Good-bye (for now) Cook Forest
Monday, June 21, 2010
Thursday was our last day in the forest. We had a big pancake breakfast . . . blueberry, banana or plain pancakes were the options. I tried them all and the blueberry were my favorite and the banana my least - too much banana flavor for me. I like to taste the pancake. Also, FYI, maple syrup is really reasonable there (compared to our outrageous prices here in OH). It's also local! I meant to get some for home but of course I forgot.
My parents left after breakfast - and after Caine caught six MORE fish. Geesh. Those too were cleaned and taken home. Seemed excessive. I packed up the cabin and then packed up some lunch. This morning the plan was our big hike in the old growth forest. After my parents left we set out with our map and a general plan - of course we did not stick to the latter.
This was an awesome hike. It was easy to moderate by my standards (though I was not the one with a
toddler in back-carrier). I'd guess we did about 2 miles or more in the forest before stopping for lunch then another mile or more back to the cabin.
Most of Cook Forest and PA in general - heck the entire east coast or US for that matter - was logged in the early 1900s (and earlier). Some stands of virgin or old growth or original forest did remain though. Cook Forest has some large sections of this and let me tell you the trees are amazing. You get so used to trees being huge! On the drive home it looked like we were passing saplings and basically just sorry excuses for 'forests.' Many of these old hemlocks and white pine are over 300 years old - many as high as 150 feet tall, and some as wide as 4 feet! I love hiking for so many reasons but one of them is that it can really be a very spiritual, centering and calming experience. This forest was beautiful and reflecting on the trees and really the whole natural setting can really put just about anything in perspective.
I hope to make stops in Cook Forest annually. I'd really like to try more advanced hikes as J gets older and more capable. He hiked part of the Ancient Forest Trail and he hiked nearly the entire way back so I think we have a good lil hiker in the making.
posted by Shannon @ 21.6.10,
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Cook Forest - Part 3 / Day 2
Sunday, June 20, 2010
Everyone slept great in the little cabin. We did have to leave a flashlight on all night in the front corner where J could see it but we really couldn't. He had kept saying 'too dark' the night before at my mom's. Normally the dark doesn't bother him but maybe in a new place it does. We got up and got started on breakfast right away . . . some gimme lean and bell pepper frittata which turned into scrambled eggs with my egg skills. It was also overcooked by others' standards but not mine. We were all cleaned up and ready to go when my parents finally showed up - without breakfast. They'd been driving around looking for someplace that was open; no McD's out there! We managed to find stuff the kids would eat and we planned our morning. Since it was a bit overcast and drizzly we decided to spend the first half of the day in and out of the car at various stops instead of doing a hike.
We started at Seneca Point & the Fire Tower. THIS is exactly the hike we had in mind when we bought a backpack carrier for J. Oh, and it's not really a hike so I guess it's exactly the SPOT we had in mind. :) It *could* be a hike and a very strenuous/rewarding one at that, which is why we opted out this time. I didn't climb the tower but took lots of pictures while D took all the kids up. Daredevil J wanted out of D's arms the entire time but it's not really a very secure tower so that wasn't happening. While D fought to hold onto the wiggly toddler, Alana kept climbing too far ahead. I don't think D had very much fun up there.
Next we headed over to Seneca Point which is a combination lookout and playground. The playground part is how all the rocks are formed with gaps and tunnels and whatnot that create a very non-kid-friendly playground. We didn't have any adventures this time, much to D's dismay. I'm not sure what he expected hauling a 2-yr old on his back. It was windy and the kids were bored so we didn't stay too long. On the way out we spotted a deer and I managed to get within 10-feet of her, taking photos the whole time.
After a stop at the Museum & Educational center and Memorial Fountain we did some souvenir hunting which was really disappointing. I'm sure the kids enjoyed it. I'm also pretty sure that stuff was crap when I was a kid too but realizing it sort of ruined the memory.
After lunch Caine hit the fishing pond, and this time he quickly caught the daily maximum of six fish. I occasionally eat fish, but I was really tired of seeing dead ones and I didn't even like how they tasted the night before. These were cleaned and frozen to take home. That afternoon it had warmed up so we went back to the swinging bridge (had to check the status of the palomino) and back to the swimming hole. Though the water was just as cold it was hotter out so it was a nice balance . . . for a few minutes versus a few seconds.
