Day 3 - Hillsboro, OH

This was a nice day of wandering around.  We saw some stuff and learned some stuff.

The Route
Various roads around Rocky Fork Lake.  OH-41 was the curviest and hilliest of them all ... it would have been fun in a Miata.  The GPS directed us along a few secluded, rough county roads just to keep things interesting.

About the Day
It was sunny, calm and humid.  The temperature climbed to 85°.

We left the campground at 10:30 with the intention of visiting Fort  Hill, Serpent Mound, Davis Memorial Nature Preserve and possibly Adena Mansion and Gardens.  It didn't work out that way.

Along the Way
We passed The Barnyard Cafe in Marshall a few times during our travels yesterday.  It looked interesting, so we stopped on the way to Fort Hill with the intent of getting a coffee and a donut.  We got breakfast and lots of conversation with a local.  It was OK.

Fort Hill is a Native American earthwork built by the Hopewell culture about 2,000 years ago.  The earthwork is 1½ miles in circumference, 6-15 feet high and 30 feet wide at its base in most places.

The memorial is deep in the woods.  There's a museum, a shelter house and a trail head.  The museum is only open on Saturday (May to October) from noon to 5pm.  This stop was disappointing.

The Museum

Shelter house area is very peaceful

Serpent Mound is the world's largest surviving example of an ancient animal effigy mound.  We viewed the educational film and walked around the mound.  It's possible that several cultures used and amended the site over time.  It's a marvel that demonstrates cultures of great intelligence and commitment.

The grounds are beautifully maintained.

The tower offers the best view

It's a long way up.  Will I?

Yes!

View from the tower

You can walk around, but not on the mound.

Davis Memorial Nature Preserve probably exists, but we couldn't prove it.  We see it on the Ohio map.  We drove miles up and down OH-32, OH-73 and OH-41 without seeing any signage.

Pike Lake State Park replaced Adena Mansion and Gardens on our itinerary because it was getting late in the day.  We visited there 4 years ago when we created "Ohio State Campgrounds ... A Trailer Traveler's View".  The earth dam rebuild looks very nice and the lake has some nice boating, fishing and swimming amenities.  The camping areas still need work.

Interesting Views

This grain handling tower was impressive.

This three-horse Amish wagon waits its turn.

The Campground
Camper traffic has been increasing steadily all week.  We think the campground is sold out this weekend.  It's a pretty tame group so far, but there's a lot going on around us.

Tomorrow
We're making waffles for breakfast and going to the Highland House Museum in the afternoon.