The South-Central Ohio Wild, Weird, and Wonderful Social Distancing Driving Tour!

My family was sick and tired of our indoor quarantine life, so we took a simple road trip to some of the more interesting and off the beaten path sights in the Dayton – Xenia – Wilmington area. I like to call this the Wild, Weird, and Wonderful Social Distancing Driving Tour!  This was our route for sightseeing satisfaction at a socially acceptable distance. Every stop on this tour is free, open at all hours of the day, and provides enough space to keep socially distant from other folks. The route follows a U-shape formation, starting in Enon and ending in Dayton.

Adena Burial Mound

Stop 1: Enon Adena Burial Mound, 400 Mound Cir, Enon, OH 45323.

This conical burial mound is the second tallest in Ohio. The mound is 40 feet high and is thought to be the work of the Adena Native Americans, original settlers of the area. There is a small parking lot, and it’s an easy walk up to and around the mound.

Stop 2: Beavercreek 9/11 Memorial, 1152 N Fairfield Rd, Beavercreek, OH  45432

These 25-feet-tall steel beams came to Beavercreek from the World Trade Center site. This respectful memorial features placards naming all the 9/11 victims from all the crash sites. It’s easy to spend some time here reading and remembering. This stop is at Beavercreek Station, which also provides access for the Creekside recreational trail. When social distancing, this is the most challenging stop as it can be very busy with people accessing the trail. There is a great parking lot, picnic tables, and restrooms, although they were closed while we visited.

Stop 3: Engle Mill Rd. Covered Bridge, 3420 Engle Mill Rd, Xenia, OH 45385

It’s an easy country drive to the Engle Mill Rd. Covered Bridge. Visitors can’t drive across the bridge, but there are places to park on either end to get out and walk. When we visited, it was a lovely day, so we paused to enjoy nature for few moments. Descriptive signs provide the history of this bridge.

Engle Mill Rd. Covered Bridge

Stop 4: Downtown Wilmington wall mural (Corner of Rt. 68 and Main St.), 2 E Main St., Wilmington, OH 45177

It's easy to park across the street from the mural by the county courthouse and have the perfect spot for picture taking. This mural is the work of local artist Jason Morgan and it features images from the Century Farms life in the 1930s.

Stop 5: Frankenstein’s Monster, 1261 W Dalton Rd, Wilmington, OH

Standing guard at the gate of the Wilmington Haunted Hollow Ride, it doesn’t have to be Halloween to snap a picture with this guy! He’s officially the scariest stop on our tour, standing about 15 feet tall with a permanently creepy face. There’s no official parking during the off season, but it’s easy to pull in the driveway long enough to take a photo.

Stop 6: World’s Largest Horseshoe Crab, 7592 OH-124, Hillsboro, OH 45133

World's largest horseshoe crab

This crab is currently sitting in its fourth location having previously lived in Baltimore, the Creation Museum, and Blanchester, Ohio. At 28 feet wide and 68 feet long, it’s affectionately known as “Crabby,” and it’s worth the stop. The crab is large enough to house a picnic table and umbrella inside, although there's really no time for picnicking these days. The parking situation at this site is the most difficult. There is a driveway adjacent to the crab that will work for a quick stop. We missed the driveway, so we pulled across the street to an apartment complex. It's tough to pull off along the side of the road, and there’s no official parking lot.

Stop 7: Large Adirondack Chair, 6945 Hwy 73, Wilmington, Ohio 45177

This larger than life piece of furniture sits at The Wooden Branch business, so if visitors are in the market for a shed, they can kill two birds with one stone at this top. It’s easy to park in the parking lot and take a photo by the chair. Unfortunately, climbing up into the chair is frowned upon.

Stop 8: Tall Stack of Books, 111 West Spring Valley Pike, Centerville, OH

This sculpture can be found at the Washington-Centerville Public Library. Officially called “The Record,” it is 22 feet tall and is made of terracotta. The library parking lot makes for easy parking and access.

Stop 9: Big Apple Made of Flatware, 56 Armor Place, Dayton, OH 45417

This eight-foot-tall apple sculpture is the work of artist Chad Johnson and features thousands of knives, forks, and spoons. It can be found outside the Dayton Foodbank on the south side of their property. The adjacent parking lot makes it easy to visit.

 

Large apple made of Flatware

When touring during the pandemic, it's smart to pack sandwiches, snacks, and drinks, although we didn’t have trouble finding enough drive thru restaurants to feed us on our journey. Restrooms are harder to come by during the shut down. Gas stations proved to be the best bet. As always, pack hand sanitizer and masks to be prepared for any situation. The total travel time will be 4-6 hours depending on the starting point and how much time is spent at each spot. We had an easy five-hour journey on our travel day. 

Map of the driving route

Frankenstein's Monster

Large stack of books

Large Adirondack chair

Wall mural in downtown Wilmington

This beaver is an added bonus when you stop at the 9/11 site.

The 9/11 memorial

Yes, you can get close to the world's largest horseshoe crab!!

Back to Peru

In the shadow of Huascaran, Peru's tallest mountain

Two trips to Peru in two years; experiencing this wonderful country twice in a short amount of time leaves me humbled. And now as I stand in the early weeks of 2014, I find myself planning another trip to this South American wonderland.  I don’t speak Spanish, I’m not fond of eating guinea pig (the Peruvian national dish), hiking in the Andes is strenuous, the rain forest is wretchedly humid...so why would I jump at the chance to go back to such a place? The bigger question is, why wouldn’t I?

Observing parrots at the clay lick near the Tambopata
Research Center.

