Today is Frank Lloyd Wright Day. We are going to both Fallingwater and Kentuck Knob. We have set the alarm for 7 AM, the first time we have set the alarm on this trip. We eat a light breakfast, throw the dishes into the sink, and head out. First down the hill, and what a hill it is. We have seen lots of steep hills on this trip, and the ones with gravel extensions to stop runaway trucks always make us a bit tense, but this hill is STEEP! I read in the camp information that they don’t recommend you come into the park on this road if you are in a large RV, probably because you couldn’t make the turns but maybe because you just couldn’t lift a large RV up the incline. I see why the campers were tired. There is no way they rode up this hill. They had to have walked it, and with a loaded bike and trailer that ain’t easy. Michelle and I are scheduled for the 8:45 2-hour in-depth tour and Norb is going on the 11:30 1-hour tour. There are 10 people on our tour and our leader is one of the senior guides. She has worked there for 10 years and warns us that she is going to cram 4 hours of information into 2 hours of tour. As we reach the bridge to the house and it’s full presence comes into sight, both Michelle and I are moved to tears. It is a truly astonishing house, even from the outside. Bear Run Creek is running full and the waterfall is roaring.
Our first stop is the kitchen (or ‘workspace’, as FLW called it) and we even get to go down into the basement, which has been carved out of the rock. A Wright basement is a very rare thing, and then to actually be in one. While the house is only 2600 square feet, it feels much bigger. Wright was truly the master of space. The house falls, layer on layer. The stone inhabits the house. The house inhabits the stone. You can open any window and hear the stream below. You can go down a series of steps and dangle your feet in the stream. You open the windows in the corner of the master bedroom and there is open air, no steel to support the corner. When the tour leader opens it up, some of the people in the group gasp. The balconies have low ledges so that you can sit in a chair and see over them. The table can be expanded to seat 20. Unlike other Wright houses, the Kaufmans brought in their own furniture and art work. We see every nook and cranny in the house and hear the stories and ask all our questions. We go to the guest house and see the pool, fed by the mountain streams that overflows into the creek below. It is all wonderful. Of course, we hike to the vista across the way to see the house from its most famous aspect. Wright said that if you can see the waterfall all the time, you would begin to not see it. So he wanted you to have to go out of the house and hike a short way to see it. It is 11:30 when we get back to the Visitor’s Center and Norb has left on his tour.
Michelle and I check out the museum store and when Norb returns we eat lunch at the café. Then on to Kentuck Knob, back up that terrible hill. KK is now owned by Lord Palumbo and Lady Hyatt and while it is an interesting house, it is not in the same league as Fallingwater. They are 20 years apart; KK is one of Wright’s Usonian homes and was built for much less than Falllingwater. FW was budgeted for $30,000 and ended up costing $150,000, which was a fortune in the 30’s. KK was built for much less. Given the choice, we should have done them in reverse order, but we had no choice. They only do the 2 hour tours in the early morning. It’s sort of like rafting on almost anything after having rafted the Grand Canyon.
We go back into Ohiopyle, check out the bike trail, get some ice cream, walk around town, ooh and aah at the waterfalls and rushing water. The town doesn’t seem to be doing too well, but the woman at the visitor center assures us that come summer it is hopping with bicyclists. There are 3 or 4 restaurants in town, and an equal number of companies offering rafting on the river (Class 1 and 2 upriver, Class 3 and 4 downriver), so it appears that it does hop some time. We stop and buy some wood on our way back into the park and have a campfire after supper.
Saturday, May 3, 2008
Adding a Third Party--4/30
We decide to go out for breakfast, in West Virginia. There is that tiny portion of WV that pokes up between Ohio and Pennsylvania and we are going to cross it. If we want to count WV in our list of states visited in our RV, we have to eat a meal there. I didn’t realize that Wheeling was up in this tiny portion of the state. Pretty weird to put the capital there! We pick a Bob Evans from among the many franchises offered us. I find that I’m not fond of their biscuits.
Since we have a few hours before we are picking Michelle McGinness up at the Pittsburgh airport, we explore the local Costco. Norb buys shorts (it is warmer than we had thought it would be), I get a knit top. There is no liquor. Turns out you can only buy liquor from the state stores in PA. There isn’t even wine or beer! We do buy Norb’s favorite pita chips but can’t find the olive dip he liked so much from Sam’s Club.
