Day 36: Richfield, OH to Sandusky, OH

Stops:

Cuyahoga Valley NP, OH

Day 2 at Cuyahoga Valley NP looked like it wasn't going to happen at first.  With a high probability of a couple of inches of rain forecasted, we decided to play it by ear.  

We decided to head to the Everett Covered Bridge.  The bridge was originally built after someone drowned in the small creek and was functional until 1975.  It had deteriorated so much, that it had to be rebuilt and made better.  However, you cannot drive over it anymore.  On the way to the bridge, we encountered a small snake and walked around it.

The morning decided to cooperate with us, so we decided to rent some bikes from Century Cycles in Peninsula and go on the Towpath Trail.  The Towpath trail was used by the mules to pull the boats through the canals and to the locks.  The trail is fairly level and mostly dirt or small gravel.  There are occasional boardwalks and paved areas.  The entire length of the Towpath is about 21 miles.

Along the way we came across a pond with snapping turtles and frogs.

Finally, we went back to the Winking Lizard for lunch and a drink and I came to know why it was called the winking lizard. I swear he winked at me!

Nearby, is the Deep Lock Quarry hiking trail. Within Deep Lock Quarry lies Lock 28, which at 17 feet was the deepest lock on the Ohio & Erie Canal, and an old quarry from which blocks of Berea sandstone were cut for the canal locks and other local structures.

Near the lock was the quarry where many of the sandstones used in the construction of the locks on the northern section of the Ohio & Erie Canal were cut from.  You can still see the stones left behind used to make the locks as well as a Freemason logo.

Another neat hike is at the Ledges area of the Virginia Kendall park. It is located within Cuyahoga Valley NP. A short hike in and you will see that there are rocky cliffs within the forest.  There is also s cave, icebox cave, but it is closed due to white nose syndrome.

Finally, we ended the day eating sweet corn on the cob from Szalay's Farm. The corn comes right out of their fields and is some of the best corn on the cob I've had.

We left Cuyahoga Valley NP towards Sandusky, Ohio wishing we could hang around longer to see more wildlife.  The locals may not know how good they have it.