Travels with Sam

Sam and I both had an urge to get out this winter. Apparently the urge to hit the road for a pointless destination, listen to the Beatles, and eat fast food is genetic. Or maybe we were just tired of being inside all winter.

Our first trip was to bravely ascend to the highest point in Ohio, Campbell Hill (1550 feet). Being men of daring, we managed this without supplemental oxygen:

Of course, once we'd been to the highest point in the state, our next trip had to be to the lowest point:

We determined this was the Ohio river in Cincinnati. Without scuba gear, the shore was as close we could come. 

The park with the flying pigs was surprisingly uncrowded on this February day:

The following weekend, we were off to Serpent Mound. I'd somehow stumbled across this site on a solo motorcycle tour many years ago.

It's really in the middle of nowhere and/or south-central Ohio, making me wonder how I ever came across this. It's a cool sight, though:

Our next trip was a short jaunt to Urbana to play a round of disc golf at one of the highest ranked courses in the state:

Then a bigger trip to....

Sam really wanted to see this giant stamp:

We are too covid-cautious to go in the museum, but we stopped outside the Rock and Roll hall of fame:

Oddly for a 12 year old, Sam has a definite interest in geology, so our last trip was to Oakes Quarry park near Dayton. We poked around the tailings and found a few interesting fossils:

Walking across the flat, treeless quarry floor made me think of Utah or Wyoming more than Ohio:

That same day, we met the rest of the family for a picnic lunch and hiking at nearby John Bryan State Park:

The boys and I stayed overnight to camp and enjoy some brotherly bonding at the campfire:

and eat some fried bananas, which Henry pronounced, "pretty tasty."

I expect more trips will come this summer, once we're past the spring sports season. Stay tuned.