We use the iPhone to check on Michelle’s flight and learn that it is arriving early, so we head for the airport. When we get to the airport, we park in the extended parking lot because it looks the most friendly to an RV. I get out to be sure that we don’t knock down or scratch anything getting into the lot, and we park way out so that we can comfortably take 2 spaces since we are wider than cars. The shuttle is right there and we are quickly at the terminal. The board indicates that the flight is ‘in range’ and within 5 minutes the luggage carousel is spitting out bags. Michelle’s bag has gone around a number of times before she arrives, and we are so happy to see her again.
We shuttle back to the car, navigate our way out of the airport, and head smack dab into early traffic. Michelle hasn’t eaten since leaving Santa Fe in the morning, so we fix her a lunch in the airport parking lot and we snack. We go right through the heart of Pittsburgh so Michelle gets to see one of the famous Pittsburg inclines. We finally move off the interstate onto a local road and wind our way south, destination Ohiopyle State Park. More winding, sort of scary road. Mrs. Garmin wants to send us up this narrow, steep road and we rebel. Instead we stop and ask a kindly looking woman for directions and she sends us on a road that connects with Mrs. Garmin’s road but is much less scary. As we approach the park, we pass Kentuck Knob. At the park, we try out every possible electrified site before setting up in the first site we tried. I think they design the campsites so that they will drain, which means that they are lower on one end or one side. This means that we always have to raise at least 1 wheel and more typically 2. The idea of spending $2,000 on levelers keeps getting more and more appealing the more we fuss with leveling.
Bob, the camp host, comes over the welcome us. Once settled in, Norb heads for the campground entrance to pay our fee. Bob gives him a ride in Bob’s John Deere ATV-type vehicle. Norb chats him up and learns the man’s life story and much more. Bob has been doing this for 7 years, since his wife died. We decide he is lonely, and this is a way to meet people.
Interesting campground. Across the road from us are 4 yurts that rent out for $26 during the week and $45 on Friday and Saturday night. They come equipped with refrigerator, Coleman stove, electricity, beds, tables, chairs, and each has a wooden deck. In addition, there are cabins to rent in the park. It seems to me that tenters are being priced out. If you have a tent, you pay the same price for a campsite as the biggest RV that uses megawatts of electricity. Doesn’t seem fair to me. We haven’t seen any campgrounds that have non-electric sites where they charge less for the site. I guess it would be too expensive and too difficult to charge for the electricity based on your use, as I hear they do in Europe. There are 2 cyclists camped below us and they are biking the Allegheny Bike Trail from McKeesport, PA to Washington, DC. The trail is relatively level, but the climb up to the park almost killed them.
We eat a late dinner and get Michelle in bed. She has gotten up at 3:30 in Santa Fe and needs to sleep.
Since we have a few hours before we are picking Michelle McGinness up at the Pittsburgh airport, we explore the local Costco. Norb buys shorts (it is warmer than we had thought it would be), I get a knit top. There is no liquor. Turns out you can only buy liquor from the state stores in PA. There isn’t even wine or beer! We do buy Norb’s favorite pita chips but can’t find the olive dip he liked so much from Sam’s Club.
We use the iPhone to check on Michelle’s flight and learn that it is arriving early, so we head for the airport. When we get to the airport, we park in the extended parking lot because it looks the most friendly to an RV. I get out to be sure that we don’t knock down or scratch anything getting into the lot, and we park way out so that we can comfortably take 2 spaces since we are wider than cars. The shuttle is right there and we are quickly at the terminal. The board indicates that the flight is ‘in range’ and within 5 minutes the luggage carousel is spitting out bags. Michelle’s bag has gone around a number of times before she arrives, and we are so happy to see her again.
