walking vacation: day two

Today is going to be a long travel day, plus we have two walks planned. Bonnie’s family left Allentown, early this morning, and we anticipate that they will arrive at my sisters well before we get there. It’s kind of a cruel joke.

We rose, packed and had breakfast before pulling out of Franklin. It turns out we were not five minutes away from the park, but more like twenty. We were five minutes from the sign! Sign in was at a cute little diner about 5 minutes from the start point. This 5K appealed a lot to me. What do you think Dave? It’s one you could wrap your self around. Alas I won’t do it. It’s a hell of a commute!

Walk 1: That’s the trail?
This walk was at the Maurice Goddard State Park which features a large lake, abundant wetlands, old fields and mature forests provide a diversity of habitats for wildlife, especially waterfowl, eagles and ospreys.

We parked at the Boat Launch #3, facing the restrooms as instructed. We headed out by turning left, as per the instructions. The lake was on our right. But there was only one yield sign and no picnic pavilion. What the heck? The instructions said to park facing the restrooms. We parked under a tree. I guess this is what goofed us up. They wanted you to walk around the whole circle. The first yield sign was at the restroom! Why didn’t they say start at restroom? It would have been easier.  Standing in the right spot we could see the pavilion thru the trees.

Finally on the right track we headed off, looking for a Y in the road. We had gone about a mile and were wondering where it was. Finally we found it. I would have called it a T. But we saw the trail marker. I was taking pictures and Bonnie heads toward the trail.  She comes back. I can’t walk there. My family will kill me.  I go peak around the trail marker and the trail is about 6 inches wide. A bike might fit.There was high weeds on either side.  She said she’d wait for me. It was dark, dense , steep forest. The Girl Scout in me said No way Jose. I can’t go in there alone. It’s unsafe on several levels.

The section was a small loop. You ended up coming out at the same place you went in. We turned around and skipped it. Finished the trail, and use the restroom. The restroom was a mess when Bonnie went it. TP everywhere. There was also a bird trapped inside so there was bird do everywhere. When I went in it was still a mess but the bird got out.

Wildlife count:
1 raptor, up close, 1 deer, 1 large tortoise, and the bathroom bird.

Walk 2: Decaying town, beautiful murals
The walk in Steubenville, Ohio was another Volkssport walk. This time a border crossing—Ohio to West Virginia. It began at The Fort Steuben Visitor Center. The volunteer was beyond accommodating. He gave us the walk box, and sat us in the conference room to do our paperwork. He even cleaned off the table. He was so accommodating…I think he was lonely. He even gave us wooden nickels.

After doing all the stamping and signing we pulled out the instructions and started to scan them. It was all about the history of the town, of course, and all those murals we had seen on the way into town, but didn’t realize that they were the walk! I was hog heaven.

The walk into West Virginia was the last thing for the 5K, we did it first, just in case Bonnie couldn’t do the whole 5K.

One reason you can see 25 murals in one small downtown is because there are so many vacant lots, and long expanses of walls. You had to look forward, back, left and right. We walked thru alleys. Downtown was a ghost town. Stores boarded up or empty.  We walked on more than a few creepy streets. The instructions suggested Plain Jane’s for lunch. It was pretty much the only thing in town. If I know anything about volkssporters, is they like food. They wouldn’t recommended crap. They tried their best to fix it up, but like the rest of downtown it was falling apart. Good thing I like dives. And all the food was homemade. Bonnie had to get her burger without a bun. The fried were greasy, because she was in such a hurry to bring it out she didn’t leave them drain. They were real potatoes.

I am actually typing this in the car, on the final leg of our journey to my sister’s. About 40 miles to go. We’ll be an hour late.

Wildlife count:
1 deer, and at the rest stop in Ohio, thousands of noisy cicada. They were literally attacking. Think of Albert Hitchock’s “The Birds”. Just smaller. People were running from their cars into the restroom building. There would be no stretching the legs or walking around the rest stop today.

 And the windshield has been washed at gas stops, and is still splattered with cicada guts.