Expedition Team: Dave Miller, Rosie Miller, Holly Miller, Jacque Kelly
Date: 2013, 2014, 2015
This 100-foot-tall white sandstone obelisk completed in 1960 was America’s first National Historic Landmark. The monument honors Sgt. Charles Floyd, a member & quartermaster of the Lewis & Clark Expedition who died at age 22 on the upstream voyage in 1804. He was buried here. The expedition explored the Louisiana Purchase. The monument overlooks the Missouri River valley on a bluff. Just north along the river and interstate is the Sgt. Floyd River Museum. The drydocked 138-foot-long riverboat was built in 1932 and also serves as a welcome center. Son Matt was a pre-season football NAIA All-American Team selection who played defensive end at nearby Briar Cliff University. In-between cancer treatments, we attended his home college football games at the Dakota Dome in Vermillion, South Dakota. We often stopped by the Sioux City obelisk and museum.
Sitting around the campfire reminded me of this popular, hilarious western United States urban legend – the legend of the Jackalope. This urban legend always makes me laugh. It reminds me of when camping, I would send my kids out at night with a flashlight and small paper bag for them to go snipe hunting to catch the non-existent snipe.
For those unfamiliar with the jackalope legend, the fake hybrid is said to have first ‘come to life’ in 1932 when Douglas Herrick and his brother conceived of the creature while tinkering in their hobby of taxidermy. Their curious creation became something of a sensation, and over the years, countless versions of the antlered animal were crafted by various artisans. Basically, the jackalope is half jack rabbit and half antelope. How this small animal and large animal could mate is beyond me. In time, all manner of tall tales became attached to the jackalope, which has been depicted as something of a vicious trickster that lured unsuspecting cowboys to their doom by mimicking a human voice and then, upon drawing its victims close, swiftly attacking them with the tiny antlers atop its head. Cowboys were told not to be fooled by its diminutive size and adorable appearance and to “Fear the Jackalope.”
According to folklore, the jackalope was not above being fooled itself as it is said that the creature could be captured if one left a glass of whiskey beside a fire. What cracks me up is that the jackalope supposedly can imitate a human voice. Cowboys singing to their herds at night have been startled to hear their lonesome melodies repeated from a hillside by a jackalope. Jackalopes only sing on dark nights before a thunderstorm. So, this legend is ridiculously silly but a great story to tell when sitting around the campfire. I included a few photos of the kids and me a long time ago riding a giant jackalope at Wall, South Dakota.
The Towpath Trail runs 20 miles through the national park following the original 308 mile Ohio & Erie Canal which was built between 1825 to 1832. The canal ran from Lake Erie near Cleveland south to Portsmouth on the Ohio River. We began bicycling north from the Boston Mill Visitor Center past Lock 32, one of many well-maintained locks with wayside exhibits. The canal is actually full of water in many areas and two of the locks are used to demonstrate to visitors how they rise and lower water. At one point along the bike trail we had the canal on the east and the fast-moving Cuyahoga River. We biked north past the Frazee House to the Canal Exploration Center and turned around after eight miles. We headed back south passing the Boston Mill Visitor Center to the Peninsula Depot where the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad train stops to pick up passengers. The railroad tracks paralleled some of the Towpath Trail as we biked south. We reached the historical Hunt House Park Farm and Beaver Marsh about 9.4 miles south of Boston Mill. We relaxed at the wetland habitat overlooking a lily covered pond looking for fish, beaver, and turtles.
We biked north a half mile and turned left onto Everett Road where we biked a half mile to the haunted Everett Covered Bridge. I conducted a paranormal investigation there which is a separate adventure which you can find under the Paranormal Category. We eventually biked back to the Towpath Trail and biked nine miles back to the Boston Mill Visitor Center. Overall, we bicycled about 35 miles north and south on the Towpath Trail.
After a 32-mile bicycle ride on the bike path we returned to the Boston Mill Visitor Center, locked up our bikes, hiked past Lock 32 and began a 3-mile hike on the Buckeye Trail. The trail went up and down small hills through thick woods and past narrow ravines. A mile into the hike we came to beautiful Blue Hen Falls. After a break watching the water cascade down, we finished the remainder of the hike through the woodland habitat.
Fenway Park is home to the Boston Red Socks professional baseball team. Opening in April 1912, it is the oldest stadium and the most famous in Major League Baseball. I attended a game there with a half dozen Moraine co-workers between Boston and the Tampa Bay Rays which the Red Sox won 7 to 3. I was really excited to see the infamous Green Monster, the nickname of the high left field wall. The high wall prevents home runs on many line drives that would clear the walls of other ballparks. Down in the bowels of the stadium beneath the seating, I went to get a sandwich and drink. The interior looked so nostalgic, historic and old, reminding me of what a ballpark would have looked like in 1938 and 1939 when my father played pro baseball. Outside the ballpark for a block or two, auto traffic was totally restricted so that fans could walk out and safely hog the streets to visit the many neighborhood bars and restaurants for aftergame dining and partying.
Here is another of the famous fiberglass roadside attractions that are randomly scattered across our country, this one is dressed as a cowboy and is at the entrance to a popular flea market. He is muscular on top but needs to lift more weights with his legs.
While visiting relatives, I was told by a woman we will call RS, that a child’s doll named Woody from the movie “Toy Story” has caused the family a fright. Twice the doll spoke words all by itself without being touched by a human hand. During my investigation it did not speak on its own. It was rather eerie looking, sitting under a table in the corner. There is no battery in the doll. So, is this doll possessed or did the voice mechanism just malfunction? The family will continue to monitor the doll and keep me posted if anything unusual occurs.
This water tower is painted like a UFO spaceship with aliens looking out the windows. At night it is lit up with landing lights and is very impressive. I wish I could have gotten a closer photo. I also wish I had a fuel-efficient flying saucer because gas prices just west of here spiked to $5.26 per gallon.
At over one million acres, this is the largest national grassland in the USA. Located in western North Dakota, it is a mixed grass prairie with both long and short grass along with beautiful badlands, rugged terrain eroded by water and wind. The Little Missouri River meanders through a part of the grassland.
Hiking Team: Dave Miller, Rosie Miller, Debbie Miller
Date: July 30, 2022
We parked at the canoe launch where we put in our four canoes and begun many kayak trips south on the Little Miami River to Bellbrook. At this site we began hiking the River Loop Trail which ran parallel to the river for 2.4-miles before looping back. The shaded trail was flat, sometimes tight with overgrown trees and bushes. We saw lots of squirrels. We connected with the 1.1-mile Big Woods Loop Trail which took us out of the trees and into a meadow. We then connected with the .7-mile Sugar Bush Loop Trail and on the way back we branched off and ascended up onto the .8-mile Vista Loop Trail. Someone had put sunglasses on a tree which made it look like a face. When finished we had hiked just over five miles.