We shuttle back to the car, navigate our way out of the airport, and head smack dab into early traffic. Michelle hasn’t eaten since leaving Santa Fe in the morning, so we fix her a lunch in the airport parking lot and we snack. We go right through the heart of Pittsburgh so Michelle gets to see one of the famous Pittsburg inclines. We finally move off the interstate onto a local road and wind our way south, destination Ohiopyle State Park. More winding, sort of scary road. Mrs. Garmin wants to send us up this narrow, steep road and we rebel. Instead we stop and ask a kindly looking woman for directions and she sends us on a road that connects with Mrs. Garmin’s road but is much less scary. As we approach the park, we pass Kentuck Knob. At the park, we try out every possible electrified site before setting up in the first site we tried. I think they design the campsites so that they will drain, which means that they are lower on one end or one side. This means that we always have to raise at least 1 wheel and more typically 2. The idea of spending $2,000 on levelers keeps getting more and more appealing the more we fuss with leveling.
Bob, the camp host, comes over the welcome us. Once settled in, Norb heads for the campground entrance to pay our fee. Bob gives him a ride in Bob’s John Deere ATV-type vehicle. Norb chats him up and learns the man’s life story and much more. Bob has been doing this for 7 years, since his wife died. We decide he is lonely, and this is a way to meet people.
Interesting campground. Across the road from us are 4 yurts that rent out for $26 during the week and $45 on Friday and Saturday night. They come equipped with refrigerator, Coleman stove, electricity, beds, tables, chairs, and each has a wooden deck. In addition, there are cabins to rent in the park. It seems to me that tenters are being priced out. If you have a tent, you pay the same price for a campsite as the biggest RV that uses megawatts of electricity. Doesn’t seem fair to me. We haven’t seen any campgrounds that have non-electric sites where they charge less for the site. I guess it would be too expensive and too difficult to charge for the electricity based on your use, as I hear they do in Europe. There are 2 cyclists camped below us and they are biking the Allegheny Bike Trail from McKeesport, PA to Washington, DC. The trail is relatively level, but the climb up to the park almost killed them.
We eat a late dinner and get Michelle in bed. She has gotten up at 3:30 in Santa Fe and needs to sleep.
Foiled Again--4/29
Still raining when we wake up. Overcast and 42 degrees. We break camp and decide to wait to see if it clears up and dries out. It stops raining, so we hike to Ash Cave, a really huge cave set in a U-shaped gorge. We drive to Athens to search out the trail. Athens is the home to a University of Ohio campus and is a bustling place. Lots of young people moving around, a thriving downtown. But it still looks like rain, so we abandon the idea of a bike ride and head for Marietta, OH. The hills are a little less roller coasty than they have been, so the driving is a little easier. Norb observes that he is getting to feel more fondly toward interstates after navigating these curves and hills and inclines. While I am ready and willing to drive, he feels safer when he is at the wheel. Not my fault.
In Marietta we look for the Ohio River Museum, said to be open from March 1 until November 30. They lie. We find it. It isn’t open. We do gawk at the Ohio (it is huge, even here) and peek in the riverboats parked there. So we head for the Martius Museum, which holds the artifacts from a fort, the mound builders who lived in the area, and a variety of other things. They are not open on Tuesday. Busted twice. So we dejectedly drive on to Wolf Run State Park, where we are 1 of 3 campers in 104 campsites.
In Marietta we look for the Ohio River Museum, said to be open from March 1 until November 30. They lie. We find it. It isn’t open. We do gawk at the Ohio (it is huge, even here) and peek in the riverboats parked there. So we head for the Martius Museum, which holds the artifacts from a fort, the mound builders who lived in the area, and a variety of other things. They are not open on Tuesday. Busted twice. So we dejectedly drive on to Wolf Run State Park, where we are 1 of 3 campers in 104 campsites.
Hiking the Hocking--4/28
It has been raining all night. Love the sound of the rain on the roof of the RV. I think part of the pleasure comes from being warm and dry. It finally stops at 7 or so. We had planned to do the 34 mile bike ride on the Hocking Adena Bikeway trail from Athens to Nelsonville and back, but decide to hike instead because we figure the bike trail is going to be pretty waterlogged. Tomorrow we’ll do the bike trail. Today we’ll do the 6 mile hike to Cedar Falls and back. We drive down the ridge to the check-in parking lot, hike to the Visitor Center and read about local history, and then to Old Man’s Cave. This unglaciated area has been sculpted by water over the years and has stunning gorges and pools and waterfalls. The overlying sedimentary rock is harder than the underlying sandstone and as a result there are numerous caves that have been carved into the hillsides. The CCC’s were here in the 30’s and began creating the paths to some of the formations. Once you get past the paths from the parking lot to Old Man’s Cave, you are on part of the Buckeye Trail. This part is part of a proposed national hiking trail. In this part you need to do a lot of scrambling over rocks, climbing with the aid of roots, skirting mud. But it is stunning. We hike next to a fast running stream, in the bottom of a beautiful gorge. How I wish my camera was functioning! There are many trees that once clung to rocks and now have fallen and their roots make the most fascinating lacy tracery. We reach Cedar Falls, where the water is indeed falling with great volume over a ledge 100 feet above us. We decide to retrace our steps rather than hike along the top of the gorge and it is almost 2 by the time we are back to the RV.
