25 July 2016 A Good Day For Butterflies

Our big stop of the day was our first visit to John Bryan State Park. The butterflies were plentiful at this attractive park. We enjoyed the trails, time spent hiking along the Little Miami, and seeing the abundant foliage from spring wilflowers. If just a small portion of the many hepatica we spotted were to bloom, it would be an impressive spring sight along the trails.

I usually don't consider wearing special biking gear, but if I did, I wouldn't be using this well-meaning but rather exposed changing area. :0

We also enjoyed a quick stop in the Clifton Gorge State Nature Preserve. The area was over-run while we were there with teens from a nearby private camp so our stay was short. The gorge area and the park both deserve another visit.

While at the park we also made a stop at a monument to Edward Orton, Sr, Orton was a former president of the predecessor of Ohio State University and a pioneer in the field of geology. His son is at least as important to us as one of the pioneers of technical ceramics in the United States. The local geologic features in the area and the proximity to Ohio State made this a fitting place to leave a monument in his memory

24 July 2016 Remember AMC?

We were late to check in and later to have dinner so by the time we spotted these two old gems in the hotel parking lot taking images fitting of the vehicles wasn't going to happen. I'm old enough to have driven a friend's gremlin in high school. His was the uninviting pine green metallic and packed an unimpressive 6 cylinder under the hood. This super clean yellow would be one of the few outfitted with a V8. This one is clearly loved and driven.

The Rambler convertible was a pretty sight. The deep blue under a white rag top with piped white interior was gorgeous. These were some of the best proportioned cars from American Motors. I would have loved to see them in better light, but they were quite impressive resting in the parking lot.

24 July 2016 Cedar Bog

Usually we visit a few truly memorable locations on each vacation. Today, Ali planned a visit to Cedar Bog. It was awesome. The diversity at the site is amazing. It's a place where multiple visits at different times of the year would be needed to take in the unique sights. We had one visit this afternoon and a fun walk along the trail.

Five lined skinks were a new sight for us. We seemed to take turns spotting these colorful creatures on our walk.

23 July 2016 Prairie Cemeteries

We were on our way to vacation in southwest Ohio and made a visit to the prairie cemeteries our first visit. We were hoping to see multiple hummingbirds while enjoying the wildflowers. This year there was a lone humingbird and a few song sparrows. The wildflowers were plentiful.

The lone hummingbird from our visit stops by royal catchfly.

22 July 2016 Rogers Road Field

Cleveland Metroparks has replanted the field by Rogers Road with native wildflowers. The area was awash with flowers this evening.

17 July 2016 Monterrey Rocks

I was in Mexico for the week which usually means no time on the trail. On a previous visit I enjoyed a visit to a park and a few geocache finds. Today with the longer day, it was time to head to one of the many mountains surrounding the city for a little climbing. First we made a stop at a park near our climb.

The elevated bike course that wound through the park was interesting,

but paled in comparison to the hike to the peak which included some great looking foot bridges and steps that I wanted to visit. It looked seriously dangerous, but I wanted to do that trail.

I also found out the ruins of the house below were open and could be visited if you were willing to make the climb. Maybe on another visit...

We scouted for a place to climb. This point was deemed too steep.

This one was just right.

The view back from the first flat before the climb became steep

The rocks are dotted with small openings and rooms. We spotted this one first. It was only a small opening.

This one was quite large with water flowing through two channels.

We stopped before reaching the top. The path and climbing points had disappeared while the footing below had become shifting rock with loose vegetation that reminded me of a talus slope. Our progress slowed to a point where our return would be near dark. We had a good climb and enjoyed great views.

Still to go

A look back from our highest point

I leave my camera in the states for these trips. The iPhone has become a reasonable way to capture these adventures, but always leaves me disappointed when attempting to capture an image of the smaller animals I see on a journey. Of the many lizards, butterflies, and birds seen, the lizard below was the best of the images. :(