Today was a three-parter. We started off at the Beaver Marsh, since Kay had such a rip-roaring day there yesterday. We did see the Robin's nest and the Robin feeding her chicks, and far up in a sycamore tree we could see an Oriole's nest. We also chased a Sora through the marshy grass (they like to hide) and stalked a Great Blue Heron looking for lunch in the pond. We saw some yellow wild irises.
Our next stop was to try to get to what the Towpath Companion called the southern gate to the Towpath Trail, in New Philadelphia. We drove over 50 miles from the Beaver Marsh to new Philadelphia in search of Blake's Mill, which was listed in the guide. None of the locals we asked had ever heard of Blake's Mill and none even knew there was supposed to be a lock in town. We eventually found the lock, surrounded on both sides by chain-link fence. The buildings that were supposed to be nearby were harder to find. There is reportedly a building left from the mill days and a lock-keeper's house. The only structures we could find that fit those descriptions were obviously being used as private residences. Anyway, we got to see the lock, and even visualized how it will look some day when the trail is completed. We also got to see signs for the end of the Ohio Scenic Highway, and when we turned the car around, the beginning. This highway corresponds to the towpath trail and is a driving route a person can use to follow the trail.
Lastly, on our way back from new Philly, we stopped at a section of the trail off Dolphin Street outside Bolivar. This was a section we had not seen or hiked before. We walked about a third of a mile before turning around. If we had continued north, we'd have ended up at Craig Pittman Park in Navarre.
In our comfort zone
Off to explore the unknown
Many miles of trail!
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