Airports, A-Z Challenge

And we begin at the beginning, a very good place to start.  Some of you may be playing today with April Fools Jokes, but lots of us are starting our Blog Challenge because it's April 1.  

AIRPORTS (or Adena Mounds, an A post)

Airports are a necessary evil of lots of travel, they can make or break you.  Think about your needs, your family needs don't just assume everything will happen the way you want or need it to.  Think BEFORE you go.  Airports are busy, loud, dirty and generally inconvenient places.  None of that makes for a pleasant day to start or end your travels.  

Food is generally expensive at airports, and typically not all that good.  What time are you traveling, can you...should you eat before?  Should you take snacks in your bag?  Often the place you might prefer to eat isn't where your gate is.  Look at the airport maps BEFORE you go, have a plan.  This is particularly important if you're traveling with small children and or a senior who walks with a cane or needs a wheel chair.  Airports are large and often not that easy to navigate.

I mentioned their dirty, do you really want to sit on the floor where thousands of people have walked with their shoes?  Parents this is particularly directed to you.  DON'T allow your children to wallow on the floor.  

Yes, airports are dirty and people who leave their trash behind them only make matters worse.  Don't be a slob and leave you chip bag on the floor along with your half finished big Slurpee.  It's guaranteed to get knocked over and cause a mess.  

Airports are loud, people are talking, there are announcements, radio's and games on.  Hello...you're not here along, turn down the volume or better yet plug in your ear phones.  There's no reason why the other 300 travelers crammed into that one gate need to hear your head banging garbage you call music...or the beep beep beep of the kids game.

Pillows, why do people drag their pillows with them?  I do mean drag.  They flop them on the suitcases, on the floor, on the seats both in the airports and planes where thousands have been before them, then they sleep on them with all those germs and wonder why they always get sick when they travel...hum!  If you must tote your pillow like it's your safety blanket but it in a plastic bag to keep it clean

Cell phones, wonderful tools.  Can't travel without them; but...........hold it to your ear and talk, like we all did back in the dark ages with a real phone.  Don't put the speaker on.  We really don't need or want to listen to several hundred conversations about who ate what for dinner the night before and like he said she said, know what I mean.

Pop in Often, remember Menu Mondays for dining tips, Traveling Tips on Thursday, and any day for vacation destinations.

Up The Indian Mound with Stanley

If you want to stretch your legs, run around, have a picnic and feel like a giant, come along with Flat Stanley. This activity is fun for the whole family, the kids and pets too. On the west side of McKinley Avenue in Columbus just south of Trabue Road is a large grassy mound. If you drive by fast; that may be all you'll see. Slow down and park the car; it's quite a different story. You'll see a small parking area that can accommodate a couple of cars and this stone gate. To the left of the gateway and grassy mound you'll see this 2 sided historic marker.

This mound goes by a couple of names. The area, the park it self is called Campbell Memorial Park named after a man who was governor of the state for 2 short years. Probably more remarkable was his Presidency of The Ohio Historical and Archaeological Society. His daughter Jessie Campbell Coons name this area after him in 1929.

The mound is the last of The Conical Indian Burial Mounds in the city of Columbus. It's 20 feet high and 100 feet in diameter. It was placed on The National Register of Historic Places in 1970, not that long ago.

The Adena Indians date from 800 BC to 100 A.D. and are some of the earliest known settlers in the state; primarily the middle Ohio Valley. They were hunters, gatherers, traders, and farmers. Mounds that have been excavated, or partially excavated show evidence of wooded structures (houses), trash pits, fire pits, bones of important tribal leaders that were cremated, pottery, and other tokens.
The land was deeded by Mrs. Shrum to The Ohio Historic Society (formerly known as Historic and Archeological Society).
An additional marker honoring her is placed on a large boulder just beyond the historic marker.
Stanley is laying there in the grass just to the left of the trail. Take time and climb to the top of mound. Once on the top like this little boy (click to enlarge picture and see how small he looks way up there on top); you can see downtown Columbus in one direction and The Scioto River in another. You get a real feel for the size of the mound and pretty fenced park area.

