Travel Channel

I just had to make a category listing for travel. How did y’all let me go this long talking about going to various sundry places without having a category for travel? Really, sometimes I don’t know what you’re thinking!

I’ve lived in this state for 11 years. (Wow). I’ve never been to Hocking Hills. I’ve heard of it mainly in the context of “Never ride the trails at Hocking Hills without someone who understands them or you’ll never be seen again.” I’ve searched for cabins with hot tubs in other states and been mad because I kept getting tricked into opening websites for cabins in Hocking Hills. But I’ve never been. I’m not alone in this. The SO has lived here just as long and had never been either.

We went yesterday. Basically, the place is a tourist industry built up around some very cool stream and rock formations with some waterfalls thrown in. For example:

You follow the paths with 17,000 other tourists and their dogs to see waterfalls and caves and streams and big rocks. I’m making that sound really bad but surprisingly it wasn’t. It was crowded but the air temp was about 15 degrees cooler than on the surface. There were herds of people but they were nice. The only thing that would have made it better was more water in the stream which would have made more dramatic waterfalls. I grew up heading to Niagara at the drop of the hat. You have to work to impress me with a tiny waterfall.

There are lots of stairs. The SO has a foot that is acting up lately so that was sort of a problem. We tried to take the direct route marked to the parking lot at one place. We ended up climbing over boulders. And yes, we were still on the established path. Serious workout at places. A person could be excused for wondering how many tourists have heart attacks while trying to get up to the surface. (Let it be known that I’ve been trail jogging. I climbed like a champ.)

We rented a cabin with a hot tub. It was very nice. We also had dinner at a surprisingly upscale restaurant. It was located at the top of a mountain. There was a long, vertical gravel drive to the restaurant. The staff suggested that drinking would make the drive back down the hill easier or shorter or something like that.

It was fun. I think we should back sometime in the fall or spring when either the leaves are changing or there is more water in the stream.