Monday, October 26, 2009

October Colors




October Colors

COLORS! Fall colors of reds, oranges, golds, electric yellow, Girl Scout green and deep fir tree green! Bright beige fields of field corn with mammoth green combines chasing up and down the rows, chewing up the rows of corn and spitting out huge clouds of dust, trying to beat the time clock of the approaching rain. They are all out this weekend!! Bud, Carol, H and I are down in Circleville Ohio to soak up all the bright hues before they are all gone till next year!

Thursday morning we hooked up the “mobile motel” behind the Jeep and the guys played leapfrog down I75 then Rt 68 thru the rolling hills and valleys of Ohio. As we went along we watched the racing combines, knowing the weather forecast that was to come would cut short their hurried harvest attempts. The rains arrived that night and stayed in Central Ohio for the days to come. Thursday afternoon we were parked side by side in AW Marion State Park, just a few miles east of Circleville and “The Greatest Free Show on Earth”! The renowned Circleville Pumpkin Show started in 1903 and was just the storefront pumpkin display put on by the Mayor of the city. It has grown to cover blocks and blocks of downtown streets. There are 2 parades a day from Wednesday thru Saturday each with a different theme. Several streets are totally blocked off from vehicle traffic and are filled with food vendors of anything and everything pumpkin - from burgers, pancakes, and donuts to cheesecake, fudge and ice cream! You’ll find games, rides, crafts, and pumpkin souvenirs. H took us all out to dinner that evening – out to the picnic table and the fire ring behind our trailer! The menu included baby back ribs finished there on the fire, mashed potatoes and green beans brought from our garden. We were too full to enjoy them so the Applesauce spice cupcakes had to wait for another day! We mellowed out and settled in to watch the mesmerizing fire of the campfire until it dwindled to just red coals before we each bid the other a good night and good rest.

That night the rains did come and pattered on the roofs of our shelters most of the time. And it rained on and off all Friday, sometimes quite hard. There were no farmers in the fields today. We had breakfast out and then went exploring the area, including Deer Creek State Park, 20 miles west of Circleville. Back in town we donned our rain jackets and sloshed thru a now and again puddle to see what was going on at the Pumpkin Show. Inspite of the drizzle and dampness – the streets were still full of festival goers. The streets were full but the rides were not! Enough was enough and we headed back to the quietness of our “mobile homes”. Drinks and hor ‘doovers were shared in the patch of dryness under the canopy of the trailer until it was time to go in for dinner at Bud and Carol’s motorhome. Then it was Bud’s turn to win at dominos!

Saturday morning was still wet and the ground is now covered with golden leaves that just yesterday all looked securely glued to the tops of the trees. We hugged our dear friends goodbye and waved them on their way back home and we slowly finished packing up. We moved on southeast towards Hocking Hills State Park via another one of H’s shortcuts - cross country and around back fields and colorful woods. Not too many trailers wander thru those winding, curvy, narrow roads but we did find a good place for breakfast. Just don’t ask where! We don’t have a clue! On our way thru the forest and the hills of the park, we stopped at several points and walked the rims of several deep wet gorges. Way too slippery with inches of newly fallen leaves covering slimy brown mud to attempt any ventures for us old folks to go down the myriad of steep steps to view the caves and cliffs from the bottom. Then there would have been the return climb back up those trails!

There is no wifi in the campground so we are now off again to find the Lodge and will borrow some of their wifi to send emails and to post this! We’ll chat again soon!