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Wayside_Wisdom Heard Along the Way
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"Time Caught and Continued" (Ohio) After a quick lunch and afternoon nap, we hiked. John Bryan State Park has an extensive network of hiking trails and several of them connect to trails in Clifton Gorge State Nature Reserve. We hiked for over an hour on a segment of the Pittsburgh to Cincinnati Stagecoach Road which has been preserved. It would have been a scenic trip along the Little Miami River, below the towering, irregularly-eroded stone cliffs of its ancient gorge. It would have been a long, slow and rough journey though as the solid wheels of the horse drawn coach bumped, banged and battered their way over the boulders and tree roots embedded in the road. We hiked back to our campsite along the "North Rim Trail" which winds along the upper edge of those sheer rock cliffs rising high above the river bed, surrounding the valley As we set out again, the eye of my imagination could easily see circles of teepees and the smoke of Shawnee council fires rising from the valley below. In another blink, I could see pre-historic man and beasts struggling for survival on a land once covered by glacial ice. Recent generations have left marks that add to the charm of this place. Stone block retaining walls and simple bridges hint of CCC hands. Eye-hooks firmly embedded at the stoney summits of sheer walls smile with anticipation at the rock climbers coming today or tomorrow. Deer tracks, bird songs, scurrying furry creatures and fluttering tree leaves bring me back to its peaceful but busy present. I have been blessed by its beauty; honored by its history; calmed by its quiet. Mystery lives here and today welcomed me to lose myself in its depths! June 1, 2005 |