Midwest Guest

Midwest travel links for September 2013

Check out some great Midwest-related stories I found online this past month:

• An Interview with Marcelo Marcondes Galizio (aka - The guy who kayaked over Tahquamenon Falls)-Extreme kayaking indeed! Jesse posts his interview with a Brazilian kayaker who kayaked over Michigan's 50-foot Tahquamenon Falls...twice. Check it out at the Things to do in the U.P. blog.
  
  
  Tahquamenon Falls
  
• St. Louis, MO: Museum of Transportation-Adam's son loves trains, and he seems to find plenty he likes at this museum according to Adam's story at his Visit Flyover Country blog!

• Fort Wayne Firefighters Museum Shows Lifesaving Equipment from a Century Ago-Kayleen shares the story of this fun museum in northern Indiana at the Fort Wayne Insider blog.

• Destination Lansing: River Trail-Erin takes readers of her A Beautiful Fiction blog on a hike along this trail in mid-Michigan. Rain and a bit of flooding prevented us from taking a walk along this trail when we visited Lansing in early spring, but it definitely looks like something we'd like to do on one of our future visits to Lansing.

• Ohio's Top Five Spots for Fall Foliage-Fall is the perfect time for a walk in the woods, and Hannah shares some great suggestions for that in her story at the Discovering Ohio blog. Her list includes Maumee Bay State Park, which has a very nice nature trail, as well as Mohican State Park and Malabar Farm, which are both on my Midwest bucket list of places I'd like to visit.
  
  
  Maumee Bay State Park trail
  
• Fall for Mackinac Island-We visited Mackinac Island during several Septembers years ago, so Kath's post at her Great Lakes Gazette brought back some pleasant memories for me and reminded me how nice it would be to visit the island in autumn again one of these days.

• I would marry Trombone Shorty so I could then write music like ZZ Ward-I am a huge fan of the HBO show "Treme", which featured Trombone Shorty numerous times over the past three seasons...so Becky's story at The Missouri Mom definitely caught my eye. I loved this story about her experience at the Roots N Blues N BBQ Festival in Columbia, Missouri. I hope she gets to see Mavis Staples soon!

• Open House Visit the Jailhouse Made Famous by John Dillinger-The 1930s-era gangster John Dillinger certainly left his mark on Indiana, and Jake shares this story of Dillinger's 1934 escape from this "escape-proof" jail in Crown Point, Indiana at the Indiana Insider blog. This story reminded me of a similar jail we visited in Indiana's Hendricks County and the story of a tiny police booth erected in Goshen, Indiana during the 1930s in response to the exploits of desperadoes like Dillinger.
  
  
  Goshen Police Booth
  
• Buffalo Bill Ranch State Historical Park: North Platte-Join Sara for a tour of this park that honors the life and career of the famed soldier and showman at her Travels With Sara blog. Sara also notes that the State of Nebraska recently announced plans to curtail the hours at this historic site and supporters launched efforts to keep the park open year round.

• Terminal Tower Tour-Check out Cleveland Chick's story about touring this classic Cleveland landmark at her imaginatively titled Happiness is a Hot Pierogi blog. She shares a great view of the cool 1930s building from her seat at a Cleveland Indians' baseball game (reminding me a bit of the view Detroiters can see when watching a Tigers' baseball game at their ball park) and a nice view of Cleveland from the Tower's 42nd floor.

• Chicago's top 10 peculiar (and free) museums-Karla lists some intriguing museums in this Lonely Planet blog post that includes a couple of my favorites-the Smith Museum of Stained Glass Windows and the Oriental Institute at the University of Chicago.
  
  
  Smith Museum of Stained Glass Windows
  

That's it for this month's Midwest travel links list. Do you have any favorite Midwest stories or blogs to share?

Want more Midwest news and links? Subscribe to my bi-monthly Midwest Guest newsletter!

© Dominique King 2013 All rights reserved

Easy Hike to Miner's Falls near Munising, Michigan

Miners Falls is a pretty cascade near Munising in Michigan's Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, and it's relatively easy to access via a 1.2-mile round trip hike through the woods.

We decided to pack in our camera tripods to the waterfalls so we could experiment a bit with different shutter speeds as we did with Wagner Falls during this same trip. The trail is fairly level most of the way, but there is a final 77-step flight of stairs leading to the lower of the two viewing platforms at the end of the trail.

