10- OCVN Week 7

This week we met at John Bryan State Park in Yellow Springs at the lodge. Greg Schumacher, ODNR geologist, presented a powerpoint show, talking to us about the glaciers that formed Ohio (other than the south east which is unglaciated). We learned words like karst, sedementary, Tennessee glacier period, moraines, kettle lakes, glacial till, etc.

One interesting activity we did outside involved a yardstick (with line markings across it) and a plastic dinosaur. Greg explained that the ice age in Ohio was relatively recent, a mere 16,000 years ago, which was represented by lines near the end of the yardstick. The other end of the yardstick represented 3 million years ago. Carrying his plastic dinosaur, Greg walked 20 steps into the past, set the dinousaur down, and said this spot represents the age of the dinosaurs, the jurassic period. It was a cool way to get kids to realize how long ago the dinosaurs actually lived.
Greg then presented each of us naturalists in training with a kit of different rocks and minerals, which will come in handy if we ever lead a geology program. These kits are free for groups from ODNR, put together by the inmates at the Ohio Correctional Institution.

After lunch we learned how to read a topographic map. We took a hike and explored some rock formations (slumps) in the park.

Then we crossed a bridge over the Little Miami River and hiked up into a small gorge.

We saw trillium, trout lily, water leaves, and many other wildflowers along the way. It was tough getting up the last few feet of the climb. But I made it. After taking some pictures we headed back down. We crossed the bridge and took another trail, more flat and along the river, back into the parking lot. There were many red cedars in the picnic area. This park is perhaps the most beautiful park we have been in so far. I would like to return one day, bring my bike, ride on the bike trail in Yellow Springs, then hike/lunch in the park. A wonderful adventure to dream about!