I-75 enters Ohio by crossing
the Ohio River into Cincinnati which lies on the north bank. The Ohio
was critical to the development and growth of early Cincinnati; it has
also been a curse with its habit to flood and do extensive damage.
Cincinnati has survived and is a very active community. If you wish to
do any touring we suggest you contact the Greater Convention and
Visitors' Bureau (during normal business hours) at 800-246-2987. Or, go
to their web site to access the information there:
GCCVB.
Lebanon (exit 29) has the only RV parks within 100 miles of
Cincinnati in Ohio of which we are aware. By contrast, there are a good
number of RV sales and Service companies, there are at least nine just
in Miamisburg. Accessed from exit 44 in Miamisburg is the Miamisburg
Mound State Memorial, site of the largest prehistoric conical mound in
Ohio. There are picnic facilities on the grounds but no camping. More
information: 800-686-1535.
Dayton is a large city and extended metropolitan area. Hence, there
is much to see and do in Dayton. The Visitors' Center has a web site (DaytonCVB).
They have an excellent guide to the city that they will mail out to you
if you ask. Phone: 800-221-8235.
Two places we really have enjoyed in Dayton are the Packard Museum
(still have fond memories of my '53 Packard Clipper) at 420 Ludlow St
(937-226-1917) and the Sunday afternoon carillon concerts at the
Carillon Historical Park, 1000 Carillon Blvd. Phone: 937-293-2841. We
found spending the weekend in Dayton was very relaxing.
If you're an aviation buff, the
U.S.Air Force Museum,
the largest military aviation museum in the country, has something like
300 aircraft some dating back to WW-I. The displays also include some of
the sophisticated ballistic missiles in use today. Directions are on the
web site. Phone 937-255-3286.
Tipp City, a Dayton suburb, has the
Charleston Falls Preserve, site of a 37 foot waterfall plus a nearby
limestone cave. (Eastbound exit 61-A, east on 571, south on 202;
southbound exit 68 onto I-70 east, then exit 16 to OH-202 north: 2535
Ross Rd.) There are also some two miles of pathways. For more
information and directions call 937-335-6273 or e-mail
miamicountyparks.
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in column 2) |
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Finally some RV parks: Wapakoneta, the birthplace of Neil Armstrong, has
a variety of RV parks (exits 110 and
111) plus the
Neil
Armstrong Air and Space Museum (exit 111).
While Disney has their mock 'space ship flights' the multimedia
presentation in the Museum's Astro Theater is probably about as close to
real as you're going to get. They also have (for you to experience) a
space shuttle simulator and a lunar landing module simulator. Even the
'big kids' enjoy those! Phone: 800-860-0142.
If you're either from out West or have traveled out West, you've
probably seen a 'ghost town' or two. If not, Findlay has its own
Ghost
Town with an array of 28 buildings.
Northbound
take exit 145, head 0.5 mi north to CR-313, turn right and go 2.9 mi
northeast to CR-37. Turn right and head 4.2 mi east to CR-9, turn left,
go 1 block north, then go right onto CR-40 and you'' practically run
into it.
Southbound take
exit 156 and head about 5/5 mi south on US-68 to CR-40. Turn right and
its about 1 mile west. Telephone 419-326-5874 during regular business
hours.
Van Buren (exit 164) has two
campgrounds. One, private, has full hookups plus Wi-Fi access to the
Internet. The other, in
Van Buren
State Park (next door to the private park), has atmosphere but no
hookups (but they do have a dump station). Head 3/4 mile east on OH-613
(through town) to Township Rd 218. Turn right and follow 218 (it makes a
right-angle turn to the east) to the campgrounds. It's about 1/4 mile to
Pleasant View and another 1/4 mile to the State Park. You choose.
As with most urban areas, RV parks can't afford to exist in Toledo.
But, as with most urban areas, there is much to see and do. The
Visitors Bureau will mail
out a visitors' guide if you request it. Phone 800-243-4667 or e-mail
General
Tourism Information. Note: There is no viable bypass around
Toledo for I-75 traffic. Except for rush hours (surprise!) driving
through Toledo isn't bad at all. I-75 skirts the downtown area but there
are a lot of exits very close together until your reach exit 208 (the
I-280 interchange).
We hope you enjoyed your drive through Ohio, the Buckeye State.
contributed by
Bob Masters |