Still, this is among one of the most accessible falls in the National Lakeshore. The pretty walk along a graveled path through the woods offers several views of Miners Basin and, at the right time of year, you'll see lots of wildflowers.

We were a bit late for the peak of the spring wildflower season, but there were still plenty of little blue flowers that added a bit of accent color to the greens and browns of the forest in early June.

We could hear the roar of the waterfall for quite a ways along the trail before we finally spotted the 40-foot-tall falls dropping over a sandstone outcrop from Miners River.

 There is a small parking area at the trailhead, although photographers report that getting back to even the lot in the winter can prove difficult over the unplowed roads, but you can always try snowmobiling out to the falls.

Check out a couple of great winter shots of Miners Falls that I found online from photographers Aaron Peterson and John McCormick.

To learn more about the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, check out my story Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore boat cruise excites the imagination in northern Michigan.

Michigan's Upper Peninsula has nearly 200 waterfalls. Check them out with A Guide to 199 Michigan Waterfalls by Laurie Penrose.

You can also check out these reads for more information about the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore: Pictured Rocks: From Land and Sea by Craig Blacklock, Geology and Landscape of Michigan's Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore and Vicinity by William L. Blewett or Hunt's Map Guide to Michigan's Upper Peninsula by Mary and Don Hunt.

© Dominique King 2013 All rights reserved

Revisiting Wagner Falls in Munising, Michigan

Wagner Falls near Munising in Michigan's Upper Peninsula has long been one of my favorite waterfall sites.

Wagner Falls is a pretty cascade easily accessible via a half-mile long boardwalk through the woods from a small parking lot near the intersection of M-94 and M-28 just outside of the town of Munising.

There are a few stairs along the trail, which can make getting out to the closest vantage point an issue for wheelchair users, but the trail is otherwise fairly flat and level.

This is one of the trails we find that we can pretty easily pack in our camera tripods so we can experiment with taking photos at different shutter speeds, thus getting some slow-speed shots of the falls featuring a velvety looking water texture.

I was also able to shoot a bit of video with my point-and-shoot camera so that I could share the roar of the waterfalls with readers here.

Not much has changed at the site since our last visit to Wagner Falls, as you can see from the story I posted here compared with the story and photos I posted of the falls four years ago.

Seeing the same serene site, taking a walk through the cool woods on a warm summer day, and spending a few minutes just watching and listening to the waterfalls is a pleasure that never grows old with me, though.

This is the first in a long series of articles I'll be posting about our recent trip to the eastern U.P. We visited some long-time favorite spots like Wagner Falls and made a lot of new discoveries during this trip as well.

Waterfall hunting in the Upper Peninsula? Check out A Guide to 199 Michigan Waterfalls by Laurie Penrose.

© Dominique King 2013 All rights reserved

Four Family Friendly Waterfalls in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula

A native Yooper, Jesse Land publishes the Upper Peninsula travel website “Things to do in the U.P.” When he’s not chasing his kids around the yard, he’s chasing them around the lakes, hiking trails and waterfalls of the Upper Peninsula.

As you may know, Michigan’s Upper Peninsula is home to several hundred waterfalls. In fact, the vast majority of the waterfalls in the book “A guide to 199 Michigan Waterfalls” are in the Upper Peninsula! Knowing this, the question then becomes, which waterfalls should you visit? It’d be tough to see them all!

Some require a long hike on a well-marked trail. Others are remote and completely unmarked. And quite a few are very easily accessible. For some parents then, the question becomes, which ones would make a good stop with the kids?

Well, I’ll point out that the above book is very helpful, filled with photos and excellent descriptions of the “what, where and how” of each waterfall. But for those of you with young kids (mine are six months, two and nine), I’ll give you a few good options.

#1 – Bond Falls

Bond Falls, in “The Wilds of Michigan,” is easily one of the most popular waterfalls in the U.P. Despite its remote location, the boardwalk at Bond Falls is always alive with the pitter patter of footsteps, and you’re sure to see a photographer or two snapping photos of this magnificent drop of the Ontonagan River.

Why is it family friendly? Bond Falls makes a good family stop because the path to the falls is a short, handicapped accessible boardwalk and the surrounding trails are well-traveled and wide open. The boardwalk skirts around the entire lower drop of the falls, and a fence along the edge allows little ones to see the falls without the risk of tumbling over the edge.

