Pokagon State Park and Beaver Creek State Park

Cory and I lit out for Pennsylvania Thursday night, stopping near Pokagon State Park in Indiana. that first night.  While Cory slept in on Friday I donned a raincoat and went out to the park for walk in the morning drizzle.

Top o' the Kame!

Pokagon State Park is home to lots of activities, and I was surprised when the hiking trail I chose at random took me to a kame!  Climbing the stairs to the top gave me that workout I was looking for before spending the day behind the wheel and I felt right at home in the glacial terrain.

Turtlehead in the rain

Our next stop was Beaver Creek State Park in East Liverpool, Ohio where we were treated to a recreation of a village from the 1800's.  The Little Beaver valley provided opportunity for water power and resulted in the construction of Gaston's Mill in 1837. The mill stands completely restored and today grinds whole wheat flour, corn meal and buckwheat flour on a seasonal basis. A pioneer village, adjacent to the mill, includes a log home, schoolhouse, blacksmith shop and a church.

Remnants of the Sandy and Beaver Canal, a spur off the Ohio-Erie Canal, are found throughout the park. The 73-mile Sandy and Beaver Canal was built in the mid-1800s and contained 90 locks and 30 dams.

A one lane bridge was our exit strategy, and it also provided a lovely photo opportunity.

One thing I will say about this trip, tolls sure have gotten to be more expensive than I remember.  I couldn't believe what we were charged, especially in Ohio and Pennsylvania!  I even got off the tollway for awhile which inadvertently led us to our next stop in the capital city of Harrisburg...