Barkcamp State Park, Belmont, Ohio
When the news reached Pharaoh’s palace that Joseph’s brothers had come, Pharaoh and all his officials were pleased. Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Tell your brothers, ‘Do this: Load your animals and return to the land of Canaan, and bring your father and your families back to me. I will give you the best of the land of Egypt and you can enjoy the fat of the land.’ You are also directed to tell them, ‘Do this: Take some carts from Egypt for your children and your wives, and get your father and come. Never mind about your belongings, because the best of all Egypt will be yours.’” ~ Genesis 45:16-20 Do you suppose Pharaoh knew Joseph’s backstory? Regardless, this order by him goes to show how much he favored Joseph – despite Joseph essentially being a slave since he was brought to Egypt against his will. How wonderful that Pharaoh would order Joseph’s family to the best part of the land – chosen over all the other Egyptians! And not only Pharaoh, but also all his officials were happy about it! It’s all part of God’s plan. The story unfolds slowly by our standards, but with each nuance, we have the privilege of looking both back and ahead to see God at work! And one more thing. Did you catch that Pharaoh said, “because the best of all Egypt will be yours”? How prophetic, even though that prophecy wouldn’t be completely fulfilled until the time of Moses and the exodus!
I have a question. Are we burning more calories because we have to walk up and down inclines every day? I feel like we do. After all, it’s more strenuous to walk up and down hills, right? So if our home isn’t level, I think that counts as burning extra calories! Yay!!
Today was one of my picks for the area – Dysart Woods is a 50-acre tract of old-growth oak forest located in Belmont County, is the largest known remnant of the original forest of southeastern Ohio. Many species of trees grow in these ravines, but the oaks that have developed during 300 years’ time are the most spectacular. Some are over four feet in diameter and stand 140 feet high. (ohio.edu)
I read that and thought it would be fantastic to check out these old giants! It’s not only overseen by Ohio University (not Ohio State), but is also recognized as a US National Natural Landmark.
But it wasn’t to be.
The place hasn’t been kept up for visitors. The parking area was overgrown, the trails narrow and blocked by fallen debris. We turned around after beginning the first trail, in order to check out the second, but it was even worse so we didn’t even start.
Now what?
We drove back the way we’d come and set off further down the road. Eventually, we came to a road that said it went to the dam which created the lake at Barkcamp State Park. Very pretty! And by now, it was lunchtime, so we sat on a bench and enjoyed a leisurely lunch.
Closer to our campground, there are a few trails to be had, including a new one that wasn’t mentioned in the Park literature! Storybook Trail! What a fun walk! So far, there are 13 of these in Ohio – one at Wingfoot Lake in Mogadore near where we stay when we come home!
Anne Ferguson of Montpelier, Vermont, a specialist in chronic disease prevention, was looking for fun ways to get families outside and moving. In 2007, she came up with the idea of separating out the pages of a children’s book and posting them along a local nature trail. The idea caught on in her community and she then began loaning out books through Montpelier’s Kellogg-Hubbard Library.
Since then, StoryWalk trails have been installed in parks, on library campuses and along nature trails in all 50 states and 12 countries.
So, how do you get started. The simplest way is to select a children’s book, take apart the pages, laminate them and post them along a trail. The process is legal as long as the pages are not altered in any way (including enlarging them). Making changes requires permission from the book’s copyright holder. You may want to take a look at the Kellogg-Hubbard Library’s Storywalk FAQs for more details.
Within that basic framework, StoryWalk trails can vary widely. Durability is a prime concern for long-term StoryWalk installations. One option for more permanent StoryWalks is to use custom metal frames and posts that can withstand time and wear.
And you may want to get specialty signage. Story Trail Signage provides signs to mount along a path for self-guided walks along a trail. They have taken a collection of classic children’s stories and songs, put an ag-education twist on each of them, and blown them up onto sets of outdoor signage. Each “story trail” set of signs focuses on specific agriculture themes and serves as self-contained attraction for placement through a corn maze, orchard, or any other kid-friendly walking path. ~ nar.realtor
We’d never heard of this before, but what a fantastic idea!
Our next trail was quite a bit more challenging as we sometimes had difficulty following the trail, or had to crawl around or through branches. Recent storms here caused quite a bit of damage to the trees, making the chosen book for the Storybook Trail kind of appropriate. 😊
And that’s it for today. It felt good to get back into hiking again!