My first journey to Peru was a trip for teachers to the Amazon rain forest. I spent a week sleeping under  mosquito nets, dodging bats (not my favorite animal), and sweating profusely without end.  However, the ability to witness this marvel of nature was worth 

all the difficult times. Never could I have believed that such a place existed. The monkeys howled in the trees, the beautiful birds soared through the sky, the frogs and insects chirped at all hours of the night; the Amazon presented itself as an alien planet, not an earthbound locale.

My second journey took me in an entirely different direction. I hiked in the Andes Mountains with 13 members of my church. Our goal was to deliver translated Bibles to the native Quechua people. These folks had never owned a Bible in their own language until our band of “Gringos” appeared in their villages to give them one. The trekking was rough, but the thrill of handing God’s word to people for the first time in their lives made every step worth it.

My third trip south of the Equator will again require a trek into the Andes to deliver Bibles to native Quechua people. As a co-leader alongside my husband, we’ve assembled a 16-person team who will walk into little-seen corners of the mountains, Bibles in hand. As heads of the team, it’s our job to get everyone safely there and back and to accomplish our mission in the process. It’s amazing experience to lead a group of friends and to have the responsibility of bringing God’s word to those who’ve ever had it. I expect that we will bless people through our actions, and the experiences of our last trip make me hopeful for our success.

For example, on the 2012 trip we visited four different villages. After the third village, we embarked upon the trail towards our last and final village. When I say, “trail,” imagine a small winding path that may be trod upon by people, donkeys, horses, or sheep at varying points throughout the day. At times we didn’t even walk on trails but just cut across country, as needed.

How privileged we were to see this man
come to Christ!

Our group was walking along one of these paths when a farmer came running to us. He’d heard about our nightly presentation where we passed out the Bibles. He’d been unable to attend the previous night, but he still wanted to talk to us. Through a translator we learned that he’d been struggling with alcoholism, and he knew he needed help. He wanted to accept Christ into his life. So, we all prayed with him right on that mountainside and watched as the joy of Christ became evident in his life.

He was thrilled that he hadn’t missed his chance, and we were thrilled to see the hand of God at work in the mountains of Peru. As we trekked on, it was unclear who was more excited, the Peruvian man we’d just prayed with or our band of travelers who’d just witnessed a miracle.

When I think ahead to the upcoming trip, I can’t help but pray for more experiences like that one. It makes all the work, the planning, the trekking, and the journey into the unknown worth it...to go back to a place I love. To go back to Peru.

Trees are the “Stars” in Sequoia National Park

Imagine a place where the trees are superstars. The “skyscrapers” are living organisms for which people walk miles to admire. Imagine a place where forest fires are essential in cultivating the species. Picture a tree with needs so specific that it can only grow in one location. See its branches soaring to the sky, but with roots that are shallow – the trees’ only weakness. Can such a site exist on this planet? It does, and its name is Sequoia National Park.

A recent vacation to this unique place revealed a world unlike any other. These large trees, not the tallest on earth, but the largest and densest, grow only on the western slope of the Sierra Nevada Mountains at elevations between 5,000 and 7,000 feet. They can soar to be 300 feet tall with trunks up to 40 feet in diameter. While the trees grow quickly during their lifetimes, the root systems are shallow. Consequently, toppling is the main cause of death for sequoias. Heavy winter snows and subsequent spring melts provide the trees’ main water source. 

A visit to Sequoia National Park commands a few “must see” experiences. For a birds-eye perspective of the park, visitors can climb the steep quarter-mile path to the top of Moro Rock. This granite dome provides a breathtaking view of the surrounding area and the Great Western Divide, a chain of mountains that runs through the park.

The largest living tree on earth by volume is the 2,700-year-old General Sherman tree. At 275 feet tall, it is estimated to weigh over 1,300 tons. A short downhill walk from the parking lot puts visitors in the shadow of this enormous tree. Be ready for the shortness-of-breath hike back up the trail, though. The strategically placed benches along the trail are ideal for flatlanders not used to the high altitudes of the park.

For an adventure beyond the General Sherman tree, a two-mile walk on the paved Congress trail gives visitors a view of the Washington tree, the world’s second largest tree. To get a break from the crowds, walk the five-mile Trail of the Sequoias which reveals a splendid collection of sequoias and other unique flora and fauna.

Drive through the Tunnel Log and then walk through for a photo op.

The Tunnel Log, a tree which toppled to the ground in 1937, is the only tree in the park through which visitors can drive. A tunnel cut in the fallen tree in 1938 turned this spot into a popular tourist attraction. The tree was estimated to be over 2,000 years old when it fell. Stop nearby for photo ops and to walk through the tunnel, as well.

The Giant Forest Museum provides interpretive displays and lessons on the ecology, fire cycle, and history of the trees. The Big Trees Trail, an interpretive wheelchair-accessible trail, leads directly out of the museum parking lot. Kids can learn about wildlife, camping, and forest ecology with hands-on activities in at the excellent Beetle Rock Education Center. Let them explore and get out the wiggles while learning about the ecology of the park.

Adventurous folks will find a plethora of hiking trails, caving tours, and campgrounds.  Whether it’s day hikes or longer treks, the park has miles of trails to suit every hiker, including ones reaching elevations over 12,000 feet. Camping is permitted in the park on a first-come, first-served basis.

Hike to the top of Moro Rock for a spectacular view of the
park and the Great Western Divide.

Driving in Sequoia is not for the faint of heart. Hair-pin turns and the rise and fall of various elevations calls for steady hands behind the wheel. In the summer, visitors can ride the free Sequoia Shuttle and let the bus drivers do the work. Riding the shuttle also helps cut the air pollution that plagues the park. Either way, a vehicle is necessary for touring.

Whether you’re intending to spend a day or a week at Sequoia National Park, there’s plenty for visitors of all ages. Come to Sequoia to see the famous trees, the superstars of this California hotspot.

 

Visit the Park website at http://www.nps.gov/seki/index.htm for more information.