Clarion was a different mix of caching. We took the dogs and were hoping to find all the AGT caches in the county in a day. As always we got distracted and came a few short. Because it is so scenic, we were both really anticipating the caches in Cook State Forest yet as the day grew on we passed on them since we were losing daylight and wanted to visit the forest in the day.
Our day included a driving tour around Leatherwood. Never heard of it? Neither had we, but we now know it had a large iron furnace and a large anti horsethief association. It also has a very nice church filled that was built in 1842 and is filled with very nice stained glass windows. It also has a very nice fishing stream. The cache was in the woods behind the church. On the way back from finding the cache, I spotted a stand if butterfly weed. I have only seen it once before in the wild so it was a pleasant surprise.
We also got a couple different looks at State Game Lands. One was a traditional old farm with large wide paths brush-hogged for trails. An old rose bush from the farm was still in bloom as we passed by. The second game lands was on old coal mine land. We entered a tailings area to get to the cache. There is new growth forest and some scrub taking back the land. As we walked to the cache we spotted chunks of coal in the area.
Our stops also included a small wooded area with an AGT cache, a county park with nice trails, and a trip to Helen Furnace. Helen Furnace is an old iron furnace that has been rebuilt to a nearly pristine condition. You can actually stand in the hearth area of the furnace. At first I thought they had cut new stone, but Ali noted that the walls of the furnace were coated in slag so the furnace represents some amazing history of the building of the nation.
Our last stop of the night was at a township park. This is a new park and was another nice walk, but for some reason Eva loved that park. The fields on the way to the cache were taller grasses and plants filled with butterflies. She spent the way from the trail to the woods and back to the trail zig-zagging through the grasses and jumping in the air. It was a sigth to behold a dog so happy with her surroundings.
Our next return will be to enjoy Cook State Forest, but today was special.
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