Conkles Hollow; Hocking Hills State Park, Ohio

Thanks to BETH  (blog friend from Ohio),  we decided to check out one of her favorite places,  the Hocking Hills State Park,  near Logan, Ohio...  What a fabulous place!!!! Wow!!!!  I'm glad that the state has preserved this area.  There are fabulous caves,  hiking trails, hollows and yes,  WATERFALLS.   We spent two days there ---and took in as much of the park as possible. 

The most popular area is the Old Man's Cave area.  We saved that one until the 2nd day.  On the first day,  we saw the Ash Cave area and waterfalls,  the Cedar Falls area,  and the Conkles Hollow area..

Conkles Hollow is not one of the popular areas --but was truly one of our favorite places... Seems as if George and I always like areas which are not so heavily traveled and full of tourists.... IF you have not been to Hocking Hills,  you need to go there sometime,  especially if you love hiking in gorgeous wooded areas.  The trails are all in good shape (even though they had some damage from recent storms). 

Today,  I'll share some photos from our hike into Conkles Hollow....  This area was truly breath-taking... I felt like I had walked straight into heaven.   There were ferns and moss  and greenery everywhere... It was one of the most peaceful places I have ever been.

There are two waterfalls in that hollow.   One was inside a cave (named Lower Falls) ---and had a tiny tiny bit of water.  The other (Reckworth Falls)  was totally dry.  BUT--we are still so glad we visited this area...  Hope you enjoy the photos.  Click on them to enlarge.  The picture above shows our trail...

Can you see all of the ferns on the hillside?  AND--look at the moss on that big boulder.

Here is George on our path.... We both were blown away by the beauty in this area.

This picture shows some of the many caves and rock formations in this area.

We walked inside of this cave to check out the waterfall...  But --the best view was looking back outside!!!!

Doesn't this area look like paradise????  We loved it!!!!

I love this picture that George took of the moss growing on the log.... And--you can see a close-up of some of the trillions of ferns.

Finally,  here's one last photo of Conkles Hollow...  Don't miss this little hike --if you get to Hocking Hills!!!!  It is so peaceful and just plain AWESOME!  Thanks Beth (and others) who have promoted Hocking Hills on your blogs...  That's why we went there!!!

Have a wonderful day.
Hugs,
Betsy

Family and Friends

Since taking a Blog Break from Sept. 9-25,   George and I have had the advantage  of being with some family and also meeting some more fabulous blog friends...

First we went to Buffalo, NY, to visit George's daughter, Kelly and hubby Chuck...  We had a fabulous time with them, and they took us to some really GREAT places --including some of their favorite restaurants...Above is a picture of George's gorgeous daughter and the love of her life.  This picture was taken on the American side above the Niagara River at the Whirlpool State Park.   On the left side near the top,  you can see a bit of the Spanish Aero Car as it moves across the gorge.  Below are more!

Here are the four of us.  I had a terrible time with this picture.  I couldn't get the lighting right no matter how much I worked on it... I even cropped it a bunch --so that you could see faces... Oh Well!!!!!  BUT---this is one of the few times,  the 'shorty' in the group (ME) was TALL.... ha ha (We were all standing on steps, and I got the TOP one!!!!)

After leaving Buffalo,  we met  blog friend,  LINDA  and her hubby Bob,  at the Cracker Barrel for dinner in Erie, PA.   The neatest thing about meeting blog friends is that you feel as if you have known each other FOREVER... It was wonderful meeting them.  We could have talked forever. Above is a picture of Linda and Bob.

Here is a picture that George took of Linda and me.  She is such a wonderful friend--and a great photographer!!!!

Then--this past Saturday,   we met another blog friend and his family.   Blog friend, LARRY,  his wife Bev and her sister, Pat,  actually came to Crossville... They have a new RV ---and were camping at the Beanpot Campground near us.   We took them to dinner at one of our local restaurants,  the Catfish Cabin.  Then we visited them for awhile at their campground.  Larry has a 'cooking blog' ---and both he and Bev can really cook...  Yum!!!!  It was a neat visit ---and we enjoyed meeting this wonderful family.  Above is Larry,  Bev and Pat with their furry babies!!!!

Finally,  here is a picture that Pat took of the other four of us beside their gorgeous RV.   They are planning a trip to Texas in their RV sometime in the next few months.  It is a beauty!!!!

We love meeting blog friends ---and have been fortunate to have met several wonderful families... If you have not met your blog friends yet,  I hope you will make the effort to do that.  It makes the relationships even better!!!!!

AND--to the blog friends who live in PA, Ohio, and West VA---we apologize for not working it out to meet you on this past trip.  This trip was hastily planned --and we truly didn't know what we were doing until the last minute.  We'll try to come back and meet you the next time ---along with others along the way...

Have a wonderful day.  We'll be gone most of the day today!  Have to go to the 'city' (Knoxville) for some appointments and errands.... 
Hugs,
Betsy