#2 – Canyon Falls

About forty two miles south of Houghton, MI, Canyon Falls makes a terrific stop for a family looking to get out of the car and stretch for a bit. If you’re headed to or from the Keweenaw, this is an opportune spot to do just that!

Why is it family friendly? A section of this trail is a boardwalk, and the rest of the trail is well maintained and well marked. You’ll have an easy ten minute walk downstream to the falls (perfect for “leg-stretching”), and the viewing platform at the falls is fenced off to keep your little ones from straying. Mainly, this makes a good stop with the kids because they’ll get to run around and burn off some energy. Who knows, maybe they’ll end up napping the rest of the way to Copper Harbor?

#3 - Sable Falls

Sable Falls is one of the many wonderful waterfalls of the Upper Peninsula’s Alger County, home to the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore. Several dozen stairs (slippery when wet, so be careful!) lead down to this picture perfect waterfall.

Why is it family friendly? Presuming your kids are able to handle the stairs, again, this is a great way for them to get out of the car and stretch their legs. I haven’t taken my kids here yet, but when I do I’ll have my youngest in the “don’t’ leave home without it” Baby Bjorn. My two year-old will be able to negotiate most of the stairs as long as we hold her hand, and our nine year old will run up and down those puppies like nobody’s business.

Also, Sable Falls and Grand Sable Dunes share a trailhead. The three hundred foot high dunes are well worth checking out and just a short walk away!

#4 – Horseshoe Falls

Right in Munising, Horseshoe Falls is a private waterfall that requires an entry fee (and a walk through their gift shop) to view. The gift shop also sells ice cream, local trinkets and books about the Upper Peninsula.

Why is it family friendly? It’s only a few hundred feet from the gift shop to the waterfall on a smooth, gravel walking path, and this waterfall makes an excellent spot for a family photo. They’ve got a trout pond here as well, where for twenty-five cents you can feed the fish. When I recently visited Horseshoe Falls with my stepson we ended up feeding the fish for half an hour and had a blast!

One last thing; all of the above waterfalls have restrooms in their respective parking areas. A must for any family on the road!

Thanks so much for reading! If you’d like more Upper Peninsula travel tips, visit my Things to do in the U.P. website (http://www.thingstodointheup.com), where I write a weekly blog post about all sorts of cool things to do in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula!

Photos and text © Jesse Land 2012 All rights reserved, used with permission

Midwest travel links for January 2011

Here are some great Midwest-related stories I read online during the past month:

• Gooseberries on ice and Ice caves of the Apostles-Folks in the northern Midwest know how to embrace the season and find plenty of winter fun. We've visited Minnesota's Gooseberry Falls State Park and the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore in Wisconsin during past summers, but after reading these stories at Midwest Weekends, I really hope we can eventually visit these places during the wintertime.

• Minneapolis Millers Hockey-Regular Midwest Guest readers know that I love hockey and minor league sports, so it should be no surprise that I enjoyed this nostalgic look at minor league hockey in Minneapolis (with cool vintage photos) at the Nokohaha blog.

• Museums Galore: Discover the Unexpected Arts + Culture of Cleveland Plus!-Being outdoors in the cold weather isn't your thing? Check out some great museums. We visit Cleveland fairly often and we've been to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame + Museum and the Cleveland Museum of Art, but I found quite a few places that sound interesting for future visits on this list of the city's lesser known museums at What Locals Like About Cleveland Plus: An Insider's Look at the Lake Erie City.





• Next Stop, Cleveland!-Matt recently took his family to Cleveland where they enjoyed some of my favorite places there, including the Cuyahoga Valley National Park. Check out Matt's story at Road Trips for Families.

• Where The Honk of the Motor Horn is Heard-We visited the North American International Auto Show in Detroit early last month, and I will post some photos from that visit later. Meanwhile, I got a charge out of the vintage photos and story of the beginnings of Detroit's famed auto show at Belle Isle Home. Check out the early electric car!



2011 North American International Auto Show


• Yes There Are Grocery Stores in Detroit-It annoys James that visiting journalists continue to spread falsehoods about Detroit like the untruth that there are no grocery stores in the city. I linked to a story James previously published about a third-generation, family-owned market in the city on his Sweet Juniper blog, and I enjoyed his most recent debunking of the Detroit-has-no-grocery-stores myth hosted at the Urbanophile: Passionate About Cities blog.

