Tag: Seneca Nation

Hello, Goodbye Ohio

Clyde & Timi Hendrix: Chilling out in Richmond

One interesting thing about the Fall 2024 One Bold Crone Odyssey is how familiar everything seems. This is our third time doing the West-bound drive, our fifth trek altogether, and the first time we stay exclusively at repeat hotels. Which is kind of nice. Knowing what to expect, and all.

The fastest route offers a glimpse of Lake Eerie.

Day Two began in Western New York State. Skirting the Pennsylvania border, we passed through the rolling wooded hills of Seneca Nation before merging with I-90 near the shores of Lake Eerie.

The Pennsylvania panhandle takes only about an hour to traverse, and then you’re in Ohio, where I recommend stopping at the lovely, park-like Ohio Welcome Center if you ever do this drive.

Interpretive plaques and plantings at the Ohio Welcome Center.
Purple Lovegrass sounds nice!

People and pets enjoy stretching their legs on a wide, circular trail featuring child-height plaques of every page from The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle.

Spoiler alert: He was a beautiful butterfly!
It was breezy and cool, having frosted last night.
Wild geese.

I’d say the Ohio Welcome Center was the highlight of Day Two, the rest of which was spent driving South (!) navigating the outskirts of big cities—namely Columbus, Akron, and Dayton—before finally crossing into Indiana, where we landed in Richmond. (If you’re ever in Richmond, by the way, Gulzar’s Indian restaurant does not disappoint. I’ve gotten takeout from there three times. Exquisite!)

Did someone say “curry”? 😛

Incidentally, the Forester is getting stellar mileage for a gas-powered “compact” SUV. Of course It doesn’t compare with my former hybrid, a 2012 Prius-C, which averaged 50 MPG. I loved the Prius for that, but I didn’t feel as safe or as comfortable on the road as I do now.

Anyway, my Subie is rated for 33 MPG highway….but get a load of this!

Record breaking mileage for the 2021 Subaru Forester!
Mileage schmileage.

Clyde couldn’t care less about MPG. He just likes getting out of his crate at the end of the day. Note the frost on the window above, back in Olean before we departed….and here he is on the flip side, in Indiana.

Another bed, another window.
Another chair, another towel.

For those of you who read down this far…

Thank you! It’s such a pleasure having you along! See you on the flip side.

OBC 🙏🏼💜🦉🌵

Day 2/7 – Alegany, NY to Richmond, IN

Seneca Nation foliage on I-86

Today was a big driving day because it takes four hours to cross Ohio. Starting with Cleveland, then down to Columbus and over past Dayton, there’s a ton of city traffic, with many miles of “grooved” pavement, and a generous soupçon of stress to go with it. That said, we did fine, and here we are in Indiana for the night.

But first we had to get started, and there was a lot of fog in upstate New York this morning, so we didn’t hit the road until about 9:15.

Waiting for the fog to lift in Olean/Alegany

The sun started to peek out shortly after we got going, and again I felt grateful for taking this new route through the Southern Tier of NY State, instead of going I-90 through Buffalo like last year. I hardly saw another vehicle, the road itself was in great shape, and the views were spectacular.

Due to heavy rain all summer, the fall foliage isn’t really going to pop this year, but the mostly muted colors are still very pretty.

Westbound on I-86

I was impressed while driving through Seneca Nation territory that the road signs were bilingual, displaying both English and Native place names. I had not seen that elsewhere. Sounds like a new and welcome trend, one that has been a long time coming. (Sorry no photo, but here is a link to learn more: https://www.newyorkupstate.com/news/2016/10/bilingual_road_signs_growing_trend_on_state_roads_crossing_indian_land.html.)

Alas, I-86 eventually came to an end. As soon as we ran into I-90 there were a zillion trucks to contend with and traffic galore. But the first hour of todays journey was peaceful and serene, shared with just a few other drivers. I wish everyone in the world could experience such peace.

A fellow traveler on I-86 West.

After leaving New York, we traversed the Pennsylvania panhandle on I-90 and crossed into Ohio. There we took our first break at the Ohio Welcome Center, which features an illustrated walking path. Something about the place gave me the sense that Eric Carle might hail from the Buckeye State.

Timi is fed up with posing.
Timi still isn’t feeling it. Maybe he’s just not into caterpillars. 🤷🏻‍♀️

My top highlight from the rest of the drive was this unusual opening in the clouds, spotted north of Columbus. Love that slice of blue in the mottled mass, like a window to clarity, with a feathery swoop inside. Angelic! 🌿🦉🌵

A magic window in the sky.