The Adventures of Lewis and Clark in the 21st Century: Saturday morning Farmer's market, The Ledges and Par 3 golf courses

The first thing on our Saturday morning docket was the local Farmer's Market. We had noticed the signs when we first arrived and we were looking forward to buying some fresh produce.

The town of Hudson is truly picturesque. It is Americana with a capital A.

A HOME ACROSS THE STREET FROM THE TOWN SQUARE AND FARMER'S MARKET

The Farmer's Market is extremely popular. The place was hopping and the options were abundant. We could choose from tons of produce, meats, cheeses, breads and miscellaneous items. I did not take many pictures. It just seemed like an invasion of the really good karma of the place.

SOMEONE WAS SELLING LOVELY FLORAL ARRANGEMENTS IN SMALL CONTAINERS.

We spent a bit of time just enjoying the atmosphere and chose a few things to take with us.

We got back to Lewis, loaded the girls and headed for a hike. Rob had found a trail called The Ledges.

It is one of the most scenic hikes in the Cuyahoga Valley. It’s rocky and rough, so make sure you’ve got sufficient footgear. There are striking, canopied hemlock trails to moss-covered rock formations, ferns, Ice Box Cave, and more at the Ledges. The payoff to the hike—good for more advanced hikers and those testing out new shoes, packs, and gear—is the amazing cliff ledge overlook and massive rock staircase. Or you can access the overlook from the parking lot for an easier reward. Steep in spots, this is a hike that makes you think you’re not in Ohio anymore; perhaps somewhere else in the world entirely, surely not the Cleveland-Akron area.

We truly did feel like we had stepped into a different world. The trail was dark and cool. Annie Belle had returned to full four paw drive so everyone really enjoyed this excursion.

THE ROCK FORMATIONS ARE PRIMARILY SANDSTONE AND ARE FILLED WITH BOTH VERTICAL AND HORIZONTAL SPLITS AND LAYERS.

THERE ARE HUGE TREES SEEMINGLY HANGING ON FOR DEAR LIFE. SOME OF THE ROOTS GROW EXTERNALLY ALONG THE ROCKS

ABUNDANT BREAKS AND LAYERS

THIS PARTICULAR SANDSTONE.FORMATION WAS COVERED IN SMALL HOLES. I HAD NOTICED THIS ON MANY OTHER LARGE FORMATIONS.

Sandstone rocks with holes are known as porous sandstones. The porosity is formed when spaces are left during the cementation process. The cementation process is when a liquid form of a mineral such as calcite or quartz “glues” the sand grains together. The holes that are left are great places for storing water or oil. Some sandstones have more holes than other depending on the amount of calcite or quartz

that fills in between the sand grains.

I also noticed this little gem along the way.

A CALM BUT ACTIVE HORNET'S NEST. AN AMAZING WORK OF ART.

SEE THE HORNET EYEBALLING ME FROM THE ENTRANCE?

I used my zoom to photograph the nest. I did not want any of us near these stingers.

The Ledges Trail is a great hike. It is moderately difficult but worth the effort.

It had gotten warmer and we had worked up a bit of a sweat so we loaded the girls and left in search of a creek. Penny Lane needed for a swim. We found a covered bridge and we were able to gain access to the water below.

AS WE WERE WALKING ACROSS THE COVERED BRIDGE, I SAW THIS LITTEL TOY CAR JUST SITTING ON THE RAILING.

Penny Lane had her swim. Rob used his socks as fetch toys. How can he wonder why she steals socks? Annie Belle played the quiet observer. Penny was wet, filthy and happy and Rob and I had cooled off with a good foot soak in the cool creek. I watched a young family of mom, dad and two little boys play. The boys were in heaven. A summer day, a cool creek and rocks. Fortunately for us, they were well supervised and all rocks were throw in a direction opposite us.

We finished our soak and took the girls home. They were tired and happy.

We had our golf clubs in the back of Clark so we decided to go to a Par 3 course that we had noticed the day before. It is also in the National Forest and is very inviting. We each picked a few clubs and decided to walk the course. Par 3 courses are fun. Not too long, the pin is always visible and it is just more relaxing. A portion of it ran along the creek and we had to cross railroad tracks to get to holes 6 & 7.