• Stop Treating My City Like the Fat Kid in Gym Class-Check out Jen's equally passionate debunking of media myths about Flint, Michigan, on the University of Michigan-Flint's University Relations blog. Jen's list of Flint's positive features includes its well regarded farmers market, which is on my list of places to visit soon.

• Landmark for Peace: A tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King and Robert Kennedy-Nicole writes about one of her favorite Indianapolis landmarks at the Indiana Insider Blog. The Landmark for Peace Memorial in Martin Luther King Jr. Park honors King and commemorates a speech Kennedy gave in Indianapolis on the night of King's assassination stressing the importance of honoring King by continuing to carry on his life's work.

• Good Food: Iowa's Maid Rite-Road food is a favorite topic among travelers, and it's always fun to check out some of the best in regional eats as you travel. Linda checks out a classic Maid Rite diner and its loose meat sandwiches along the Lincoln Highway in Iowa. Yup, I thought of The Lanford Lunch Box, the loose meat sandwich restaurant Roseanne owned in her television show, too!

© Dominique King 2011 All rights reserved

Midwest travel links for October 2010

Check out some of these great Midwest-related stories I read online in this past month:

• World's Largest Toilet, Columbus, IN-The term "go big or go home" takes on a whole new meaning with Julie's post about this, um, pit stop at the Kids' Commons Columbus' Community Children's Museum in Columbus, Indiana on the aptly named Go Big or Go Home blog.
• 20 Things to Do in Grand Rapids Before You're Dead-Great Lakes Guru Tim shares some great ideas for visiting this west Michigan city, including some of my favorites like ArtPrize, the Grand Rapids Art Museum (a.k.a. the GRAM), and the public art-filled campus at Grand Valley State University.
• Art at the Indianapolis International Airport-Stuck at the Indianapolis airport while waiting for a flight? Nicole suggests checking out the airport's great collection of public art and sleek modern architecture in her recent Indiana Insider blog post.
• Rock and Roll of Fame and Museum-Check out this story about the Cleveland, Ohio, museum at What Locals Like About Cleveland Plus. The short video tour gives you a sneak peek inside of the museum, including a quick look at my favorite part of the museum--its collection of performers' stage costumes (something I haven't been able to do on Midwest Guest because of the museum's photography restrictions for visitors).
  
  
• A little trip up north...and Thomas Story Kirkbride-We've enjoyed several photowalks with Photowalks Detroit. I enjoyed seeing Carolyn's story on Michigan in Pictures about a photowalk at the Village at Grand Traverse Commons in Traverse City, a former mental hospital in and ongoing residential/commercial development. Be sure to check out the links in this story to see some great pictures in the Flickr streams from individual photographers involved in this photowalk.
• Drinking and Drawing in Chicago-These informal, after-hours art sessions in several Chicago studios and galleries sound like great fun. Join Rosalind at Uptake as she checks out several events that involve creativity and cocktails!
• Schlitz Fest-Read Designslinger to find out how German-born Milwaukee brewer Joseph Schiltz sent thousands of barrels of beer to thirsty folks in Chicago in the wake of the big 1871 fire. German expats there, grateful for the free beer, probably helped the company's expansion into Chicago and the establishment of these architecturally beautiful Schlitz taverns during the late 1800s/early 1900s.
• A Road Trip to...Brandywine Falls-Anthony of Ohio's Stark County News & Views takes us to Brandywine Falls at the Cuyahoga Valley National Park. This story brought back fond memories of our visit to this beautiful spot.
  
  
• Road Trip: Finding Oz in South Dakota-Kristen shares the story of author L. Frank Baum's beloved book, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, and its surprising connection to Aberdeen, South Dakota. This is one in a series of Midwest Road Trip posts at Vera's A Traveler's Library blog involving books and movies with Midwestern connections (including A Road Trip to an Ordinary State: Kansas, where Vera shares the story of Truman Capote's book In Cold Blood, the movie based on the book, and the lurid crime that inspired both of them). Be sure to check out companion posts to this series at Music Road where Kerry suggests musical selections to accompany the Road Trip posts. Here's a link to Kerry's suggestions for tunes to accompany the Nebraska and Kansas leg of the trip.
• It's Buster's Birthday-Classic comedy fans will want to visit Muskegon, Michigan, where the incomparable Buster Keaton and his family called home during summers while preparing to travel the vaudeville circuit the rest of the year. Check out the Great Lakes Gazette where Kath shares the story of the Keaton family, the area's early 1900s Actors' Colony, and an annual festival dedicated to the great silent movie actor and filmmaker.

