Belinda's Mail Bag and Comment Box

Mike the Moose and Belinda got a letter from Bette Lou when she took a hike in the Cleveland Metroparks in October, 2016

Dear Belinda and Mike,

Well, you’ll never believe it, but I’ve been out hiking again (I think Grandma Gatewood has really taken over my life – in more ways than one)! Though I didn’t go too far from home, in many ways it sure felt like it!

This time the weather was pretty far from 90 degrees. Saturday, October 22 was dreary and damp and, though it wasn’t freezing, it definitely was NOT warm. That didn’t stop the busload of hikers that joined Debra Shankland from the Cleveland Metroparks on a tour of waterfalls in the park.

My friend Tina joined me on the bus which started at Garfield Park. We made our way to Buttermilk Falls in North Chagrin for our fist stop. A beautiful area with a nice visitor center and a very large snake statue! Though there seems to be no information about why Buttermilk Falls is called Buttermilk Falls (though Debra had a theory it had to do with how often you had to “wash” the milk to get buttermilk), the statue apparently is a tribute to a claim of a real snake in the area that was 50 feet long and weighed 400 lbs! Happily, we did NOT see the real thing!

From there we headed to the Great Falls At Tinker’s Creek. If you think “great” is a hyperbole for a waterfall in a city park – think again! The site of an old mill, it’s pretty clear that the water power was more than sufficient for the job. The whole area is truly historical and wonderful signs followed the trail to tell the stories of buildings from the past which include the saw mill, an electric power plant, the Viaduct of the Cleveland and Pittsburgh Railroad Bridge from 1854 and a 510-foot-long stone archway built between 1901 and 1902 that is an amazing sight in itself.

On the other side of Bedford Reservation, we not only hiked down to the beautiful Bridal Veil Falls (it really does have the look of a watery veil!), but our trek actually took us on a piece of the Buckeye Trail! I don’t know if Grandma Gatewood ever hiked this part of the trail, but I’m sure if she did, she would have loved the falls!

We headed to the club house of Shawnee Hills Golf Course for a box lunch. We were all glad to be eating indoors. This last minute change to the agenda, which originally was supposed to be lunch outside, was appreciated by all – most of whom went directly to the counter to order hot coffee! Sandwiches, coffee, good conversation – a perfect lunch stop!

On to Cleveland’s westside to Berea where we visited the falls on the east branch of the Rocky River. This stop was a short walk from the roadway to a nice overlook of the falls and a view down river -- more “city-falls” than the “woodsy falls” of the previous stops, but beautiful nonetheless.

The last stop was back in Garfield Hts. where we visited “The Cataract of Mills Falls”. A strange site in the middle of the city, this, too, was the site of an old mill. The Ohio Historical Marker text for the spot was written by our leader, Debra Shankland, who got her first official picture taken with her marker by Tina and me!

Unlike the canaI hike in Maryland, this wasn’t an exhausting hike in spite of the less-than-perfect weather, but it was an exhilarating one to see such beauty surrounding this urban area AND to hike a part of the Buckeye Trail!

So, let’s see – I think I’m up to about a quarter of a mile on the Appalachian Trail and maybe about the same amount on the Buckeye Trail (combining this trip with the Findley Park trip from the Buckeye Trail hike for our Grandma Gatewood Festival in 2013 when our play premiered at TrueNorth). So if I keep at it, by the time I’m 150, I might have both trails done – a true section hike if there ever was one!

Of course, I’m sending some pictures. Hopefully, one day I’ll get to join you and Mike on a hike!

Always,
Bette Lou

Belinda says, "We'd Love to join you on a hike -- let us know when you're in the area!"

Berea Falls	Bridal Veil Falls
Buttermilk Falls	Mills Creek Falls

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