Ghost Rock is a rock pinnacle along I-70 in San Rafael Swell, a geologist’s paradise. Apparently long ago, a cowboy on a foggy morning saw the pinnacle sticking up from a bed of fog and thought it was a ghost. He called it Ghost Rock. Ghost Rock West is an adjacent rock formation without a pinnacle. We hiked the one-mile trail around the ghost rock dodging the small rocks, mesquite, wildflowers, snakes and often just following the rock cairns for direction. The rock base had some unique erosion holes and designs. Near the end of the hike, we came upon an old grave just off the trail.
Crypto Zoologists are very familiar with this creature. This small Indiana town of 1,700 considers itself Turtletown USA and to celebrate its lake horror, holds a Turtle Days Festival every June. The actual story of this cryptoid (which is often called the Beast of Busco) is much more intriguing than the current statues of the alleged giant prehistoric turtle displayed at the city park.
Rosie and I were driving back from Michigan where we celebrated our 40th anniversary with the kids. Churubusco was along State Route 33, so I had to check out the creature legend. Locals named him Oscar the Monster Turtle, after farmer Oscar Fulk who owned the land that included the seven-acre lake. Fulk spotted the turtle in 1898. The creature was spotted again in 1948 by two adults fishing at Fulk Lake. Several other adults saw the giant turtle as well. Witnesses describe the turtle as being prehistoric and as large as a car or boat. The eyewitness reporting’s became a national news story. The community was so frightened that they had the small lake drained but found no giant turtle. Today, locals believe that Oscar resurfaces during rainy nights to eat geese and ducks. All the witnesses are long gone. To me, this has the makings of an urban legend, but the town embraces their history of this giant prehistoric turtle. The Turtle Days Festival is the longest running continuous festival in all of Indiana. The Fulk Lake Horror sort of reminds me of two other crypids, one reported in Waynesville, Ohio and one reported in Loveland, Ohio.
Elk antlers interweave to form an amazing u-shape entry arch for this Nevada ranch. In addition, there are antler chandeliers on both ends of the large arch.
This short .4 trail was very pretty as the fall tree colors were starting to turn and reflected over a small pond. We saw some large mushroom formations just off the trail. The short trail began across from the Caesars Creek Visitor Center and after the pond we hiked farther south to see the nearby dam.
We hiked 2.5 of the 13-mile orange perimeter trail from the visitor center north. It was only 56 degrees, but the sun shone brightly through the tree lined trail. A white-tailed deer was standing on the trail near the Caesar Creek Lake shoreline as the hilly trail weaved near the shore and back into the woods. Chipmunks were scampering beside and across the trail. Just a few of the trees’ color had turned so we planned to return in 2023 to hike a longer distance. Still the photos were very colorful.
Over 250 different cash registers are on display at the main Heritage Center Building at Carillon Park and by the carousel. All the machines were made at the National Cash Register Company in Dayton. The 250 cash registers displayed are just a small portion as approximately 1,000 machines were donated by NCR.
Expedition Team: Dave Miller, Rosie Miller, Jacque Kelly, Elizabeth Kelly
Date: December 19, 2022
This is a second of six total separate locations of the Aviation Heritage National Historic Park, as it is spread out over multiple locations in the Dayton area. This Carillon Park site had remnants of the Wright Brothers bike shop, engineering work area, mini-wind tunnel, and the highlight – the original 1905 Wright Flyer III, the world’s first practical airplane. The plane is below ground so that visitors can see the plane from above and understand how it works. The plane itself is the first airplane to be designed as a National Historic Landmark.
This was my first time and Rosie’s second time kayaking at this north end of Caesars Creek Lake. We entered Caesars Creek via the Haines Boat Ramp. As we paddled south the creek widened and eventually, we came to the large lake. We continued paddling until we came to and then circled a small island. Sea gulls flew everywhere. Caesars Creek Lake is a little lower than normal due to the drought, but the Caesars Creek branch is much lower. In some places, the creek had a depth of one foot or less, so we had to navigate to deeper areas. It was a relaxing, sunny fall day.
Another great find on Route 66 was the village of Livingston, population 850. At an antique village was a big surprise, a rare Futuro UFO House. Rosie was embarrassed as I made her snap a photo of me wearing an alien mask by the Futuro house. This was only the third Futuro House I have ever seen (one in Ohio, Kentucky and now Illinois). Only about 100 of these unique, flying saucer shaped houses were built in the late 1960’s and early 1970’s and are sought after by collectors.
Another great find on Route 66 was the village of Livingston, population 850. There were roadside attractions galore. Outside at the Pink Elephant Antique Mall, there was a tall Harley Davidson Muffler Man and lots of giant yard art such as a large pink elephant, large tricycle, big rhino, big giraffe and a 15 foot tall Donald Trump. In front of the antique building was a giant 20-foot-tall waitress (a former Uni-Royal muffler woman) and I jokingly looked up her dress. The biggest surprise was a rare Futuro UFO House. Inside, the antique mall was incredible with thousands of antiques.
