A Little About Me

I live in Southwestern Ohio and consider myself more or less an expert on the trails that cross my own backyard.  There are 74 state parks in Ohio, 17 state forests, 4 state nature preserves, 2 state reserves, 12 state wildlife areas, 1 national forest, 20 state memorials, and 2 national historic parks in Ohio.  This doesn’t count local and city parks!  That’s a lot of places to explore and this is just little ol’ Ohio, which doesn’t have the vastness of our western states, the majesty of the mountains, or the sweeping grandeur of the ocean.  Ohio offers a simple type of beauty.  Rolling hills to the south, acres of  scenic farmland in the north, bordered by Lake Erie and the Ohio River; Ohio has a great deal to offer in regards to taking a walk.  There is nothing like walking along a river or a quiet country road in the Buckeye State.

I live in a tiny village in between Dayton and Cincinnati, near Kings Island.  My house is bordered by the Little Miami River, which is a state and national scenic waterway.  The Little Miami is famous as the perfect place for beginners to learn to canoe and kayak.  Flowing south from Indian Lake to East Fork Lake and finally emptying into the Ohio River, the Little Miami is a fast moving body of water peppered with class 1 rapids and large float pools.  The vast array of wildlife, from turtles and beavers to herons and eagles, makes the Little Miami a popular weekend adventure destination for locals as well as out-of-towners.  There is a bike trail that follows the river, called the Little Miami Scenic Trail, that wanders for 78 miles from Springfield, Ohio all the way to Cincinnati.  It is one of my favorite places to hike.

There are numerous other places to hike within an hour of my home.  Caesers Creek State Park, Ft. Ancient, Dayton MetroParks including Sugarcreek Reserve, Grant Nature Center, Bill Yeck Park, Turtlecreek Reserve, John Bryant State Park, Glen Helen Nature Center, Clifton Gorge, Englewood Reserve, Cox Arboretum, Germantown Reserve, Stubbs Park, Ault Park, Sharon Woods, Winton Woods, East Fork State Park, and the Cincinnati Nature Center are amongst my favorites.  The next few pages will be devoted to trails in these parks.  Please bear with me!  I have been to many national parks across the USA and plan to write about trails in our national parks, too.  But I’m going to start close to home, where I feel the most comfortable.  I have walked these trails so often, my footprints seem to have worn a path from the start of each trailhead all the way back to my little house in the woods.

I live in a little ranch house in the river valley surrounded by forest.  I am at the bottom of a big hill and have a little over 10 acres of property.  One of the largest oak trees in the county resides on my property!  I have a pond, stocked with all sorts of fish, and several small trails to hike throughout my woods.  My house is my sanctuary, my place of peace, and I often feel the weight of the world slipping from my shoulders as I drive down the twisty turny country road that leads to my driveway.  I have two little dogs, daschunds, three cats, three adult children, and have been married to the same man for 31 years.  Welcome to my world!  Put on your shoes and keep reading.  Lets go for a hike!

bou