Footsteps

I’m headed to run through my I’m favorite park in a few minutes. Now, I can be slightly fickle on “favorites”; I have three “favorite” children, for instance. And my “favorite” trip is usually the one I’m dreaming of, packing for or traveling through.

But I really like Highbanks Metro Park …

 

 "In-Town Tourist": Highbanks Metro Park [3:02m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

The park lacked even bridges when my sisters and I first visited as children, but hopping (and occasionally missing) rocks at the water crossings just added to the adventure. Today, the practical wooden stream spans have served as launch points for innumerable “leaf races” with my kids. It’s “one, two, three, drop!” and then a dash to the other side of the bridge to await a winner.

Highbanks Metro Park Visitor Information and Map

I run up and down the ravines of Highbanks a lot. Any season; any weather. “Too much” sometimes, as my occasional injuries will attest… But I believe that running (and weight work) allows me to give the world the best (de-stressed) version of myself. Kind of a public service thing, if you think about it… If I get bored there are eleven miles of path to choose from, plus the winding roadway, and one can always run trails backwards for a change in perspective. I’ve trained for races, sorted through heart-aches, and composed “in my head” as I’ve covered those meandering paths. No moment is wasted there.

The serene ever-changing beauty of the rolling woods calms and inspires; the monkey bars at the playgrounds double as my pull up/chin up bars. The kids and I have played football, gathered leaves for school projects, climbed the bending sycamores, and waded into the Olentangy River to “islands” rimmed with good flat skipping stones.

In the summers, the park is terribly crowded with “tourists”.  A sunny July weekend will jam the picnic areas and make parking a significant challenge.  But that’s as it should be…  I always hope that newcomers will discover the splendors beyond the playgrounds.

Highbanks retains much of the wild glory enjoyed by the Adena Indians who loved it first and buried some of their own in ancient mounds there. It’s easy to imagine bygone neighbors wandering the slate ravines and wooded hills. Sometimes I get caught up in the beautiful simplicity of such a life and imagine running off of the trail, down one of the more gentle slopes and on up to a quiet bluff. And then I consider the stark realities of a world without hot showers and toothbrushes and am simply grateful for unpaved trails that let me dream of such flight…

On the less temperate, uncrowded winter days, I recognize most of the faces there and know the names and “stories” of a few. We’re the die-hards, I guess: an elderly retired couple, a couple of widowers, and a devoted daily walker somewhere in his thirties. I rarely see the other runners, and on some days see no one at all.

I have a couple of favorite wintertime memories that I’ll share in a couple of days. A sweet hand-in-hand run through the falling snow with my daughter on her tenth birthday… And then there’s the memory that delights my kids, even though they weren’t there for the actual event…

Highbanks Metro Park Visitor Information and Map

Highbanks Metro Park; Columbus Ohio
11 miles of nature trails over streams and through ravines, situated just east of the Olentangy River. Shale Cliffs, concretions, river access and Adena Indian Mounds make this a popular destination.
Activities include: hiking, running, cycling, group picnics and kayaking/canoeing.
Additional attractions: pet trail, winter sledding, Hutchins State Nature Preserve.
“Yes” for Pets (on designated trails with leash)
Directions: From I-270, take U.S. 23 north for about 3 miles. Entrance will be on the left, just south of Powell Road.
Address: Highbanks Metro Park; 9466 Columbus Pike; Lewis Center, OH 43035
Phone: (614) 846-9962
View Highbanks Metro Park in a larger map

Tags: Heart-to-Heart, Highbanks Metro Park, Hiking, Ohio, Running/Health & Fitness by Heather Dugan
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I was headed for snowy Highbanks Metro Park this morning and ended up in Bermuda. Sadly, this was not a literal event. If I could make that happen on a Friday morning, my purse would hold more than its standard necessities of dental floss, crushed red peppers, and “lunch money”. No; it began as a quick ten minute journey through some old photos, boxed and awaiting eventual organization. But, in searching for some ice-laden winter shots from my favorite running trails, I stumbled into photos from my first BYOB(C) -”Bring Your Own Birth Certificate”- trip. So, I guess Highbanks will wait… I’m remembering the thrill of getting up out of Ohio and spotting coral reefs through an airplane window for the first time.

 

 Blue Lips in Bermuda [4:13m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

The trip represented a significant financial choice at the time (1997); slightly extravagant, but utterly essential to satiating intrinsic curiosities.

I’d roped my ex-husband into some lower budget ventures in our first years of marriage, finding and exploring many of the natural areas in our surrounding states of Indiana, Kentucky, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia. An early trip through Michigan severely tested the limits of a young marriage, however, with me insisting that we could survive on the bag of groceries in the back of my Toyota, and my ex-husband emphatically pulling into an all-you-can-eat-buffet that consumed the rest of our meager vacation budget. He was right, it turned out. I have a teen-age son now and a much better understanding of the significance of real food to males and the whole travel experience (but bagels with peanut butter are food too, right?).

Bermuda was a tangible affirmation of the value of travel.

We still cut reasonable monetary corners on the island, opting for an apartment on a hillside over one of the more expensive resort hotels. We also rented mountain bikes rather than the popular motor scooters, but that was more out of personal preference than an economic choice.

Peering down from a grassy cliff-side path and seeing actual tropical fish in the waters below expanded my horizons from ground level to ocean deep. We were at the edge of another world but had to get closer yet… We ventured gingerly down the sharp volcanic rock, fascinated by the clear cerulean blues of the seething waters. Eventually, from the edge of a calmer pink sand beach, we had to try snorkeling. Being novices to “tropical” traveling, we were unprepared but equally undeterred. I inquired about renting snorkels at a nearby hotel. There were none left to rent, but in what I found to be a charmingly typical kindness amongst the islanders, the desk clerk offered his own equipment to us, refusing our offers of payment.

I was completely hooked. Previously, my perceptions of the ocean were limited to what washed up on its shores or touched my toes as I swam. In Bermuda, I discovered a whole new world of fish and coral and creatures. Mesmerized, I followed fish that first afternoon until my lips turned blue (It was April and a little early for all but the most hearty Atlantic swimmers). I simply couldn’t leave the water.

Yes, I thoroughly enjoyed walking through the quaint, bustling towns of Hamilton and St. George. Riding mountain bikes along the Bermuda Railway Trail to catch a ferry across the Great Sound was also a great way to experience the island. The pastel-colored houses, profuse tropical blooms, and the whole British colony flavor of things was exhilarating to my Midwestern bred senses.

But my most lasting impression of Bermuda remains my vertical view from a dead man’s float. It revealed an enchanting new world, often silent but never entirely still. A fluid nation, hosting vivid personalities with unique languages and vibrant color…

It added new dimension to my notions of travel and gave me more than adequate excuse to aim for oceans occasionally.

I love exploring the geology and geography of our diverse earth. My first experience with snorkeling, back in Bermuda, felt a little like peering down to an “earth” from the heavens above. Undeniably thrilling.

Tags: Bermuda, Seascapes, Snorkeling/Swimming by Heather Dugan
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