Hunger. Headache. We head for Logan to eat lunch and check it out. Bush’s Restaurant looks likely. When we come in and see all the locals parked at the counter, we know we are home. Although there is a menu, there are sheets of paper taped up all around the counter, each listing an item from the menu and encased in plastic. Haven’t seen that way of presenting a menu before. I order beef and noodles, Norb gets the veal parmesan. The restaurant gradually empties out and we are the only ones left except for the waitress and the cook. We eavesdrop on their complaints about management—“Everybody is going to have to work on weekends.””I brought my kid in the other day and he reamed me out.” We gracefully exit to leave them in peace.
We stop at Wal-Mart for a few groceries and another basket for the RV (maybe the last one we’ll need). When we get back to the campsite, Norb gathers wood, so we spend a quiet evening in the RV. for a campfire. Later we eat light—Hahn’s hot dogs and chips. It is raining by then
Hunger. Headache. We head for Logan to eat lunch and check it out. Bush’s Restaurant looks likely. When we come in and see all the locals parked at the counter, we know we are home. Although there is a menu, there are sheets of paper taped up all around the counter, each listing an item from the menu and encased in plastic. Haven’t seen that way of presenting a menu before. I order beef and noodles, Norb gets the veal parmesan. The restaurant gradually empties out and we are the only ones left except for the waitress and the cook. We eavesdrop on their complaints about management—“Everybody is going to have to work on weekends.””I brought my kid in the other day and he reamed me out.” We gracefully exit to leave them in peace.
We stop at Wal-Mart for a few groceries and another basket for the RV (maybe the last one we’ll need). When we get back to the campsite, Norb gathers wood, so we spend a quiet evening in the RV. for a campfire. Later we eat light—Hahn’s hot dogs and chips. It is raining by then
In the Hocking Hills--4/27
It is 10 before we finally hit the road. On Mary and Ray’s recommendation, we take the Appalachian Highway (Hwy 32),heading toward southeast Ohio and Hocking Hills State Park. We like the blue highways; they are so much more interesting than the interstates. Mrs. Garmin leads us astray. It seems that there are 4 different Hocking Hills State Park locations. The trick is to find the one where the campground is, and we don’t have a specific address or a precise map. After wandering by Ash Cove, check out Stone House, and travel over the very hilly roads for an hour or so, we find a store and stop and ask for directions. They direct us to Old Man’s Cave and with great relief we find the check-in for the campground. Our usual process is to check out all the likely campsites looking for the most level one. We are getting spoiled at having a wide choice. There are 100 plus campsites spread out along a ridge and the ironic thing is that the site we choose is next door to 3 RV’s. We promise the group gathered around a campfire that we’ll be quiet. Half of them get into a car and leave shortly after and we find out that the 2 of the RV’s are owned by 2 couples, one from Michigan and another from Ohio, who met years ago at a Florida park and now get together somewhere twice a year. The other belongs to the camp host, who only comes to the campground on weekends until Memorial Day.
We gather wood from the forest, eat dinner, and build a campfire. The rain starts around 9:30 and sends us inside.
We gather wood from the forest, eat dinner, and build a campfire. The rain starts around 9:30 and sends us inside.
