all! Tom recently had to take a short break from riding his trike, so we started looking for an alternative exercise. I like walking and do a three mile loop in Char-Mar Ridge Park across the street every morning. I was willing to do more walking but needed to mix …