© Dominique King 2010 All rights reserved

Canyon Falls and Gorge: The "Grand Canyon of Michigan's Upper Peninsula"

Michigan has some pretty roadside parks, and one of the nicest has to be at Canyon Falls and Gorge, just off of U.S. 41 near Baraga on the Sturgeon River in the state's Upper Peninsula.

We discovered this spot while making the 10-hour drive from the Detroit area to Copper Harbor at the tip of the Keweenaw Peninsula. The convenient location right along US-41 makes it a nice place to stop and stretch your legs before heading on north up the Keweenaw to one of the farthest reaches of the Michigan's U.P.

The trailhead for the walk back to Canyon Falls and Gorge is in a park with a parking lot, restrooms, a picnic area, and drinking water.

The walk out to the falls and back is a little less than 2 miles on level terrain, with a short stretch of boardwalk over some swampy areas. So, it's possible to can check out Canyon Falls and catch a quick picnic lunch before continuing on your way in less than an hour.

The trail takes visitors through mature hardwood forest along the river before arriving at the Canyon Falls.

We visited Canyon Falls during early September, well after spring when the water is highest, and just ahead of the fall color. It was still a scenic trip with several small rapids and waterfalls along the river, and good water flow at the 15-foot-tall Canyon Falls.

If you have a little more time to spare, you can continue a way past the falls on an older trail that leads further along a canyon with walls formed by straight line faults that give it a boxy appearance.

Travelers don't particularly know Michigan for deep canyons or gorges, making this gorge a pretty impressive sight for many visitors and earning it the nickname of "The Grand Canyon of the Upper Peninsula" or "The Grand Canyon of Michigan".  

Canyon Falls and Gorge is part of Michigan Technological University's research forest.

The roadside park is open on a seasonal basis, as the parking lot remains unplowed during the winter.

 

Want to learn more about Canyon Falls and Michigan's many other waterfalls? Check out A Guide to 199 Michigan Waterfalls by Laurie Penrose, a book we've found very helpful when traveling and looking for waterfalls.

 

Canyon Falls is quite near the shrine to Bishop Baraga, the first bishop of the Upper Peninsula and a priest known particularly for his work among Native Americans, who learned the native languages so he could author grammar, dictionaries, and prayer books for Native American readers. Check out my story about Bishop Baraga: the Snowshoe Priest.

© Dominique King 2010 All rights reserved

Things To Do
Baraga

Midwest travel links for January 2010

Let's start the new year with a new list of Midwest-related blog posts from other writers I've enjoyed reading this past month:

• Cave Point's Icy Cliffs-I enjoy Bo Mackison's beautiful photos at Seeded Earth Photography, and you can just feel the wind-whipped chill as she ventures out to Cave Point County Park in Door County, Wisconsin, to capture this image of the icy cliffs along Lake Michigan.

• Fried Chicken and Frozen Waterfalls-This may sound like an unlikely pairing, but check out Illinois' Starved Rock State Park with Justin at The Windy Pixel. This grand old log lodge reminds me of the Keweenaw Mountain Lodge in Michigan's Upper Peninsula.

• In-Town Tourist: Frozen Falls in Hocking Hills-People often express surprise when we mention the waterfalls we've visited in Ohio. Join hometown tourist Heather as she shares some beautiful winter views of the frozen falls in southern Ohio's Hocking Hills area.

• Hocking Hills Winter Hike-It's obvious that Hocking Hills isn't a secret to the 5,000-plus people who joined the park's traditional winter hike this past month. Join Joe at My Quality Time for this six-mile trek through nature's winter wonderland.

• Get Out on the Lake!-I've often seen gaggles of ice fishing shanties out on the frozen lake, but Amy gives us an up-close look at some fun and unique ice shanties created for the Art Shanty Projects on Minnesota's Medicine Lake.

• Across the Icy Green-Hard-core golfers will enjoy this story a winter golf tournament born of cabin fever during a particularly harsh winter in Grand Haven, Michigan. Check out the Look blog at Seeking Michigan for more fun blasts from Michigan's past.

• The best time for a public art inspired tour of Chicago-Chicago has some really fabulous public art, and Helly at Travel by the Calendar tells us that spring is a great time to plan an art-themed trip to the Windy City.





• Kerycik Riverview Elk & Buffalo Ranch-Join Melissa at Midwest Girl as she gets up close and personal with elk and buffalo at this Nebraska ranch.

