We then drove less than a mile to Red Lock on Vaughn Rd
by the Cuyahoga River. This is one of a number of locks
that were part of the Ohio-Erie Canal.
We hiked south from Red Lock along the towpath which parallels
the Cuyahoga River.
The Jaite Paper Mill operated here until fairly recently. Now
it's dismantled and the site is part of the park.
I think these flowers are grape hyacinth.
There were quite a few deer out.
We spotted these large black birds near the parking lot.
Hinckley Buzzards?
The next hike was down our local creek to see the falls.
Just a few backyards and then we cross officially into
the park.
These were scattered around. Not sure yet what they're called.
And here's the waterfall, probably a 20' drop.
Our third hike was attended by only adults. The boys were more
interested in playing games, so Lisa offered to stay with them.
We started at Brandywine Falls.
And then we decided to drive over to the Brecksville Station
and hike along the towpath from there.
We cross the tracks and then the river.
The Route 82 bridge soars over the river, railroad, and towpath trail.
The Station Road Bridge, open only for foot and bike traffic now.
Canada geese are a frequent sight.
Heron nests.
We're hoping for a glimpse!
A volunteer spotter for the park service was out on the
trail.
He'd brought a whole bag of artifacts and a scope trained on
the eagles' nest.
He told us that the eagles (scavenger, thief, and a coward!) appropriate
a heron's nest to use instead of building their own.
And here's vaguely what we could see through the scope. The
white head of the eagle is visible over the edge of the nest.
We also saw them fly in and out, but failed to get pictures.