Our first stop after leaving Pennsylvania was only a short drive away. Cuyahoga Valley National Park in Ohio had a path that we had intended to bicycle.
However, the later than originally planned departure from PA had us arriving during some peak heat and rising temperatures made that idea a not so good one. The park is interesting as National Parks go. They call it an Urban Park. Since we had worked in the Ocala National Forest which the Forest Service calls an Urban Forest we had a general idea of what was involved. Essentially, the park is built in and around homes and roads and county parks and other things. The result can make for some not so obvious park boundaries and some difficulty with identifying what belongs to the park service and what does not.
Besides the heat there were people everywhere. To say we have been spoiled by some really isolated trails and paths is an understatement. So, save for the talk that we listened to on the Erie Canal Locks and the demonstration of how they worked, we didn't spend much time in the park itself. Instead we drove through, ate lunch in a city park (which seemed to be right inside the national park) and then moved on to a quieter local.
That's not to say that the Locks, Canals and Towpath were not interesting.
They've got some interesting history and the Lock design even came from da Vinci himself!
Between Cleveland and Akron there were 44 locks and an elevation change of 395 feet. Without the Locks, safe navigation of these waters and transportation of goods would not have been possible due to rapids.
The water level on either side of the lock's gate must be the same to be able to open it.
To control the level they use a wicket (small gate within the gate) which the man is opening in the above photo.
Horses and Mules pulled the boats along the canals via the Towpath. We were not able to have a complete demonstration of the locks on this day due to a blockage somewhere up or downstream. But we appreciated the partial demo, got the gist of the principals and picked up a few other tidbits of knowledge on our walk through the museum.
A quieter - more nature oriented - location was calling our names though so we did not explore the park any further and moved on up the line.
Next on our list....
Some time up by the Great Lake of Erie.
It was actually a pretty blustery day and there were waves crashing against the shore.
Even on the great lakes it is possible to find Flotsam and Drift Seeds!
The water was actually warmer than we'd expected. We dipped our toes and then continued our drive westward along the shore.
Next up, the Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge.
We'd barely left the van when we came upon thousands of a new-to-us caterpillar! And, they weren't just on the plants, they were on the sidewalks and all over the parking lot. If you stopped to look at anything, you'd have several crawling on your feet in a matter of seconds.
Euchaetes egle - the Milkweed Tussock (Tiger) Moth Caterpillar is a cute little character.
We also spotted this Red Milkweed (Longhorn) Beetle - Tetraopes tetrophthalmus
Darlene said she watched this caterpillar crawl up onto the rock. When Nicole got there it played dead and wouldn't move at all despite many attempts at 'encouraging' it.
The official identification of this one is still to be determined...
This unidentified member of the Geometridae family is about the size of a large grain of rice and was not in the mood to stand still for a photo.
And, we saw all of those before we had even left the parking lot!
Eventually, we did leave the parking lot and we took a walk along the boardwalk and through the marsh area.
But before we could reach the water we caught these two Barn Swallows having a conversation.
Once we reached the water we started spotting snakes,
little catfish
bigger fish (no, he's not dead, the water was shallow and he was determined to eat)
yet, another fish
sparkling eyes over sparkling water
frogs
a long shelled snail
well worn wings
a hungry monarch caterpillar
a very big toad with a fly on its head
And, that was our time on the boardwalk.
We then moved on to the wildlife drive.
We had a nice drive along a well graded road past a variety of environments. There were many familiar things seen but there were also a few new things seen.
Like this Trumpeter Swan! A LIFER for us.
We've seen adult pied-billed grebes but did not recall seeing young ones like these before.
Our eyes had been peeled all day hoping to spot our first Muskrat. While eating lunch this little fella showed up. He sure was cute but he's a groundhog not a muskrat. So, we kept looking.
The last time we saw an Acadian Flycatcher we only got a front shot so we thought it was cool we got this back shot.
Funny thing, though. This is NOT an acadian flycatcher. It is a Willow Flycatcher and that makes it a new bird (LIFER) for us! Good times!
We enjoyed our time at the refuge and soaked in some much appreciated quiet time in nature.
And, by the way, we did not manage to see a muskrat. We'll, keep looking. Meanwhile it is Muskrats 1 - Nicole and Darlene 0.
Here's a video Nicole slapped together to make it a bit more 'real' for you. Hope you enjoy...