Day 35: Chambersburg, PA to Richfield, OH

Stops:

Cuyahoga Valley NP, OH

We arrived late in the afternoon to Peninsula, OH which is close to Akron and also near Brecksville, the hometown of our friend, Bobby Lee.  In fact, Bobby knew the area quite well and basically we communicated through a series of text messages on what to go see and where to go eat.  It was like having our own personnal tour guide.  For the few hours we had left for the day, this was really useful and made our use of time much more efficient.

Cuyahoga Valley NP is unsuspecting at first.  It is surrounded by a bunch of residential areas linked by small towns like Cuyahoga Falls, Brecksville, Peninsula, etc.  But because of it's history with the Ohio and Erie canals and the system of locks used and the shipbuilding done there, along with its support of small farming communities,  it is now a National Park.  In fact, many the small farms are still working farms today.  However, it is much more than that.  For wildlife lovers, I would consider it a hidden gem.  Beaver Marsh was once a junkyard and was reclaimed by beavers. 

Now you are able to see herons, fish, snapping turtles, ducks, tree swallows, beavers, frogs, and much, much more.  Out of all the national parks I've been to so far, this one has the most concentrated area of wildlife.

We started our exploration with Brandywine Falls.  It is a short walk from the parking lot but a beautiful waterfall with the water cascading down the rocks.  Just further up is where a mill use to be.

Driving to different points in the park actually takes you in and out of the park weaving through the residential areas to get there.  Our next stop was at the Boston Mills Visitor Center.  It contained replicas of the shipbuilding process but was closed unfortunately for the day.  Next door was a great restoration of an old gas station and garage.

We finally ended out at Beaver Marsh at dusk, where the wildlife really comes alive.  You will come upon a lock and even a beaver dam in the marsh.  

Here, I came across a frog sitting on a lily pad in the lock making for this almost icon photo.  

Next I came across this heron fishing for dinner.  I actually saw it dip its head in the water and pull out this colorful fish and then swallow it whole.  It was like watching a National Geographic movie.

And then, we spotted the beaver swimming around the marsh.

This little swallow was flying in and out of a small hole in the this tree.  It wasn't the only one either.  Several other swallows were doing the same thing.

Finally this red-winged blackbird was cawing at me, begging for it's picture to be taken. I couldn't resist.

Afterwards, Bobby suggested dinner at the Winking Lizard bar in Peninsula before we headed to Richfield to call it a night.