The Journey Home (OH & KY) - December 27, 2008

We began our journey home at about noon today. We decided to again try to avoid the interstate highways and take a meandering, scenic route. We headed south and stopped for a Lustron Home in Circleville, Ohio -- the only one that was constructed there. Then onward to Chillicothe. And what do you think we saw as we were heading into town on Hwy 23 but a Fireworks Tree! We'd been keeping our eyes open for one of these for months now and there one was! After the Biologist stopped hyperventilating, we stopped to take photos. It was a bit damaged from the remnants of Hurricane Ivan that passed through Ohio earlier this year, but it was very cool just the same.

We spotted quite a few Painted Quilt Barns on our journey but only stopped at four of them, three in Ohio and one in Kentucky. They were fun to look for as we wandered along.


We made a planned stop at the Fort Hill State Memorial in Hillsboro, Ohio, to once again search for a North Country Trail sign. We knew the trail passed through this park jointly with the Buckeye Trail, but weren't sure if it would be marked as such. As luck would have it, it was! We would love to have hiked on the trail for a bit to view the 1 1/2-mile long Hopewell Indian earthwork hilltop enclosure, but all the trails were closed for the hunting season. What we did see of the park, though, was very nice and we'd love to make a return visit.

A little while later we passed through Peebles, Ohio, on the historic Zane's Trace and spotted a historical marker at the old Wickerham Inn and stopped to read about it. Not only was it used as a hiding place for runaway slaves when the Underground Railroad was in operation, it's also listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is reported to be Haunted by the Ghost of a stagecoach driver who was murdered and beheaded in the tavern! Yikes!!

After getting back on the road, we soon passed by what looked like a golden plow. We just had to know what it was so we turned around and went back. It was a Peace Monument! Who would have thought?! It was a monument to commemorate the World's Plowing Match held near Peebles in 1957 when Northern Ireland, Sweden, Germany, New Zealand, and many other countries came together peaceably for a common purpose. Wow! I mean, we were out in the middle of NOWHERE!

A bit later we finally made it to Kentucky and stopped at just a few of the Kentucky Historical Markers that we passed on our way to Lexington for the night. We learned that Mason County is the only major hemp-producing Kentucky county outside the Blue Grass area, the last Kentucky raid by CSA General John H. Morgan and the Raiders occurred in Mays Lick, Daniel Boone's last home in Kentucky was near Carlisle, and the historic home of Kentucky governor and United States Senator Thomas Metcalfe is in Carlisle.

We pulled into Lexington shortly after dark and grabbed a quick bite to eat before retiring for the night to re-energize for the next day's adventure.