In Loretta's World

 
I started the day slowly with some computer tasks, but Loretta had already gone to church to help with a yard sale. I awoke to rain, but got to enjoy her views from the deck.



This waterfall feeds the pond in front of her place. She lives at Renewed Spirits Ranch.



And the family of geese is growing nicely.



I went over to help with the cleanup from the yard sale and after that was done and we had some lunch, it was pretty much time to head out for supper! That's because we had to collect a group of people, and then we drove a ways to get to this place. Here are Marleen, Loretta, Randy and Annette.




You'll have a chuckle. For a week, I've been bringing you pictures of sandstone caves and rocks in recreational areas and natural settings.

Tonight I bring you Rattlesnake Saloon, a sandstone cave that's been made into a restaurant!



There was a country singer who was pretty good, and his drummer was eleven years old. That was pretty amazing. A bunch of kids came up and danced. One of them was about four, and he was good enough that he gave us all a great show.

Loretta always finds ways to show me a good time!

	See Renewed Spirits Ranch
if you like this blog, click the +1   or

Luna Moth

 
I am safely at Loretta's, but spent all day in the car, so this is a good time to share our fantastic wildlife sighting with you. I have not seen a luna moth in the wild since I was a child. I have never, EVER, seen one freshly emerged from the cocoon with bright colors like this.



Let me tell you how we found this beautiful boy (more on gender later). We were about halfway up a hill on one of the trails at Clear Creek Metropark and sat down on a log to rest. I was generally looking into the vegetation- I'm always looking for interesting plants. There was a bare twig of a stalk sticking up with an odd green shape hanging off one side. I thought- that's funny. It looks like half a ginkgo leaf. Then I saw a matching one on the other side. Then I noticed what looked to be a fresh green maple key hanging down below that. I was momentarily mystified. Then I jumped up and said, "I think that's a luna moth!" I walked to the other side of the stalk and was astonished to see what I showed you above.

We approached very cautiously and eased in gently, but the moth paid no attention to us at all. After I few minutes I became convinced it was still drying it's wings- probably having emerged that morning, since everything was opened out, but it all seemed very soft. They tend to emerge early in the day so their wings will be dry by night when they fly. We didn't touch it- didn't want to cause any damage, but the "tails" still looked very fragile.

Here's the underside.



Two things struck us right away. One was how furry the moth was. The body could be called plush.



The other outstanding feature is the deep maroon coloring along the edge of the wings, and the legs. Look at those legs!



And the eyespots on the wings.



I did a little reading. The adults only live about seven days, so they have to find a mate quickly, but in the latitude of Ohio there are probably two broods a season. They have no functional mouthparts and can't eat. It's one of the largest moths in North America. We looked around for the cocoon, but couldn't find it.

The long tails serve to confuse bats, one of their greatest predators. In fact, if a bat happens to grab one of those wing extensions, the moth can lose it and still fly.

At Butterfly Ridge, I showed them my pictures, and they said it's a boy moth, because the antennae are very wide. Female's are skinny. Those antennae can smell the female pheromones from a great distance away, so the males can find a mate.



This past week, I saw and heard a lot of birds, including some warblers (which I'm no good at identifying), a captive screech owl, millipedes, and of course bunnies, squirrels, etc, but this has to be the number one wildlife sighting of the week. Although they are widespread, somewhat common, and not considered in any population danger, they aren't a moth you will see very often unless you go looking in the right places.

Apparently the host plants it likes can vary by region, but one possibility is hickory, and we did see a lot of young hickory trees in that forest.

	See Clear Creek
if you like this blog, click the +1   or

Buckeye Trail Surprise

 
We know I've already hiked all the Buckeye Trail. Sure, some parts have changed, but I don't think this one has. I remember rocks, but I must not have been paying attention. (Walking in my sleep?) The rocks on this section were amazing. Not part of a park, but they must be on public land since there was also a bridle trail.



First, we climbed to the top of a wooded ridge with a nice view over the valley. The spring trees are just getting to the phase I love best.



Then we descended to the tops of some rocky cliffs. This area is known for good rappelling spots, and we came across a statewide training session for rescue teams. There were about 15 people in the group being taught how to get up and down the cliffs with rescue baskets.





Just a ways beyond them, we turned a corner and began to descend through a crack in the rocks till we were down in front of the rock faces.

In some places we were walking through narrow hallways where the rocks had split.

This was the most amazing spot, I thought. The sandstone was weathered and flaking with the ocher color showing through in rounded curves and the trail going right along the base of the cliff. Hard to believe this is Ohio!

Then we went to a place called Butterfly Ridge. It's a privately owned conservation area that is working to create habitat to attract and support native butterfly and moth populations. You take your chances on what you might see on any given day, but the owner gives you an idea of what to look for. We saw three pipestem swallowtails, but I didn't get any pictures. It's a neat place if you are in the area.

