Hubbard Valley Park - Seville, OH 8-26-12

 Over the weekend, we went on a nice family hike at Hubbard Valley Park in Seville, Ohio.  This was our first visit to this park, and what brought us there was a special program the Medina County Park System has, called the "Natural History Mystery Quest."  It's similar to geocaching only instead of coordinates, there are simple rhyming clues that you can print out online and you follow them until you find a hidden cache box.  Inside are small trinkets left behind by previous hikers, a log book to document who was there, and stickers to add to your quest form to prove you completed the quest.  There are six quests at different parks, and if you complete them all, you turn in the sheet and receive a small reward (not sure what).  We've done two so far (we did another one with friends awhile back), and I'm planning for us to do the other four, in addition to the Summit County Metro Parks' Fall Hiking Spree, which consists of eight hikes.  So we've got a lot of walkin' ahead of us this fall!

I really liked this park.  It had a nice playground, a fishing area, lovely views along the top of the dam, and lots of shady forest areas too.  Definitely worth a return trip sometime.

So, here are the quest clues:

Take the path that heads south; my directions, please trust.
Pass two little houses. Stop if you must.
On the path, up a hill. Read the sign. Learn a lot.
Years ago, lots of rain. Damage. Floods. We must stop!

Now here in the valley where Hubbard Creek flows
A flood control structure protects cities below.
The lake that was formed is a good fishin’ hole.
Bring a pole but no license? To the pokey you’ll go.

Stay the course on the dam. You’ll get quite a view,
Of the lake and the spillway, Buffalo Creek Retreat, too.
Take a look at that bridge, an unusual spot.
Rescued from Sandusky, so scrap it was not.

Now here’s where our trail takes a turn to the right.
Wind your way to the ridge top. Get a view from this height.
Cross small streams, dry in summer. In spring, they will flow. 
Carving channels, cutting down to the valley below.
 

At the top of the hill, a trail marker you’ll pass.
Destination ahead. Now don’t go too fast.
The path curves to the left. Find the key landmark.
Two trees close together with deeply grooved bark.

Up ahead just a bit, fallen trees you will see.
Look around by the small one. Then shout with glee.
But a warning my friends, if you pass the bench by.
Turn around. You’re too far. And again you must try.

This clue might be helpful, the cache site you’ll find.
Seventy-five paces from the trail marker behind.
Now with quest in hand, stay on the loop trail.
Back to the beginning, you’ll walk without fail.

Bug riding on Daddy's shoulders as we trekked across the top of the dam.

The cool old bridge rescued from Sandusky, Ohio and brought here, that was mentioned in the clues.

The view looking across the lake from the top of the dam.  This pic doesn't really do it justice though.

We succeeded in finding the cache box after walking a little ways through the woods, but I forgot to take a picture of it.  After that, we continued on through the woods and made a few other interesting discoveries:

Interesting tree we saw with a hole in it.

Most romantic tree EVER!!!

Monkey tried climbing this slightly sideways tree.

After our hike, the boys played baseball in the field near the parking lot, while I surreptitiously watched the professional photo shoot of a cute baby (perhaps her 1-year shots?).  She is the white dot in the background to the right of my husband.  You can't see much but I bet those pics turned out amazing!

Me & Bug

My guys

Family self-portrait!