J fell in once while bent over splashing. He was shocked and kept saying "too wet; too wet." He bounced back quickly though he stuck to his favorite game of throwing rocks instead of splashing in the water with his hands. We spent quite a bit of time there - right up to dinnertime actually.
Splish-splash!
Oh no, man down!
"too wet; too wet"
My parents decided we should go out to eat that night at the restaurant at their motel. I was dubious at best. My father likes to drag us to places that serve barely edible food. This place was actually pretty good though. It was standard mom-n-pop type food but it was good. For the second time in the past decade I shocked the server when I ordered a reuben . . . without meat. She just stared at me and then asked what I did want . . . cheese? sauerkraut? dressing? Yep, that's what a reuben without cheese IS so yeah that's what I want. I was nice, mainly because I was so amused. The running joke at the table as to why dinner took so long to arrive was that the cook was STILL staring at our ticket because of my sandwich order. It came out right and yummy!
D got to have Yuengling on draft in a Yuengling pint glass too! He planned to pocket it on the way out but my dad said he'd check first to see if we could buy it. First the server reported that no, they were not for sale and D was really disappointed because now they'd notice a missing glass. But she returned about ten minutes later saying that had been a cover so the other patrons didn't hear and that we could indeed purchase the glasses (she was whispering). We bought a pair. Pays to have beers with the owner I guess!
You also get a free toy with all kids meals. I thought about the Orca for J but then decided on the manatee because we see them at the zoo a lot. Of course J hates it. First he mourned the teddy bear he say the owner with, then he lamented over the whale Caine had. He still only likes to throw his manatee and laugh evilly. Sigh. Toy FAIL.
No smores that night. We went to the ice cream shop and though they no longer carry Teaberry flavor or bubble-gum they did have Peanut Butter Cup which is not what you may think. It's not the candy bar but instead it's chocolate ice cream with ribbons of peanut butter. YUM!
posted by Shannon @ 20.6.10,
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Cook Forest - Part 2 / Day 1
I'm not sure when most people plan their summer vacations. I think I started a bit early but by the time I had anything figured out I heard quite a few people had theirs planned as well. After quite a bit of discussion, we decided to stay within driving distance, preferably within 5 hours driving distance, of home. Maybe it's surprising, but this actually gives us quite a huge number of places to choose from here in Ohio. We narrowed it down further to something "outdoorsy" and still had plenty of options. I really wanted a beach trip but thanks to BP that's wasn't a gamble I wanted to take. We decided on Lake Erie (I mean it's 'pret near' St. John in almost - ah - well - zero ways). The lake is relatively shallow but we wanted to give the water time to warm-up a bit and pushed that to August. After plans for a family vacation (on both sides) never materialized, I took advantage of the fact my mom was sitting my niece and nephew somewhat last-minute in June for a week. I suggested Cook Forest and it all came together wonderfully.
We rented a 1-bedroom state cabin in the grouping called the Indian Cabins. These are organized in a circle around the shower facilities. I gotta say my largest concern was the shower because in the 80s those things were grimy spider homes! But they've been completely redone and they were really, really nice! Really! Even with the lil spider living in #3 it was spacious and clean and made the excursion that much easier. My mom even implied she would consider staying there now. This time they got a motel about 10 miles outside the park because my mom said she no longer wanted to "rough it." I'm pretty sure we weren't roughing it. We didn't have running water but it was about 20 yards away. That was as rough as it got.
We planned only to stay 2-nights (3-days) as we thought that would be plenty of time with a toddler in the woods. I regret we could not have planned a longer stay. We jammed a lot into that time though we started off slow. We arrived just before nap time so we unpacked, ate lunch, and put J down. Thankfully he fell asleep quickly. The kids were bored though so Caine headed off to the Children's Fishing pond while my mom & I took Alana on a short hike.
