We Found It in Medina County

The joke around here is... you know you are from Michigan when you were enjoying the last week of Summer last week and the first week of Winter this week. Our Fall felt that way. We blinked - we missed it. Luckily, we blinked down to Ohio for the brief Fall colors, good company and the Medina County geotrail.

Find it... in Medina County is a fabulous geotrail located west of Akron, Ohio and the Cuyahoga Valley. Find 18 geocaches to earn the Medina County geocoin - find 22 geocaches for the coordinating path tag. All just a few hours from home. Saturday morning found myself navigating in the front seat of the geomobile with ShelleyJean at the wheel and TaGeez staking out the back seat. 

I first stop boded well for an awesome trip. We arrived at a cider mill for stage one of a puzzle. Look at this view! The cider mill had cider & donuts, a restaurant, a general store (with amazing apple chips), and a viewing deck off the back. The weather was perfect!

"FI... IMC" Johnny Appleseed Will Be Proud GC6JRD1

And the final for this puzzle took us to the Princess Ledges, fern-covered sandstone formations. I have never experienced these before, and we started our trip and ended it with Ledges. Amazing to explore.

On the Cutting Edge of Princess Ledges EC GC1A35D

The Medina County geotrail took us to a variety of beautiful locations. This was a converted landfill....

"Fi...IMC" Plum Creek - From Trash to Treasure GC6HHAW

Onto the riverside park along the reservoir on Lake Medina.

"Fi... iMC" Waterside Walk at Lake Medina GC6HNHV

Downtown Medina was under an alien invasion...

Alien Vacation Mini Golf in Medina

But at least we don't have to worry about killer bees. 

This was a great spot - the retail store for the A.I. Root Candle Factory. I didn't buy any candles, but scored some fabulous Halloween decorations at 70% off! The geocache was hidden at his residence next door (with real bees!). The A.I. Root Company was the first bee supply manufacture in America. Definitely worth the trip back to the area.

"Fi... iMC" Rooted in Medina History GC6GZXA

The tour was a great mix of quaint downtowns and Nature walks. Normally not a fan of letterboxes, this one at the Schleman Nature Preserve was very well put together. So many photo opportunities, too.

"Fi... iMC" Strolling through Schleman GC6HRXF

TaGeez, scrapcat, and ShelleyJean

Oh no he didn't!

Ten caches into the geotrail, and I hit my 8,000th find! With a slight detour, it seemed fitting that I celebrated my milestone in a cemetery. And not just any cemetery... at the grave site listed in Roadside America! 

The statue behind me marks the final resting place of the Giants of Seville. Anna (7' 11-1/2" tall) and Martin (7' 9" tall) Bates met while he was performing in a circus. They married and toured Europe before settling down in nearby Seville, where they built a 14-room farmhouse with 14' ceilings, 8-1/2' doorways and filled it with oversized furniture.  Anna died first, and the statue was built in her likeness (but not to height. Weird, eh?) 

"Fi... iMC" The Giants of Seville GC6BQEY

Further down the road was another Roadside America win! We found Mater near Burbank! It's amazing what you find when you keep your eyes open!

Mound Hill Cemetery in Seville was not our only cemetery stop.  We crossed paths with several striking examples including Crofoot Cemetery below.

Crofoot Cemetery GC74ADB

After completing a few more by headlight and flashlight, we returned to Medina for our second meal at Sully's Irish Pub. Lunch was so good we came back! Live music, good company, and delicious shepherd's pie!

Sully's Irish Pub in Medina

What did we find in Medina County?

Well-maintained geocaches at a variety of interesting locales surrounded by beautiful hills and orchards and woodlands.  Everything a geotrail should be.

Much to our surprise, we still hadn't seen the best Medina had to offer. Our adventure continues tomorrow.