Friday, September 20, 2013

Apple Cider Press

While we were still on vacation, we were privy to
an apple cider press demonstration...
right on the family farm.


I didn't know this thing existed.
Apparently, Dwayne's grandpa, who lived to his 90's,
bought this at an auction for $2.50!
It's now a collector's item.


Whole apples are ground up in the top part.
You really had to get the crank going to
grind some of the more stubborn apples.


Then the apple chunks drop to the barrel below.


There's a trickle juice starting.


The real magic happens when the apple pieces are pressed.


...and pressed,


...and pressed some more.


Look at that juice!


The "cake" by-product of pressing.


The family which enjoyed the apple cider pressing.

Wednesday, September 18, 2013

Vacation Part 8 - Ohio High Point

Just for fun we stopped at Ohio's highest spot in Bellefontaine.


To put this in perspective, the elevation where we live is around 666 feet above sea level.
Willis Tower (Sears Tower) in Chicago is 1,451 feet tall.


They had certificates you could fill out to prove you were there. 


"X" marks the spot.



There is a little bit of history at this spot as well.
The short story in case you can't read it:
It was a military radar station part of NORAD during the Cold War.
It ceased operation in 1969.
Now it is a vocational education center.

Tuesday, September 17, 2013

Vacation Part 7 - Rockbridge

While we were in the town of Rockbridge we had to go see the natural rock bridge.
We were told where to park and that it would be
a walk along a farmer's field.  Then a trail to the actual bridge.


1.75 miles.  Should be easy, it's along a field.


Even had a few boardwalks along the way.

We walked for what seemed like forever and then the trail turned into the woods.
Then we walked another span of forever up and down steep terrain.
Dwayne jokingly said, "Let's go see the rock bridge, she said...
It would be fun, she said."
Then the boys joined in on the fun.
I began to wonder if we'd made a wrong turn somewhere.


Then we came to this comforting sign.
Apparently we were heading in the right direction.


We never looked at a clock to see what time we started or how long we'd hiked...
let's just say it took a while.
We finally came to this view and we were somewhat disappointed.
You can barely see the natural bridge through the trees.


You can see it a little better.


The bridge was quite narrow in one spot and we walked quickly to get to the other side.


Here you can see the straight drop.
That drop starts about a foot from where I'm standing to take this picture.


Not very wide!


Another view below.
This picture does not show the depth very well.
Let's just say the fall would be very unpleasant.


We liked the view under the bridge much better!




There are two ways to see this rock bridge.
The hike we took or by canoe and a short walk.


The boys insisted I take this caterpillar's picture.
It it kind of cool looking.
Reminds me of a coat someone would put on a city dog.


The first attempt at a family self-portrait.
Turned out great except we completely missed Connor!


The second attempt.
Connor definitely made sure he was in it this time.


Some of the steep terrain...
that's a lot of change in elevation for us Hoosiers!
All of the wooded portion of the trail was like this.


I decided the man on this post has a walking stick and an oxygen tank!

Vacation Part 6 - Old Man's Cave

On Tuesday of our vacation we went to Hocking Hills State Park.


The roads in the area were very narrow but very pretty.


We decided to go to Old Man's Cave and hike the trails.


It was more like a giant crevasse between two enormous rocks than a cave.
Still had gorgeous views.


The lighting was shadowy on one side and very bright on the other...
made for interesting photos.


Inside the "cave".





Cool looking stone bridge.




There were a couple of rock tunnels.





Interesting exposed roots on this tree.


The boys' favorite tunnel.






Two bridges with contrasting architecture.


Truth be told, I didn't think this was a bridge at first.
From a distance I thought it was something under construction, until I saw someone crossing it.


I wasn't fond of this bridge.
No rails to keep you back (not that it was a long fall).


This was the main reason I didn't like it... the gaps in the steps.









Very cool stone steps.



The upper falls.


Nolan took this picture for us.
We asked if the falls were behind us.
Yep, right on Dwayne's head!



Looking down on the upper falls.