As you enter the Indian Cabins area you cross a bridge where Tom's Run has been dammed and the little pond it creates is the Children's Fishing Pond. It's kept stocked with trout and no one over age 12 is supposed to be fishing there. We saw that was not always followed that well but for the most part the pond was always swarmed with kids. Caine caught a total of 15 fish over three days. His first 3 were during J's nap and ended up accompanying dinner that night.
After J's nap we did the same hike again but with the entire group. This is the BIG hike - big in anticipation and excitement. It was the hike to the swinging bridge, always a crowd-pleaser. If you saw my previous post you saw one of many photos on the swinging bridge when I was a kid. It's a suspension bridge that swings and sways and bounces too depending on how gently (or crazy) you cross it. I didn't like taking J across. Funny that earlier that day the bridge seemed to be in fine shape and completely safe for J. Once he was actually on it though I noticed all sorts of hazards and was totally freaking out. I put D in charge of bridge crossings as he was clearly less obsessive than I.
Earlier that day, we had spotted what looked like a large koi in the stream, under the bridge , and my dad said it was a palomino trout. Very pretty. Caine wanted to catch it but my mother and I simultaneously nixed that idea with "What?!? Why?!?! No!" After splashing in the water, and a rescue mission for a lost sandal in the stream, we continued on the path to a waterfall. The stream makes an S-turn at the waterfall and the water has room to spread out and slow down with the help of a little rock dam. This has always been a favorite place to splash and wade in the water. This year the water was nice and deep but also icy cold. Though we all waded in the water a few seconds, Alana was the only one able to brave the cold for long; she left soaked.
We got back just in time to make dinner - fresh caught trout and veggie dogs over the fire and of course smores. So far that day J was gaining confidence on the trails and in the water - and he was loving having his cousins to play with. We had packed cars and balls and some other toys that seemed to entertain every age group including my husband. An essential that night was an early bedtime due to sheer exhaustion on everyone's part. We had stayed at my mom's the night before and J had a hard time sleeping. Since we were sharing a room with him we probably made it worse and hence lost a lot of sleep ourselves. I don't drink coffee, but even if I did I still would have been draggin' by sunset.
posted by Shannon @ 20.6.10,
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Cook Forest - Part 1
I'm finally using my travel blog! Yeah! It's been a year's hiatus at least. Except for trips to Texas to visit the family, we haven't done a vacation since St. John last May. Cook Forest was similar but different too (in obvious ways).
My family vacationed in Cook Forest (which we always called 'Cooks Forest' but that's apparently wrong) for years. Each year we'd rent one of the state River Cabins which had running water and electricity but only pit toilets and often they were a bit of a hike away. The showers were located in the other state cabin area and we'd drive there. My aunts also rented cabins so there was quite a group of us. I now understand why this works so well.
In planning our summer vacations this year, I wanted to do something with family. I knew J would have an awesome time playing with his cousins. I had first set my sights on the younger cousins but that didn't work out. I didn't expect that the older two would enjoy J's company. I was so wrong. The kids had a great time. And what I learned was how nice it is to have older kids helping keep an eye on the little ones . . . not only that but having kids to entertain each other in general was great. Had D and I gone with just J our short trip would have been far less fun for everyone. J would have been bored and whiny and we would have been exhausted from entertaining him in addition to hauling him around on hikes.
Before I go into the trip in the next blog installments, I wanted to share some older photos of previous trips. Like I said, we vacationed there for many years. I can't recall how many exactly. I know it was in the mid to late 1980s with one final trip in the mid-1990s. Cook Forest is only about an hour and a half from my parents so I did go up on day trips with friends in both high school and college too as well as one day trip with my parents the summer I got married.
I really do love the place. I had not forgotten that, but I had forgotten why and how much I loved it.
Seneca Point, mid-1980s
Fire Tower, mid-1980s
Tom's Run mid-1980s
The water was higher this year & the waterfall in the back was flowing.
Swinging Bridge, mid-1980s
My grandfather, grandmother, self, brother, and father are pictured from left to right.
Tom's Run, under swinging bridge, mid-1990s
back row: my sister, cousing, brother
front row: self, cousin, cousin
posted by Shannon @ 20.6.10,
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