I will continue the 5-part series on PAIN with Part 2 later this week. (Here is a link to
Part 1).
Tonight, though, I wanted to post the photos I took today when driving from Athens (Ohio) west to Jackson (Rt. 32), north to Chillicothe northwest to Washington Court House (Rt. 35), then east to Williamsport and Circleville and onto Lancaster (Rt. 22), then south and back to Athens (Rt. 33). A 4-hour jaunt in a wide loop in the south-central portion of Ohio. A trip that takes you from hills to flat farmland and back to hills again.
Recently, I posted photos from the same route, and you can see them
here at this link. Today I decided to look closer, what else could I see on this route I've traveled so often. (I've traveled the portion of this trip on Route 22 two to four times a month for nearly 10 years.)
In chronological order, here is what I noticed on today's trip: Sunday, January 23, 2011. Temperature: It was a high of 24 degrees F today, and that felt warmer than the 0 of yesterday. An "Artic mass" is hovering over the Northeast; we have had it as well. Strangely though, I've always found I could get really good, crisp photos in weather like this.
The first photo, at the top of this post, is Rt 32 from Athens to Jackson. It is also called the "Appalachian Highway." As I leave Athens, traveling west, I take in the wide vista, the trees and hills, and light traffic. Also, a great blessing on Sunday mornings, is the 3-hour show on WOUB called "Below the Salt." It is my favorite radio program as each hour-long playlist centers around a theme for that day. Unfortunately, Below the Salt no longer archives its programs, but you can see the cool playlists
at this link.
Above: Rt. 32. Shark!
Turning north now on Rt. 35 from Jackson to Chillicothe. I like the patterns that reveal themselves in the wintertime.
Above: Here are the hills in the distance (Rt. 35, S of Chillicothe.)
I have always been attracted to mechanical/industrial buildings. This is on a side road south of Washington Court House.
Here is the abandoned Country Inn, Washington Court House.
There are many beautiful brick houses in this part of Ohio. Often with tree-lined drives. I think about the earlier generations of people who planted these trees, who built these houses. I wonder what their lives were like, and how they must have treasured their land . . .
I do not know if the "Mugs 'n Jugs" Draft House draws a crowd on Saturday night. I find the blue shutters a curious touch.
I am drawn to repetitive images and patterns, and from a line of parked trucks, these two seemed to want their photo taken. Later, I noticed the water tower...
You might think all that are in these small towns are abandoned, derelict buildings, but not so. I am drawn to photograph them, that is all. I like the textures on the outside of the buildings, the layers of paint, the patterns of stone or brick, the crookedy windows and tottering chimneys, the whispers of history sifting through the broken slats where small birds and bats now reside.
A detour down a side street in Washington Court House revealed this sturdy brick home. It is on a residential street with houses close by. I wonder how much it costs to heat this old home, and if they have updated the interior.
The yellow color of this house initially caught my attention. Then I backed the car up into a side road so I could get a photo of the roof and these many birds seeking warmth on a frigid day.
I have passed this beautiful yellow house many times in all seasons of the year.
There are so many silos on these roads. Yet each set seems unique.
This garage is a perky shade of yellow and I like the windows. At the scrapbooking workshop I was at yesterday, the teacher had a punch that would punch out this same pattern. Perhaps that's why this caught my eye.
Leaving Washington Court House now on Rt. 22, I passed an agricultural equipment business that is "opening soon." Here is a cool vehicle of unknown use (well, unknown to me). Want to "harvest" a guess?
Just a simple farm on Rt. 22.
I bet this barn was beautiful when it was first built. It's too bad these old barns are left to deteriorate so. I wish they were were kept in ship-shape and filled with cows, horses, and children playing in the hayloft.
This would have been a better photo without my side mirror, but this was taken on a road off the highway and I didn't want to attract attention, so was hurrying. What captured me about this photo was the fact that the people living in this house had quite a sight out their windows. I would not like living next to this many silos.
I took a photo of this building above, because I noticed all the materials that someone had used to build it (are there no codes about this sort of thing?)... But then...
...as I got closer, I saw the master of the house sitting, staring at me. Daring me to criticize his fine abode.
Here is a very full shed under a pretty tree.
In my last post on this subject, I included a photo of one large metal "lady in a dress" -- which is what these structures remind me of. Here is the entire chorus line, above.
Continuing on Rt. 22, just west of Williamsport (a very small, 2-traffic-light town) I wanted to get a photo of this business, which, in the summertime, typically has a lot of bicycles for sale (located as it is across from the town's ice cream store). I went around the block and came at it from the back, so as not to attract attention. I saw that even in the winter this businessman was hard at work in his garage.
On the side road, I noticed these trees and wondered why they were disfigured like this. Then I noticed something even curiouser . . . a set of metal stairs leading to nowhere. And then I started to worry about small children climbing them. Honestly, Williamsport doesn't seem to have any building codes at all!
In 2003, one barn in each of Ohio's counties was painted in honor of the Bicentennial. I have a copy of a "Bicentennial Barns of Ohio" by Christina Wilkinsin on my bookshelf, having met the author at a book fair and signing a few years ago.
On a residential street of small houses, the cars were parked very close to each other. And in front of one small house, a very big bus!
This is my favorite photo of this day's road trip. It is of the "Christian Cemetery" in Williamsport. Just off a side road, not even a block from Rt. 22, I had never seen it until today! It is on S. Water Street, right along the banks of the river (I'm not sure of the river's name, it might be the Scioto). This cemetery only contains burials until 1883, and on the historical marker it states that therein are buried veterans from the American Revolution (2); the Mexican War (3, I believe); the War of 1812 (several); and the Civil War (several). The veterans names are given as well.
Entering the town of Circleville (home of a popular Pumpkin Festival each October), one will encounter the Hippie Hut, open even on Sundays.
I liked this blue and white house.
Here is the Pickaway County Courthouse. Very typical style of courthouses in these less-populated Ohio counties.
In my previous post, I showed a straight-on photo of the "Elders" -- trees that I nicknamed thus because they always looked so wise and regal to me. Here they are approaching them from the west. Do you see why I have named them?
Leaving Circleville, one can't help but notice "Scoops." I sometimes pull through the drive-thru in the summertime for a treat.
I believe this is "Tootles Pumpkin Inn."
Here is a second-hand clothing store. They always have fancy dresses outside, though I wonder how many shoppers they'd have on a Sunday afternoon, as most businesses in this area of town are not open on Sundays.
Here is the
Ted Lewis Museum. "Is everybody happy?"
From Circleville, Rt. 22 heads toward Lancaster, but I veer off on the Rt. 33 bypass toward Logan, Nelsonville, and Athens. On that segment of Rt. 33 the land goes from gentle hills to steeper inclines, rock formations, the Hocking Hills, land near Wayne National Forest and down to our college town of Athens, where the Hocking River was illuminated at sunset by the street lamps lining this portion of a 17-mile bike path. I always feel happy to come back to Athens. Above is the front of the Ohio University Inn. This is where we recommend visitors stay, and Mark and I enjoy many meals in their delicious restaurant.
All photos copyright 2011 by Janice Phelps Williams. All rights reserved.
