Hiking at Goll Woods

My sweetheart Mike, his children, and I took a walking tour of a state park last month. Our visit was to Goll Woods in Fulton County, Ohio, and a park ranger led a group of people along the trails, pointing out interesting things.


It was an unseasonably warm day, about 75 degrees, so there was a nice group of people. Right before the tour began, the ranger pointed out a little woodland critter, and here is the group getting a gander of this...


...a little frog! Not sure what kind of frog, but it was native to the woodlands.


One of the first things we learned about was the paw paw tree, which grows a fruit that tastes similar to a wild banana. There were none left for us to try though as the deer and squirrels got first dibs.


There were some very tall trees here. This is one of the very few remaining virgin forests in Ohio. Here is Holden craning his neck to look up at one while Corinne keeps her eyes close to the boggy area on the ground.


This is the largest oak in the area.


I kept taking pics of Mike because I think he is so cute! Love this pic of him.


I thought this rotting log was interesting as it was covered in moss.



The ranger was pointing to this tree and telling about how the peeling bark is often a good place for bats to nest and live. Glad I didn't see a bat!


I thought the tree stump was interesting too.


Red leaves in the trees. Unfortunately, due to the dry summer, there were not as many pretty red leaves as usual.


I liked the look of the sunny sky through the tree branches.


More pretties on the trail.


This tree looked interesting, especially the roots. I think that the roots on the right side of the second pic look a lot like a dragon's head.



The group on the move.


I couldn't resist a pic of my honey's cute butt as he hiked.


Holden in profile.


And Mike in profile.


A closeup of Corinne who has no idea of how beautiful she is!


And a pic of the three of them. No pics of me today. I was called home unexpectedly due to my son needing a ride to work, two hours earlier than he planned.


I found a pretty red leaf untrampled on the trail.


These heart berries were pretty. Bet they would be nice in a romantic centerpiece for the table.


More things that I found to be photo-worthy on the trail.



Before we left, we also toured an historic barn on the property. It is about 150 years old and was recently restored and being shown for the first time that weekend.



The view through a door in the barn. I call it "Oops, your barn door is open, but wow, I sure do love what I see!"


On the way to my car, I spotted this trail through a pine forest. It beckoned to me, so I will have to come back another time to explore.


A tree tunnel! I think these are so cool, and there are more down the road. What a unique way to leave the park!


It was a great afternoon with my sweetie and his great children. I liked that it was also totally free. You really can have fun in these trying times if you look for events like this. We all learned a little something too.

Hope you are still having wonderful autumn days!