Saturday, October 4, 2014
Our travels today took us to the Olmsted Township area, first North Olmsted.
The Olmsted Historical Society's
Frostville Museum, located in the Rocky River Reservation of Cleveland's Metroparks, is a collection of 19th century buildings. Unfortunately, it appeared the inhabitants had shuttered up and headed south for the winter. Actually, the buildings are opened only during special events, which occur about once a month.
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| Garden at Jenkin's Cabin |
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| Gifford General Store |
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| Inside the general store |
A short walk down the road brought us to the confluence of the East and West Branches of Rocky River:
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| The East and West Branches join to form the Rocky River |
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| Liquidambar styraciflua/Sweetgum leaf |
The
Rocky River Reservation Nature Center:
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| A Cycle Aid Station |
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Dunkleosteus terrelli, the giant prehistoric
fish of the Devonian era sea |
We hiked the Fort Hill Trail:
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| Lycogala epidendrum/Wolf's Milk: not a fungus but a slime mould |
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| Acer saccharum/Sugar Maple leaf |
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Angling off to the left is part of the ancient
earthworks, perhaps used for meditation due
to its location surrounded by water on two sides |
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| Looking down at Arrowhead Island |
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| 135 steps to reach the earthworks |
We still had time, so hiked the Mount Pleasant Trail:
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Raccoon-proof waste bins with hidden latches
(but not bear-proof!) |
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| A tree trunk with a window |
This turned out to be our leaf hike:
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| Quercus rubra/Northern Red Oak leaf |
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| Sassafras leaf |
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| Quercus alba/White Oak leaf |
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| Fomitopsis pinicola/Red banded Polypore |
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| Leaves on a pond near the Nature Center |
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| Lawrence Grist Mill (1832) ruins |
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| Berea Falls |
Next is Olmsted Falls, OH, and the
Grand Pacific Junction.
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| Berea Train Depot (early 1900s) |
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1927 Vulcan Steam Engine No. 100 and caboose
and 1880s flat storefronts |
There must be waterfalls in Olmsted Falls. We found the Dan Waugh Nature Trail and a jewelweed plant to pop some seeds.
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Charles A Harding Memorial Covered Bridge (1998)
built by Amish craftsmen |
We saw signs pointing towards the Community Center and the Library, but no falls. Saw a tiny map that showed us some waterfalls.
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| Waterfalls on Plum Creek |
Turns out these waterfalls were on Plum Creek, and there were mill ruins in the area. We still have to find Olmsted Falls!
But it was time to go to Olmsted Township, to the Donauschwaben German Cultural Center, for a clambake. I was looking forward to seeing the inside of the Donauschwaben center, but the clambake, sponsored by the Olmsted Fire Fighters, was held on the grounds of the center.
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| A lot of food |
A clambake in the Cleveland area seems odd, so why is Northeast Ohio the fall clambake capital of the U.S.? It may be in part that the Western Reserve of Connecticut land here was given to veterans of the Revolutionary War, who came from that state and maintained their taste for clams. Later politicians would use clambakes to woo constituents before elections.
We'll be back to Olmsted, OH!
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