The mounds were made in layers. Historical evidence indicates an important tribal leader that died would be placed in a wooded house/structure and burned down as part of their burial ceremonies. Tokens would be placed with the cremated remains, then earth piled on top. When another important tribal leader died the process was repeated...over and over; thus making these mounds quite large. Over the years many of the mounds have deteriorated, some have gone by the wayside due to plowing the land, or building for exploding populations throughout the state.
There's The Scioto River just beyond the stone wall of the park. Children enjoy running around The Mound, and following the trail up one side and down the other. Pack a picnic or snack and sit under the shade of one of the many trees so you can talk about your adventure, and perhaps catch your breathe after the climb. This Conical Mound is larger than one I recently visited in Chillicothe; Story Mound, and more accessible.

When you return home get some string....measure (let the kids help you) 100 feet. Make a circle with the string in the backyard. Let the kids burn up some more energy running around it; but also get them thinking about what all could be put in that space. As always grab maps, due math comparing the measurements, the dates etc. Paper and crayons will come in handy as the children draw what they think an Ancient Indian looked like. Make word puzzles with the words from the days adventure:
Mound
Ancient
Adena
Indians
Burial
Conical
Governor
Historical
Archaeological
Society

Do the kids know what those words mean? How bout digging out the play-dough and let them make their own Indian Mound. Ask the kids how tall they felt when they stood at the top....did they feel like a giant?

Learning can always be fun. Join me, Flat Stanley for our next adventure on Friday May 28th when Art will be the focus. Until then Flat Stanley out.

Did you miss Stanley's previous Friday Adventures?

• April 23, 2010 Books and Parks (Upper Arlington, Ohio)
• April 30, 2010 Traitor or Hero (Worthington, Ohio)
• May 7, 2010 Flat Stanley and his friend Captain Pinney (Worthington, Ohio)
• May 14, 2010 First Flight and Flat Stanley (Worthington, Ohio)
• May 21, 2010 Up The Indian Mound with Flat Stanley (Columbus, Ohio)

Adena Indian Mound, Chillicothe, Ohio

Story Mound is a State Memorial off Allen Avenue at Delano Avenue in Chillicothe, Ohio. The archaelogical preserve is somewhat visible near the Middle School on Arch Street (formerly the old HS). Chillicothe is rich in Indian history. Mound City Group, the more famous area is a National Memorial with much to see regarding The Hopewell Indians.

This mound, measures 19.5 feet tall and is 95 feet in diameter. It's fenced and so I wasn't able to walk around it to get a better feel for the size. This is an Adena Indian Mound. The Adena Indians inhabited the area between 800 BC and 100 AD. The mound is slightly smaller then it was originally. It measured 25 feet in height and 125 feet in diameter before it was partially excavated in 1876 by Clarence Loveberry for The Ohio Historical Society. It sits on just under one acre of land. Beneath the mound are traces of a round timber building; the first documentation of this type of structure for the Adena people.

I noticed all the street names in this area are names of Indian Tribes. The name Chillicothe itself is an Indian word, A Shawnee word meaning principal place. Chil li coth ee was the village where the chief lived. When the chief died and a new chief took over; wherever he lived was then called Chil li coth ee.

I suggest you visit Mound City Group first,(guided tours there will give you good background), then Story Mound; grab some dinner at a local historic eatery Cross Keys Tavern., (unless you're scared--it's said to be haunted). Want more Indian Lore, don't forget to head to Sugar Loaf Mountain for the summer production of Tecumseh. It's very entertaining and quite educational as well.

Retire for the night and you'll be refreshed for another historic day as you travel about historic Chillicothe, one of the most historic cities in the state.

Summer's approaching, this is age appropriate for all, with plenty of outdoor activities to help burn up energy for the young. You could make a day trip of this from anywhere in Ohio, and Northern Kentucky; if you don't plan to stay the night to see Tecumseh.

Plenty more to see and do Chillicothe, so please check back soon for articles on The Majestic Theatre, said to be one of the most haunted places in all of Ohio.

**I've link to previous blog articles for you for more background information about Chillicothe and The Cross Keys Tavern, here as well as above in the text.