3 April 2015 Mt. Tuscarora Fire Tower

Our plan for the day was a visit to Allegany State Park and a long trail hike to a cache near the old fire tower at Mt. Tuscarora.

The stream at the base of the trail was flowing and looking good on a spring day. Our walk to and from the tower was mixed between a snow-covered trail and sections with little to no snow. It was a perfect day for a long walk with over 500 feet of elevation change from the base of the trail to the tower. We found the cache and a couple others, but mostly enjoyed the day outdoors.

The old tower has been closed for climbing for many years and appears to have now lost its floor. It appears from some graffiti on the top that some brave fools are still climbing. The cache page says the tower was retired in the earlier 70's. The new growth has reached a stage where the tower will soon be overtaken.

Those are stairs I would not want to climb.

Lizzie enjoys the snowy trails of the day.

29 March 2015 Hot Stirs

The dogs were still at camp so we decided to visit Chardon to find a friend's cache which required a short walk around town to visit Ohio Historical Markers. The town square was alive with parents attending an elementary school program and people visiting the maple sugar shack. After we walked around and found the cache, we stopped for a visit at the shack and enjoyed a hot maple stir.

Maple sap is collected on the town square using the old fashioned galvanized pails.

Yum

After we left Chardon, we drove to hunt a pair of caches at Cottonwood Hollow in Lake County. We were a little early at the preserve to see wildflowers, but had a nice spring walk on the trail. We missed the second cache near the back of the property. It appeared year's ago this area was a dump for the houses at the top of the ravine. I spent time checking out the remains of an old Chevy pick-up cab.

There's the engine

28 March 2013 Unexpected Birding

The dogs were at weekend camp as we were planning to spend the evening at an anniversary dinner with friends. We were out to run a few errands in the morning and decided to find a few caches in the Painesville area. We stopped at a city park expecting to make the finds and move on. We were happily surprised to spot a nice variety of ducks on a small pond in the park. After finding the cache, we took a quick walk around the pond to see the ducks before leaving. Our interest in the ducks was rewarded by the completely unexpected arrival of a heron at the pond. I guess there's also fish in the pond. :)

Ring Necked Ducks

Hooded Mergansers

Great Blue Heron

22 March 2015 Another view of the Eagles

We stopped on the way to Ohio for a walk along the Allegheny River by Irvine Flats. We've had success here in the past seeing ducks by the island and along the eastern shore. There were no ducks today, but there was blue sky and a clear view of the old farm equipment left from the late days of the Wilder Estate.

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We don't drive through Cooperstown, Pennsylvania often, but did this afternoon. We paid a visit to Pioneer Cemetery to find a geocache hidden there. There was a marker for a Revolutionary War Veteran. The stone was very faint with the last name illegible. I took a number of images of the marker and the one next to it. The first name of the veteran was William. With an internet search I found the founder of Cooperstown was William Cooper. The grave next to his is his wife Rachel.

The marker for William Cooper, town founder and Revolutionary War Veteran will soon give way to the weather with the marked face spalling off.

His wife Rachel's marker will soon have the same fate.

We stopped by the beach at Conneaut Lake to look for ducks. Most of the ice was gone so the ice fishing antics were over for the year, but the water was filled with ducks.

Redhead Ducks

The readhead ducks are joined by a pair of lesser scaups and a pair of coots.

We made a return trip to where we had seen an eagle the afternoon before and were rewarded this afternoon with the pair sitting in a tree within view. It was a super way to end the afternon.

21 March 2015 Eagle Sighting

Last year we started spotting eagles early and saw them much of the year. This year we hadn't been so lucky. Today the snow had cleared from the parking area where we often stop to look. Despite the foggy view to the tree line, we were quite happy to spot an eagle.

17 March 2015 Oak Openings Preserve

I was on the way to Indiana. There were heavy construction back-ups on I-75 so I left the highway to make my way on the roads. A visit to Oak Openings Preserve was an unexpected pleasure on my detour.

15 March 2015 Atwood Lake

After two days of icy trails, I was determined to walk on snow and ice free ground. Ali had been caching in Tuscarawras County and knew the trails were snow free. I knew there were caches and a tower to climb :) at Atwood Lake. The water was mostly open and the trails were clear of snow. It was a fun day. Lizzie climbed about half way up the tower on her first walk and froze. I brought her back down while Ali went to the top to search for the cache. After a few minutes, Lizzie was back to the stairs and up to the top with no hesitation. Ali found the cache and we continued on our way. It was a super day out.

The tower

I couldn't find the cache.

Looking down from the top

Celebrating the find

Looking out toward the lake

Phineas phears no towers

14 March 2015 Pi Day

We hosted a Pi Day geocaching event before making our way to Lake County for some caching. The park by Mentor's Civic Center had plenty of ice to slow us down, but there were also tiny patches of green showing. Afterward, we visited Malley's for a very late Valentine's Day. Lousy weather, travel, and surgery for Lizzie, kept us busy for a month so it was nice to relax together for the afternoon.

13 March 2015 Ice and Snow

After work, I joined Ali in South Chagrin to finish hiding a few caches for a PI day geocaching event we were hosting. The warmth of Tulsa was behind me. There were signs of spring but for now the trails were icy and snowy. It was a slow and careful walk on the trail today.