We went to two state parks on Saturday, 12th June. We hadn't been to Charlestown State Park and Falls of the Ohio State Park since 2017, and so it was lovely to get back again! Charlestown State Park was our first visit and it is the site of Rose Island, on the banks of the Ohio River, where an amusement park once stood in the 1920-30s. It was destroyed by the Great Flood of 1937, and now only ruins are visible as nature slowly reclaims the land.
We enjoyed an early picnic lunch - seen here - and, unbeknownst to us, the park had organised a raptor event during the early afternoon. The kiddos loved doing various crafts, including dissecting an owl pellet to rebuild the skeleton of its food, and we also saw four different owl species - a screech owl, barred owl, barn owl, and a great horned owl. They're fantastic creatures!
We then hiked down the steep road to Rose Island and crossed the old Portersville Bridge. We saw a large black rat snake slither across the road just in front of us, and the children then had a wonderful time exploring the ruins and imagining how life was here about a century ago!
From there we drove back west towards Falls of the Ohio State Park. This state park is located on the Indiana side of the Ohio River, just across from Louisville, Kentucky. It is famous for its fossil beds and bird-watching, too. We didn't see many birds (apart from a cormorant), but we did see lots of fossils and Riaan was especially excited to be able to see all these ancient sea creatures trapped in stone. Unfortunately, we couldn't walk too far out, since the river was running quite high, but the kids still loved it!
After a long day out and about, we grabbed ice-cream from the Widow's Walk - pictured here - and then drove back via Jasper, where we picked up some supper, and arrived home as the sun was setting. We love exploring and making memories together! :)
Dissecting owl pellets.
The naturalist shows us a screech owl.
Black rat snake as we walked to Rose Island.
It is a steep downhill - and uphill coming back!
Note the 1937 flood mark well above Riaan!
This photo is from 2017. We found the same tree in 2022.
Eliza at the same spot now...
And all of our kiddos - including an upset Anya.
The entrance to Rose Island in the 1920s.
The view towards the Walkway of Roses.
Similar view today. The hotel (which would have stood behind me) is long gone.
The pool survived the flood but has now been filled in with gravel.
Mammoth skeleton at Falls of the Ohio visitor centre.
View down to some of the fossil beds and a high Ohio River.
Our budding paleontologist.
Teepee on the sandy shore near the river.
Inquisitive groundhog.
View of Louisville, Kentucky, from the Indiana side of the river.
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