There are a number of places where the terrain itself is interesting, but during the summer the foliage may partially obstruct your view. One of those places is Clifton Gorge State Nature Preserve. We visited there mid-November, but given our recent melt, it would look similar now.
And here are some views of the Little Miami River downstream. They also show more of the river due to the lack of foliage.
During our November visit we hiked to the eastern-most Read more ➜ Clifton Gorge after the leaves have fallen
There are a number of places where the terrain itself is interesting, but during the summer the foliage may partially obstruct your view. One of those places is Clifton Gorge State Nature Preserve. We visited there mid-November, but given our recent melt, it would look similar now.
And here are some views of the Little Miami River downstream. They also show more of the river due to the lack of foliage.
During our November visit we hiked to the eastern-most Read more ➜ 
This fall Bob and I visited Rising Park in Lancaster, Ohio. The big attraction there is the view from the top of Mount Pleasant. Both of us wanted to see what the view would look like when blanketed in snow, so we went back to take some more photos a week or so ago.
If you look at the top photo you'll see that I was standing behind a safety rail. It was disheartening to see that there were tracks in the snow up to the edge of the cliff. Especially considering 
We returned to Conkle's Hollow in early January. Snow blanketed the hollow while icicles edged the cliff rim. When the slightest breeze stirred the fir boughs, snow wafted down catching the light as it fell.
We stuck to the lower "Gorge Trail" which was covered with snow and ice; it might have been slippery, but we were wearing YakTrax over our shoes, so we didn't slip at all (if you are unfamiliar with this winter gear, we discuss it here). A trickle of water was flowing at the 
Last weekend's sunny, warm weather encouraged us to go for a hike around the Rim Trail at Conkle's Hollow. I just wanted to share a few photos, so you could see how beautiful this area is.
Panoramic exploration
This is such a beautiful trail. I took several panoramic photos, but there's always the question as to how to present such long, skinny photos at a blog. So I'm trying something new. I made a one-minute video were I am basically just panning 
I struck gold in central Ohio! Although many trees have completely dropped their leaves, there are still large swaths of forest that are decked out in yellow. I stopped by two parks this week. On Thursday I visited the Sharon Woods Metro Park (part of the Columbus/Franklin County Metro Park system), and on Saturday I went for a walk in Char-Mar Ridge (part of Delaware County's Preservation Park System).
Sharon Woods
Char-Mar Ridge
Although 
This weekend we went to two sites to take in the fall color: Airplane Rock in the Hocking State Forest and Christmas Rocks State Nature Preserve in Fairfield County. The trees in Hocking State Forest were just starting to turn colors, so we felt that we were there a little too early to see the colors at their peak. We were also surprised that there was a crowd of people at Airplane Rock. In contrast Christmas Rocks is a bit farther north, and it was definitely more colorful. In addition Bob and 
Previously I've discussed Louis Bromfield's home at Malabar Farm, the Bacall/Bogart wedding that was held there, and the beautiful fall foliage. Today I'd like to address the farm itself. While facing the big barn with the mural, you'll note a small sign pointing toward a downward ramp to the left. If you go down this ramp, you can check out the farm animals like the attractive rooster above. Below are a few more animals in and around the barn.
Typically there are some 
It was sunny, cool day today... perfect weather for seeing the fall colors! We visited two state parks in northeast Ohio: Mohican and Malabar Farm. At Mohican we climbed the very tall fire tower, visited the Gorge Overlook and drove to Pleasant Hill Dam. I think that the Pleasant Hill Dam was my favorite spot at Mohican. The biggest problem with the Gorge Overlook is that there are a lot of conifer trees on the opposite side of the gorge, so it's not as colorful as some other spots.
We 
Here's several photos from the area around Boch Hollow. They were taken September 29th, 2012.
Boch Hollow is a State Nature Preserve in Hocking County, a bit south of central Ohio.
While visiting Shawnee State Park, we decided to stop off at the park's nature center, and we're glad that we did. It turns out that this is the only nature center operated by our state government where the public can touch or hold the local wildlife. The wildlife that was present during our visit consisted of various reptiles and amphibians. In the topmost photo, the park's naturalist lifted an Eastern ratsnake from the terrarium and held it so that visitors could touch it's skin. If a guest was