Total miles hiked today about 6.5

After a nice dinner we drove around Lake Logan.



Tomorrow, Marie says goodbye and heads home. I can't put a good spin on that, but our time together has certainly been wonderful.

	See Cantwell Cliffs and Clear Creek
if you like this blog, click the +1   or

Cantwell Cliffs and Clear Creek

 
The first place we went today was Cantwell Cliffs. Only about two miles of trail, but lots of really neat vertical rock faces.


The rock faces are often close together- maybe from splits that occurred ages ago. It made for some interesting views.


What we liked best about it all was that the stone stairways must have first been built about a century ago when it was still acceptable to make things less than government-grade "safe." It seemed a lot like a neat game. (like Riven)



At the top of those stairs? More stairs through a split in the rock.


After lunch we drove a few miles so we could do a longer hike at Clear Creek Metropark. They have a really nice trail network with possibilities to walk even farther than we did. Some is wooded, some hills, some meadow, some flatter.



We first walked up to the Cemetery Ridge Trail. The key word there is up. But it did provide a nice vista.



We worked our way back down to creek level via the Fern and Hemlock Trails. There were some rocks here too, but they were more like erratics or scattered outcrops.



Marie liked the trail markers. Apparently, others do too because a number of them had been pried out of the posts and stolen.



The outstanding event of the day was a wildlife sighting- something I haven't seen since I was a child. But I'm saving it for a combined nature post another day. Stay tuned.

We are tucked up in a motel. Likely to rain tomorrow, but we have made some plans anyway. They can be changed if the weather gets really bad.

Total miles today about seven. It feels really good, and we had a yummy salad for dinner and tiny sundaes. Another drop-dead perfect day. I think if I had more money and fewer goals I could easily spend the rest of my life enjoying internet access and a bed at night and hiking some new place every day.

	See Ash Cave and more
if you like this blog, click the +1   or

Ash Cave, Long Tunnel, Old Man's Cave, Devil's Bathtub

 
Today was exceptionally fine! We (mostly) followed the routes of the Buckeye and North Country Trails through the Hocking Hills State Park from south to north. I previously hiked this about 20 years ago from north to south, and the trail is very different now. My previous hike was the year after some big floods when all the bridges had been washed out. We forded the stream a lot that year. I'm pretty sure the route through the park has even been changed in a few places. There was no trouble following it this year, and the day visitors were everywhere.

I had to pick only a few of the best pictures, but you'll get the idea.

From the south, the first big formation was Ash Cave, so named from piles of ashes found by early explorers and supposedly left by Native Americans. I like that there are a couple of people in the picture, so you can get a sense of the scale.



Only the most spectacular places have names. This is just a slightly overhung cliff with water falling over it. With the sun through the water, it was beautiful.


Nearly everywhere, the Blackhand sandstone is honeycombed from water percolating through the rock. The red color is because iron oxide serves as the adhesive agent that helps hold the sandstone together.



The biggest surprise of the day was a little side trail to a feature called Long Tunnel. All weekend we'd been hearing about features, studying maps of the park, and had never seen a thing about this. Well, "tunnel" sounded intriguing. First we began by switchbacking up the rocks on stone stairways.



Next, there was a curved metal staircase taking us nearer to the top of the cliff. The remainder of the climb was through a tunnel carved in the rock. I wanted to know more about it, but there was no sign to explain if maybe there was an early small opening made by water that was enlarged for people, or what.



Shortly, we returned to the BT, NCT routes and arrived at Old Man's Cave. A hermit lived here after the Civil War, which is where it got the name. These are all hanging cliff caves where the sandstone has eroded and undercut the edge. This one is really large. It was hard to get a picture that showed it well. This view, at least, shows the small waterfall below and about half the cave. On the far lower left you can see the exit from the short tunnel that takes you down from the cave.



Another tunnel, that wasn't part of the trail when I hiked it, leads you up toward the parking lot. I love tunnels!



We crossed the creek on yet another bridge, as much a piece of modern art as a functional bridge, with the A-Frame Bridge across the gorge high above. Even though it was an anomaly, I actually liked the abstract shapes against the curves of the natural rock.


Our last feature of the day was Devil's Bathtub, a small swirled pool made by rocks whirlpooled in the stone. This was more like Watkins Glen, New York, than Ohio.



The day was getting hot, but the trail in the gorge was cool. We ate some lunch and then went for the important stuff- ice cream.

We came back to our "home" at Cardinal Lodge and have another nifty day planned for tomorrow. We are supposed to get one more nice day.

P.S. At long last, I'm getting started on this year's Hike 100 Challenge, so I've got my first five miles. I know...pathetic, to not start till May, but I'm not worried.

	See Rock House and Conkle's Hollow
if you like this blog, click the +1   or