• Wakarusa Dime Store-Who doesn't love an old-fashioned dime store? Jessica checks out this 100-plus-year-old store in Indiana's Elkhart County that is home to the giant jelly bean!

• Karmageddon's gonna getcha!-Eating Flint can be a blog with bite, but check out Bob's tasty visit to this Flint, Michigan, gem-the Most Beloved Farmer's Market in the country. This reminds me that I need to drive on up to visit the market one of these days, and Steady Eddie's sounds worth a stop as well.

• US-27 in Michigan-Michigan in Pictures is always worth a visit as it showcases wonderful images from around the state. The site also occasionally features a vintage shot like this mid-1950s shot of the old two-lane highway that served as a major route to northern Michigan. This view reminds me a bit of present-day M-115 that runs northwest from near Clare to Frankfort-the favorite part of our drive when we head to that area of Michigan.

  © Dominique King 2010 All rights reserved

Photo Friday: Lingering at Ohio's Chagrin Falls

 

We love visiting Chagrin Falls whenever we're near Cleveland, Ohio. This cute little village sits around a waterfall and offers plenty of photo opportunities whatever time of year we visit.

 

We've often visited town during the winter or early spring, so getting down to the foot of the waterfalls isn't usually possible because of snow or ice-slicked steps leading to the river shore.

It was a treat when we could get down to the foot of the falls during our most recent visit to Chagrin Falls this summer. I posted a story and photos earlier this week from our summer visit to the falls, the village and a landmark grapevine gazebo in town.

 

I hope to get back to Chagrin Falls soon, but meanwhile, here are a few more photos of the village with its waterfalls and vintage buildings.

 

 

Thanks to Debbie Dubrow of Delicious Baby for creating and coordinating Photo Friday to link travel photos and blog posts across the Web.

Don't forget to check out my road food book giveaway. Tell me about your favorite road food or roadside "joint" and win!

© Dominique King 2009 All rights reserved

Revisiting Ohio's Chagrin Falls

We've visited the village of Chagrin Falls, just east of Cleveland, multiple times over the years--but we'd never seen the town from a vantage point at the foot of the waterfalls in the center of town until a recent visit.

Visiting Chagrin Falls in the winter or early spring means that you can take some great photos from the top of the falls. Taking photos from the bottom of the falls is another matter because the village closes the steep steps leading down to the river during those times of year.

We didn't have the problem of snow-covered steps last time we were at Chagrin Falls this summer, so we took advantage of the opportunity to check out the waterfalls from a different angle.

There is a nice wooden viewing deck on one side of the falls about halfway down the stairs. You can get a close-up shot of the falls from here or just stay a while to watch the action at the foot of the falls as you enjoy an ice cream cone you got in town at the top of the falls.

The wide wooden stairs with handrails end at the viewing platform, but we took the lower flight of old stone steps right down to the rocky river shore.

Some visitors are even more adventurous and trek out onto the rocks into the middle of the river--something I wasn't quite willing to do with my big DSLR camera!

The village of Chagrin Falls originally grew up around the falls as a busy industrial area with factories, mills and other businesses taking advantage of the ample water supply provided by the falls. Today, the village center consists of businesses like restaurants, small retail stores and a large park bordering the falls.

The village center also has a smaller triangular park surrounded by businesses, many in well-preserved mid-to-late-1800s buildings. This particular park has a beautiful garden and a striking 1877-vintage gazebo constructed largely of grapevines.

I looked around the Web for a little more information about the gazebo and found a personal history of the town by Robert E. Cathan who said his great grandfather, Orrison Cathan, hunted elk (!!) in the area and built most of the gazebo. Check out Cathan's memories and some other tales from long-time village residents at the Chagrin Falls Alumni Association Web page.

There are still a couple of things I've yet to do in Chagrin Falls, though.

One of the readers of my previous Chagrin Falls post left a comment about the Pumpkin Roll, where village high school students smash and roll pumpkins down a hill hear the center of town to use as a gooey base for sliding and sledding down the hill. The Alumni site has a couple of stories about the Pumpkin Roll and its possible origins.

The grapevine gazebo also serves as the starting point for a Ghosts of Chagrin Falls walking tour of the village. The 60- to 90-minute tours sounds like a fun way to learn a little more about the village's history. (Have any of my readers taken this tour?)

© Dominique King 2009 All rights reserved