Over the Rhine & To The Cemetery--4/26
We go in search of Dan Corman, a friend of Norb’s from Chicagoland Bicycle Federation, who has moved back to Cincinnati and started an eco-friendly store in the Over the Rhine area. This is a section of Cincy that has seen better times and is hopefully on the rise again. We go to a wonderful bakery and at 10 in the morning there is hardly anything left. We look for a store that sounds eco-ish. It turns out to be a tchochtkes and art gallery. We ask if she knows Dan and she not only knows who he is and where his store is, but has his card at the front of the store. After buying a few thises and thats, we search out Dan’s store, Park + Vine. Very nice! He carries a wide range of products from baby clothes to paint to furniture made from bicycle parts. Sort of the Crate & Barrel of that kind of store. We buy fair traded organic coffee and organic cotton washcloths. Mary and Ray buy a stainless steel water bottle and a gift certificate.
We head for the cemetery and end of home, so Ray walks the dog and we head out again. This cemetery is a national arboretum with 6 or 7 of the largest trees of their species in the country. It is where the prime Cincinnati movers are buried among rolling hills and lakes. It was sited in the early days of the town and developed carefully by its caretaker. He planted trees to complement the gravestones, kept fences out of the cemetery, and encouraged tasteful monuments. They really liked obelisks back in the early days, so there are thousands of obelisks in the park. There is a gypsy section in the park, which we have seen before but can’t find now. We do find the Betts gravestone, where Ray’s parents, grandparents and half-brother are buried.
Jon, Mary’s son who is 4 months older than Shawn, comes to dinner with his wife Adrian and children Adele and Oscar. We show them the RV and Jon shows Norb his modifications to his car. He created a hydrogen-creating thing that uses the electricity generated by the car to separate the hydrogen and oxygen in water. It then injects the hydrogen into the combustion chamber and his measurements indicate that he gets 30% better mileage by doing this. It consists of 3 glass quart jars, an adjustment to the measuring device that determines how much gas to feed into the cylinders, and another device that measures the temperature of the exhaust. Dinner is wonderful. Mary is a great cook and everything is presented beautifully.
We head for the cemetery and end of home, so Ray walks the dog and we head out again. This cemetery is a national arboretum with 6 or 7 of the largest trees of their species in the country. It is where the prime Cincinnati movers are buried among rolling hills and lakes. It was sited in the early days of the town and developed carefully by its caretaker. He planted trees to complement the gravestones, kept fences out of the cemetery, and encouraged tasteful monuments. They really liked obelisks back in the early days, so there are thousands of obelisks in the park. There is a gypsy section in the park, which we have seen before but can’t find now. We do find the Betts gravestone, where Ray’s parents, grandparents and half-brother are buried.
Jon, Mary’s son who is 4 months older than Shawn, comes to dinner with his wife Adrian and children Adele and Oscar. We show them the RV and Jon shows Norb his modifications to his car. He created a hydrogen-creating thing that uses the electricity generated by the car to separate the hydrogen and oxygen in water. It then injects the hydrogen into the combustion chamber and his measurements indicate that he gets 30% better mileage by doing this. It consists of 3 glass quart jars, an adjustment to the measuring device that determines how much gas to feed into the cylinders, and another device that measures the temperature of the exhaust. Dinner is wonderful. Mary is a great cook and everything is presented beautifully.
The Flower Show & Other Things--4/25
Today is Cincinnati Flower Show day. Mary warns me that the flower show is a mere shadow of its former self. Interesting that as more people seem to be gardening, flower shows are declining. Chicago’s show is pretty poor these days and Cincinnati’s isn’t a whole lot better. There are some interesting container ideas, the dinner settings (standard for flower shows, it seems) are totally outrageous and devoid of ideas one could use at home, the flower display are okay but not outstanding. The vendors are profuse and it doesn’t seem that you have to have any connection with gardens or gardening to be a vendor at the flower show. At least in Chicago most of them have some connection to gardening. The setting is lovely however and the weather is warm. We stay for lunch, which is excellent. Luckily Mary made reservations a few weeks ago.
For dinner we go to a funky place on the Licking River called Knotty Pine on the Bayou. Imagine if you will a country bar with grossly uneven floors serving Cajun food. More customers than there are tables. Lots of noise (very hard to carry on a conversation). I wonder if it’s in roadfood.com, because it seems like a likely candidate.
For dinner we go to a funky place on the Licking River called Knotty Pine on the Bayou. Imagine if you will a country bar with grossly uneven floors serving Cajun food. More customers than there are tables. Lots of noise (very hard to carry on a conversation). I wonder if it’s in roadfood.com, because it seems like a likely candidate.
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