Cory: Today was cleaning day, and Mom and Dad were really busy getting the trailer ready to go home in a few weeks. So, Mom told me to go ahead and blog for her.
Lark: Finally, we are going home. I can’t wait to get back to my own yard. This being cooped up in the trailer is for the birds. Get it, coop. For the birds?
Cory: Lame. Well, we can’t start thinking about home too much because we still have a lot of beautiful places to go and see. I hope you are working on your behavior. As it is, you can go ahead and relax. I got this covered because you didn’t get to go to Cuyahoga Valley National Park.
Lark: No worries. I heard Cuyahoga Valley National Park was for the birds anyway.
Cory: HaHa. Run along. Cuyahoga Valley National Park is an urban park located on the south side of Cleveland, Ohio. The 33,000 acre park is long and narrow running from north to south along the Cuyahoga River. Cuyahoga means “Crooked River” in Native American. There are many Native American Nations who lived in the upper Ohio River Valley. Many are descendants of the Lenap’wak or Delaware Nation who do not believe in land ownership. The land is not a possession but nourishing and life giving.
Lark: Blah, blah, blah. Tell us about the park not ancient history.
Cory: Hush! It is important to understand the park and its impact on the area. As the Lenape’ were pushed farther and farther west, they crossed Pennsylvania and Ohio. In 1805, the Treaty of Fort Industry transferred 500,000 acres of land including the area of Cuyahoga Valley National Park to the Federal government in exchange for a $1000 annual payment to each of the seven tribes who lost land including the Lenape’. But, less than a decade later, all of the agreements of that treaty were voided and the Lenape’ had moved from Ohio to Oklahoma.
Lark: I still don’t get why that is important to the story.
Cory: Because, while the Lenape’ respected the land and the river, the people who came after them didn’t. While people began setting aside land around the Cuyahoga River for recreational and preservation purposes as early as the 1910s, by the 1960s, the Cuyahoga River was so polluted from factory waste and sewage, that the river caught fire.
Lark: No way. Water can’t burn.
Cory: Yes way. Water full of chemicals can. In 1952 and 1969, in fact. In 1974, area residents petitioned the Federal government to protect the land around the river and the area was designated the Cuyahoga River National Recreation Area. In 1987, the National Park Service began removing toxic materials from the soil and water around the river. In five years, they removed 371,000 TONS of contaminated soil and debris. Finally, in 2000, the park was renamed the Cuyahoga Valley National Park.
Lark: Sounds like the place is a mess.
Cory: No, it is beautiful now. Lots of trees and waterfalls. The park is home to muskrats, coyotes, skunks, red foxes, beavers, peregrine falcons, river otters and more. They even have seven species of bats that live there.
Lark: Bats? Spooky. I’m glad I had my rabies shot!
Cory: It is rare to get rabies from a bat. They are as afraid of you as you are of them.
Lark: I’m not afraid of bats. And hey, what’s a muskrat? Isn’t there a song about them? I think I heard it on the 80s channel Dad likes, “Muskrat Suzie, Muskrat Sam, Do the jitterbug, out in muskrat land.” Maybe they should call it Muskrat Valley National Park.
Cory: Just no. Now that song is in my head and I can’t get it out. Anyway, there are so many hiking paths and bicycle trails. Even horseback riding, kayaking and canoeing. The park, and the county parks that adjoin the National Park, are very dog friendly, and we saw lots of people out walking their dogs. Millions of people, especially residents from Cleveland and Akron visit the park each year and there is a lot to do there. People especially like to walk or ride on the Ohio and Erie Canal Towpath Trail which follows the historic route of the Ohio and Erie Canal. The canal, built between 1825 and 1832, created a route from Cleveland to Portsmouth allowing products and passengers to travel between Ohio and eastern United States.
Lark: Stop with the history already. What did you do?
Cory: We hiked to Bridal Veil Falls and Brandywine Falls. We drove on the twenty mile long Riverview Road and saw some cool historic buildings.
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Lark: Oh, boy. Sounds real exciting.
Cory: What if I told you we went for a ride on a train?
Lark: A train? Nobody told me about a train.
Cory: Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad runs right through the park. Lots of people ride their bikes or hike one way and then, return back to their car on the train.
Lark: Wait, did you go on the train?
Cory: You weren’t there so how would you know. Hum? Maybe you’ll never know because you were in the trailer in your crate.
Lark: TELL ME!
Cory: No. Dogs are not allowed on the train.
Lark: Oh. Good. I think. Anyway, is that all I missed? Waterfalls, historic buildings, hiking?
Cory: There is a lot more to do there. But, mostly.
Lark: Ok. Tell me when you are going to do something fun, and I’ll be there.
Cory: It was fun.
Lark: So, you say.
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