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Tina Busch-Nema, 6/3/2008
This year we decided to change the route and run to the Cincinnati Nature Center instead of Eastfork Lake. Eastfork is a beautiful place but it is man made having been created by the building of a dam.
The Nature Center is over a thousand acres of natural forest, lakes and streams and is, simply stated, an extremely beautiful place to visit.
This is a picture of the Lodge at the Nature Center. Inside is where you can get coffee and snacks as well as learning about Rowe Woods and the trails that you can hike. It is a fitting place to celebrate Earth Day.
John Toren, Jon Blickenstaff, Larry Crane and Jon Burkindine at Little Turtle Monument getting ready for the Earth Day Run.
Larry Crane and Jon Blickenstaff are ready to send off Jon Burkindine who will run the first leg of our trip to Rowe Woods, the Cincinnati Nature Center.
And so the run starts. Jon Burkindine is running the first six miles of our journey celebrating Earth Day 2008. Larry Crane, Jon Blickenstaff and John Toren, the photogrspher, will drive out to the six mile marker where they will leave Jon Burkindine's car. They will then proceed to finish the run to Rowe Woods.
Jon Burkindine is on route 52 several miles into his run on Earth day 2008.
Jon Blickenstaff on route 52 starting the second leg of the Earth Day 2008 run to Rowe Woods.
After a few hundred yards of warming up Jon Blickenstaff gets up to speed on his first leg of his run to the Cincinnati Nature center.
Larry Crane slogging along on our journey to Rowe Woods. Larry is on route 50 going toward Mariemont Ohio.
John Toren, the "mad cow", is finishing his first segment on Round Bottom road just outside of Newtown. The Nature Center is located on this road so we are well on the way to finishing our goal.
Sporting his "brandy new" FootPrints For Peace t-shirt, John Toren, the "mad cow", is very glad to have finished his first segment
Jon Blickenstaff, "decafe", has just taken over the run from John Toren, "mad cow", who has finished his last segment. "decafe" will take it the rest of the way to Rowe Woods, the end of the Earth Day 2008 run.
Larry Crane or "craz" as he is known to his brother runners, is finishing up his last segment on Round Bottom road. Jon Blickenstaff is ahead of us getting close to the end.
This is where it starts to get a little funny.
We always take pictures at the start and the end of each event. Of course Jim Toren, who is recovering from a knee operation and couldn't take part, usually takes the pictures. Jim is a very good photographer so we have always had a good picture at the end.
However, the "camera killer", "mad cow" John Toren, was in charge today and he just can't get it right. You should note that Jon Burkindine took the starting group picture or it would have turned out to be a mess as well.
Anyhow this was "mad cow"'s first try.
Poor "mad cow" John Toren taking abuse from his buddies Jon Blickenstaff and Larry Crane because of his difficulty in getting a proper picture at run's end.
Some of the rest of the "funny pictures" have been culled out but this was "mad cow" John Toren's last attempt at a finishing photo!
Enough abuse!
By the way that is Rowe Woods, the Cincinnati Nature Center, in the background.
The beauty of Mother Earth is incredible. All the flowers and tree blossoms provide a colorful surrounding as you make your way along one of the trails in the Nature Center
It seems like yesterday when we started the Earth Day Run but it has been 5 years! The first run in 2004 ended at Eastfork lake.
These are the runners from the first Earth Day Run - 2004 who brought this prayer for Sacred Mother Earth into reality.
The first four runs ended at
Eastfork lake and while much of the terrain still has woods, lakes and nature's beauty the lake itself is man made by a dam. There are many distractions such as motor boats, cars and trucks, etc.
The only distractions at Rowe are the other folks walking the trails enjoying Sacred Mother Earth's unmatchable beauty. It seems much more fitting to celebrate Earth Day at Rowe.
This is Lotus Lake. When summer gets here there will be massively large Lotus flowers surrounding the lake as well as a huge population of very loud frogs.
This picture is of Lotus Lake and you can see the path around the edge. For the most part the trails appear to be made from wood chips so walking is soft. There are some parts of a few trails that are black top. These sections are used for those confined to wheel chairs and/or walking devices.
It is a little hard to tell but you can see a tree growing sideways out over the creek. You have to duck under it to take the trail.
When you are hiking through Rowe Woods for the most part you are surrounded by nature at it's finest. But on the way to Eastfork lake you will also find some magic as well but you have to know where to look. Except for the last few miles the runners are on busy highways without very much in the way of trees, flowers and the like
The same is true about our new route except for the last half which takes you along the Little Miami river and is very scenic. The real treasure is when you get to Rowe and have views like you see in the picture here. Beautiful!
Most of the runners from 2005 are running today. All believe that our new finishing location, the Cincinnati Nature Center or Rowe Woods, is a much better place to end. The natural surroundings are beautiful this time of year and the Center illustrates what can be accomplished in helping Mother Earth if enough people get together and try!
This is another lake that will be full of lotus blossoms and frogs before summer is out. All 12 of the hiking trails pass by or over lakes or streams adding to the beauty and adventure of the Nature Center. As you are viewing these areas through the trees and brush you will see a goodly number of squirrels, some racoons, maybe a deer or two and a hugh variety of birds. Mother Earth is certainly worth every ounce of effort we can put forth for her protection.
There are flowers everywhere you turn. These blue beauties are ground cover for many parts of the forest and they brighten up the path as you stroll by them.
Looking down the valleys, which seem to be everywhere, is a breathtaking view of Mother Nature's beauty. The colors are simply magnificent. It is so very peaceful. If we could somehow impart this peacefulness to those who use violence as a solution to their problems we would truely have heaven on Sacred Mother Earth.
There is something in this picture that caught my eye as we were walking down the "green turtle trail" but I can't off hand see what it is so if you spot something let me know. The trails, there are 12 of them, each have a different emblem such as a "green turtle" so you can follow them without too much trouble. There are short trails, .6 miles, and long trails, 1.6 miles. Each have a measure of difficulty associated with them and the Center provides you with a map explaining each trail, how long it is and the degree of difficulty in walking it.
We might as well visit the runners from 2006 who didn't get to see all the glorius beauty Rowe Woods provides.
This is a corner of Powell Crosley Lake the largest lake in the Center. There are two pairs of critters in the picture. To the far left is a paid of Canada geese and to the far right is a pair of Mallard ducks. They are very hard to distingish but they are there. This area is very close to where the turtles and the fish are fed and the ducks hang around here and try to eat everything thrown to the turtles and fish.
This is Powell Crosley Lake, the largest lake in the Nature Center. There is much life here in and on the lake. Fish and turtles abound in the water and you will always find ducks swimming about hoping to find some errant food that was meant for the turtles and fish.
One of the "turtle people" who live in Powell Crosley Lake is floating around on top of the water looking for food pellets that were thrown out by some kids who were feeding the fish and turtles.
As we finish our Earth Day hike we can't help but to stop and gaze down this valley. There is so much beauty here and what it does is make us stronger in our effort to give what we can of ourselves to defend and protect our most Sacred Mother Earth.
Until next year we will see you down the road and if your interested please click the icon for FootPrints For Peace on the Navigation Bar below and check out the events. No one is excluded from these events. Join us anytime.
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