June 8…. Where?

Another day, another National Park.

Cuyahoga Valley National Park, just south of Cleveland OH. I didn’t know about it till we were planning this trip. One of my cousins lives less than 30 minutes from the park and didn’t know it was there. 😳

The Cuyahoga River flows northward and goes through industrial Cleveland before emptying into Lake Erie.

The river attracted national attention in 1969 by catching fire! Oil slicks and industrial pollution in the river caught fire and burned for over 30 minutes. In the years from 1868 to 1969, there were over 14 fires! Due to the attention from the ‘69 fire, funding was finally allocated to make the necessary changes. Environmental regulations, politics, and the changing industrial landscape of the city started the cleanup. Nowadays, the health of the river is improving. Wildlife has returned, including the tree-legged fish, and the Naked Eagle, a variation of our national bird. And canoes can stay in the water for almost 3 hours now without melting.

But seriously, the river really has dramatically changed for the better, allowing wildlife and recreational use to return.

The National Park encompasses over 52 square miles of land along both sides of the river and up into the hills along several tributaries.

We visited Brandywine Falls, a short mile-and-a-half walk to a 60 foot waterfall.

The Visitor Center graciously agreed to sell me my obligatory tshirt, and even allowed me to donate a dollar to the park!

Our next stop was The Ledges, a long rock outcropping beautifully showing the sandstone and shale layers making up most of this area.

As we circled around an outcrop, we found a family crawling into a tiny hole in the ground. 😳

So of course, Susanne had to try it too.

The tiny cave snaked through layers in the rocks and emerged about 50 feet away. I agreed to be the spotter to stay on the surface to guide the body recovery team, should it become necessary. Fortunately, it wasn’t needed, and she wormed her way through the tunnel and climbed victoriously back to the open air.

Our final stop of the day was Bridal Veil Falls. This one was smaller, but just as interesting. The water picks up sediment from the shale and clay along its course and turns a milky translucent white color, giving the falls their name.

40 minutes back to camp and we called it a successful day for the Spirit of Discovery team.

Oh, and it’s ***ing hot!! 88 degrees today. Isn’t this the north? Don’t they get like a lot of snow here?? Why is it so dang hot!🥵