And when we arrived at Shawnee State Park Lodge it had snowed there too. Oh My...not the signs of spring we were hoping for!
We went in to have lunch and find out when we could check in....discovered a convention of Midoricon going on. We got a bit nervous and wondered if we had picked the wrong time....
It was interesting and educational.
We checked about check in time and found out that they were all checked out... so we went for a drive around till time to check in....Our first bird we saw was this lovely Blue Bird couple. They were checking out the Blue Bird houses in a field.
On the lake we saw Killdeer .....
There are creeks and streams everywhere. They sound wonderful and beautiful.
This Covered bridge was being restored....Timber Covered Bridge
This was coming down the hill side ....
Back to the Lodge and got this beautiful room.
With a balcony facing the woods.
This beautiful quilt hangs in the lobby.
The view from the dining room.....
There is a wonderful indoor pool and hot tub...which we used every evening. Wonderful!
There is a fun room too!!!
A few things we saw from our balcony....
Lots and lots of cute Squirrels everywhere!
This Tufted Titmouse found a goody left behind by someone....
Red-bellied Woodpecker..
The White-breasted Nuthatches flying around....
Robins were a plentiful!
The Dark-eyed Junco....we saw quite a few of them....
The next day was Beautiful! Warm all the snow was melted away! Just like we had ordered!
Before we could get out of the parking lot....we saw a commotion over on the side...we drove over and there were Northern Flickers and a Red-bellied Woodpecker .
Red-bellied Woodpecker...
We noticed a tree was budding out.....
On the lake were some Ring-necked ducks.
View of the Turkey Creek Lake
This was on a horse trail. There are some great horse trails and hiking trails.
Found some wild flowers blooming...
Along the road US 52, we found this stone and stopped to see what it was about...
It marked the Home of Gen. Nathaniel Massie one mile north of the mounument.
Behind were these stairs and of course we had to explore!
When we got to the top there were all these Tiger Lilies blooming and some other wild flowers.
Was a wonderful drive...we saw a lot of old barns and at times we could see the Ohio River and saw a barge being pushed down the river. This one area there were Daffodils on the hill side and down through the woods.
Tuesday was the best day! I heard that it had been 171 days since we had been in the 70's.
This was the day we decided to take our favorite walk along the Turkey Creek Lake.
There is this area, I guess for people to fish from.
While here we heard the Eastern Phoebe and then we saw him.
The path is marked with colored arrows to keep you on the right trail...but we knew our way....
Wood Duck couple swam by....
And yes we saw many Salamanders....
Then we found fresh signs of Beaver activity. We were hoping we might get a glimpse but no.....
Was very interesting.....
Can see the teeth marks on the picture below.
And this is a view of the Beaver's Dam.....
It was starting to get very warm.....Had to take our jackets off! What a wonderful feeling! AAHHH
I was so surprised to see butterflies! This is an Eastern Comma...
We also saw a Spring Azure too.
Got to look under rocks! Never know what might be hiding under them....
The Turtles were out in full force, sunning themselves....
Here are a couple swimming over to the log....
American Coot....
Pied-billed Grebe.....
We always walk to the bridge over the creek and turn around... (the rest of the hike it up hill and I just can't do steep hills anymore) But this is just long enough to enjoy looking for wildflowers, butterflies, turtles and all.
We watched them building the garden area with the twig fence around it. There is also a nice short walk through the woods behind the cabin. The trees are marked which makes it nice.
There is a creek on this walk too. It comes from the Dam spillway.
We took the drive up to Picnic lookout....We could see Portsmouth!
We watched some Downy Woodpeckers and found these pretty wildflowers.....
I think this is Coltsfoot wildflower....
More Tiger Lilies coming up.
On our last evening at the Lodge, we decided to try their Watermelon Martini and Cabin Cooler and have it on the porch in these rocking chairs that had been calling our name the whole time we were there.
This was the life! Warm and relaxing....couldn't have asked for a better ending to our stay at the lodge!
So if you are looking for a nice day drive because it is close for a day trip or a couple of nights of relaxation, I recommend Shawnee State Park Lodge....on the way home we went to Portsmouth and checked out the flood wall....
So I hope you enjoyed this view of my recent adventure....Have a great one coming up in May! So till next time!
(a selfie the old way!) Happy Springtime!
Great pics Terry. Our family had a reunion there several years ago. I was amazed that someplace that gorgeous was so very close to our home!
ReplyDeleteWe had a room on the third floor that included a pea hen on the balcony. It was fascinating to be that close to a peacock.
Thanks...sounds like you all had a great time! A good place to have a reunion.
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