 Hocking Hills State Park, Hocking County, Ohio |
 Looking Down into the Gorge at Old Man's Cave Visitor's Center |
 Walking down the steps into the gorge ... |
 ... the rugged beauty of the water-sculpted rock is awesome. |
 Around the creek beds and from the rocks ... |
 ... a wide variety of trees are born, live and die. |
 The myriad of rock sculptures are formed ... |
 ... by water seeping through the sandstone ... |
 ... as well as flowing past. |
 With some imagination, one can see creatures ... |
 ... carved in the gorge walls ... |
 ... and overhangs. |
 Shallow caves also dot the landscape ... |
 ... providing refuge for the local animals ... |
 ... as well as for humans in ages past. |
 The gorge trail provides protection from the heat and drought ... |
 ... provides a place for a large variety of vegitation exists. |
 Views from the creek beds ... |
 ... are unavailable in "wetter" times. |
 For water, we now must settle for a small pond or two. |
 ... |
 ... |
 ... |
 The "Devil's Bathtub;" when the water flows, you can get in, but not out of his tub. |
 Balancing rocks ... |
 ... can be seen almost everywhere. |
 Trees on the gorge floor must self-prune to keep healthy. |
 Like the rock, the trees provide ... |
 ... interesting hollows ... |
 ... and shapes to view. |
 The Upper Falls is dry at this time of year ... |
 Only the small pond below the falls ... |
 ... provides any water. |
 When rain and runoff resume, the spillway will run again. |
 In the cool of the gorge, moss and spiders thrive. |
 Even in the dry season, the ponds provide interesting reflections. |
 Always seeking precious water ... |
 ... tree roots spread out in webs to where ever water can be found. |
 ... |
 ... |
 ... |
 Nature provides the head of a stone "basilisk" in her "Chamber of Secrets." |
 ... |
 ... |
 The craggy trail ... |
 ... eventually leads to "Old Man's Cave." |
 The cave is protected by a sandstone "ghost." |
 On to Conkle's Hollow ... |
 ... and a smoother walk -- with mushrooms. |
 From the gorge floor, the sheer cliffs ... |
 ... rise above, dwarfing those that venture there. |
 ... |
 ... |
 There are fewer shallow caves in the hollow ... |
 ... than there were at Old Man's Cave .... |
 ... but here archeologists have found artifacts showing ancient human habitation. |
 The end of the "box canyon" adjacent another dry waterfall. |
 Stepping around an encrusted log, we take our leave of Hocking Hills. |