Expedition Team: Nick Kelly, Jacque Kelly, Holly Eller, Rosie Miller, Dave Miller, Matt Miller, Breanna Miller Date: June 2020
The advertised 18 mile Rail to Trail was a huge disappointment as the bike/hike trail was only about 1.25 mile long as collapsed train trestles over creeks were yet to be made into trail bridges. The parking lot was small and there were no portajohns. We hiked east to the across Racoon Creek to Moonville Tunnel which was only a quarter of a mile from the parking lot. We climbed up old concrete stairs to the top of the tunnel and did the famous “O-H-I-O” pose. Your voice echoed loudly inside of the haunted tunnel. Outside of the tunnel the bike/hike path turned from smooth to large gravel and ended in a creek where the railroad bridge was gone and only the stone abutments remained. Matt & Holly climbed up onto a fallen tree. Many large monarch butterflies flew around us and we waded across the creek on a treacherous stone path. The overgrown hiking trail led us another quarter mail to another creek without a bridge where we explored and then turned back around. Nick, Jacque and baby Kelly posed by Moonville Tunnel.
