Mohican State Park to Holmes County - Rte 62

"The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes." – Marcel Proust

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Now, with a couple of months of part time traveling under our belts, we returned to camp at a favorite spot, Mohican State Park near Loudenville Ohio. Time normally spent learning how to set up a new RV or learning about its components now can be directed to the great outdoors and the reason we wanted to RV in the first place. All the switches and readings and amounts and fears of doing something wrong give way to comfortable routines.

We had timed our trip east to include a service call at Craig Smith's RV in Galion, OH. We received a minor recall notice and the LTV sanctioned dealer there was able to work us into their schedule. The salesman pounced on us when we first entered the facility. They hadn't seen a Wonder Rear Lounge model yet and were anxious to add it to their line up. He offered to buy our RV on the spot. I told him he couldn't offer me enough that would keep his boss from firing him for paying too much.

After a restful night at Camp Walmart south of Mansfield we returned the favor by stocking up on Walmart groceries and then leisurely headed southeast toward Mohican State Park. Just a few miles outside of Loudenville on Route 97 we stopped at a memorial grounds sponsored by the Women's Garden Clubs of Ohio. This well designed and landscaped park paid tribute to Ohio’s War dead. The small stone chapel offered tribute to Ohio sons and daughters.

Across from the memorial grounds we found Park Road that leads into area on the other side of the river from Mohican State Park. Our first stop was along the south side of the Clear Fork Mohican River for some hiking. We parked near the bridge and headed west on the well marked trail to some unusual rock formations and falls.

After a couple hours hiking we drove east on Park Road, past the fire station tower a mile or two to a parking area high above the Clear Fork Mohican River. A trail from this point leads more adventuresome hikers down a steep incline to the river bottom.

Overlooking the Mohican River Valley from the parking area

After our morning hike, we weren't here for the trail but rather a place to crash as we waited for our campsite to become available. One of the nice features of the WonderRL are the multiple areas to relax. One can swivel and partially recline the front seats, or sit at a table in the front area or sit or recline in the rear lounge. The two powerful ceiling exhaust fans along with the help of a shade tree kept the temperatures comfortable for a quick nap..

Our site in the Mohican State Park, #140, was further into the campground area than our first experience. We found a level spot and appreciated again the abundance of trees. The paved parking and concrete patio were surrounded by a well maintained lawn area. It took me some time to figure out the trigger for the water source. I eventually called upon a neighboring camper who helped me get set up with the functional yet less than obvious on switch to start the flow of water.

We love the trails, river and nature found at Mohican SP. A recently completed swinging bridge opened up our options for additional trails across the river including one that would connect with the parking lot on the canyon rim mentioned earlier.

The biggest surprise of this visit in October was finding ourselves under a buckeye tree - the state tree of Ohio (Aesculus glabra). The buckeye fruit was dropping like incoming artillery. The pavement of our campsite was littered with the green balls and a couple hit the RV with a loud bang. On future fall trips we will opt for non-buckeye tree spaces.

We spent a couple days at Mohican State Park and in addition to trails toured some of the surrounding area. We came across this unique resort southwest of Loudenville. This place is a frequent site for weddings as it can house the guests plus has various venues for the ceremonies and festive events.

Next, we followed Rte 39 to Millersburg and famous Holmes County known as the Heart of

Amish Country. At Millersburg we passed by the Holmes County Courthouse (built 1886) with its gleaming copper dome and picked up the scenic Ohio Byway Rte 62 which took us east through the heart of Amish Country on a beautiful stretch of highway. Besides being a well maintained road there is a vista of farm life at every turn. It was flipping through the pages of a Better Farms and Gardens magazine. Almost every turn off this stretch of highway finds a side road that affords a glimpse of Amish farm life.

We made our Holmes County base at The Berlin RV Park and Campground. This well maintained is located west of Berlin and features a playground, pavilion, picnic area and wood trails among other plusses. We had trouble leveling on our site (#2) and they were kind enough to move us to #4 which helped somewhat. We were in one of the five spots high on the hill and believe leveling would have been a problem for most guests. Most of the sites below us were pull throughs and appeared to easier to gain a level set up. Note that these sites afforded us some beautiful views and we enjoyed the trees of the nearby woods. Tonight's meal Chicken salad croissants with Amish Dutch Cherry Pie from Troyers Wholesome Foods in Berlin.

From our Berlin base (BURR-linn not burr-LINN) we explored the village's many shopping venues. There are several larger department type stores such as the Sheiyah Market, a multilevel store with furniture, home goods and clothing. There are also many individual shops along the main drag.

The Colorful Cookery - Berlin, OH

Sue found a number of household items such as rugs and kitchen supplies while I enjoyed the company of other husbands as we people watched along Rte 62 as it passes through business part of town.

For lunch we had a wonderful pizza from an unusual place we stumbled upon. "The Colorful Cookery" is a little pizzeria stuffed between a couple of store fronts. It was certainly good eats and worth the visit. Berlin offers a number of specialty stores in addition to the home goods and clothing. Many visitors come for the concentration of outstanding furniture makers. On an earlier trip we bought our kitchen table crafted of fine maple with attention to detail.

Just outside Berlin is the Amish & Mennonite Heritage Center which houses a large 360 degree painting telling the story of these religious groups. We enjoyed the 25 minute lecture that took us around entire painting. Other museum artifacts tell the history of the area and these peoples. As we toured the building we overhead a couple of the staff talking among themselves in their traditional Pennsylvania Dutch language.

We took a quick trip north to our favorite hardware store, Lehman's, in Kidron, Ohio. Lehman's has everything and everything. From appliances to food to clothes to toys to cooking supplies and more. They also have many hard to find tools as well as tools from yesteryear that still get the job done today. We bought our Lotus Grill here and Sue has picked up a number of cooking supplies. Lehman's is not far from US 30. If you're in the area - it's worth a visit.

Back to Berlin and south we made our way through the back roads of Amish country and appreciated many beautiful farms along with some enterprising local businesses such as meat processing, honey, maple syrup, and more furniture builders. We stopped in Charm, Ohio. In the past we have appreciated seeing "Charm School" in large letters over the local elementary school. As we couldn't readily locate the school this trip we wonder if the classic old school building had to be razed. However, our main target in Charm was Keim Lumber. This place is amazing and its just doesn't stop. We're used to going to a large store like Lowe's or Home Depot and seeing a fixture or two in the bath departments. At Keim, every fixture is on display in a proper setting. The tool department not only has every tool but every power tool by many different makers. This is a a must see to believe retail establishment.

There are many good places to eat in and around Berlin. We asked where the locals eat and were directed to Boyd and Wurthmann Restaurant on the main street of Berlin. We managed to get a seat on a visit five years ago and enjoyed a great meal of home cooking. This trip, however, the secret was out and the line was too long and we had to pass on Swiss steak and a slab of cherry pie.

We enjoy this part of the state and found the industrious nature of this rural setting to be a fascinating study and a pleasurable destination and one to which we will return Along the Pooka Trail.