John Bryan State Park

Today we branched out of the Cincinnati realm and headed just east of Dayton to John Bryan State Park in Yellow Springs. I wanted to try something new, get the kids outside and hiking, and I had hoped to witness some fall foliage before the weather became too cold to go. I also thought Hulk and Little Viking Girl would enjoy the Raptor Center at the nearby Glen Helen Nature Preserve.

Unfortunately, those last two things did not happen.

It's too early in the season for any real good, colorful leaves and I didn't check the hours for the Raptor Center which closed shortly before we got there.

#lessonlearned (again)




















We did spend two hours hiking the trails at John Bryan. And when I say "hiking", I mean wondering aimlessly at a very slow pace because I have a six year old and an almost two year old (who I ended up carrying most of the time). Little Viking Girl is my outdoorsy, active, strong, "leave me alone I can do this by myself and I don't need your help" girl. But, unfortunately, today was not her day. Which is fine. I went into this well prepared and with low expectations.


This was my first time taking Baby #3 hiking. It was my first time hiking postpartum. And we were hiking without JC - who was off making us $$$ (just kidding, we poor). Now, when JC and I plan trips we have very different priorities but they complement each other. Had JC been involved with today's hike he would have: known the hours for the Raptor Center, printed a map at home, pre-decided and marked the trails we would take with an estimate of how long it would take to hike said trails, and had an itinerary for us to follow with a map of how to get there as well. Because JC was not involved I did happen to plan far enough to download a map of how to get to John Bryan onto my phone (we don't have smart phones - I know what you're thinking, "WHAT TYPE OF ANIMALS ARE YOU? Do you live under a rock?! And you call yourselves millennials!") So at least I knew how to get there but I was otherwise unprepared on what to do once we got there. My plan was to stop at the park office and talk to the person at the desk there. Which I did, she was very friendly and gave me a map. We then left the car at the overflow parking lot and wondered around the campsites until we found a trail head.

Now how I prepare for trips (and this includes the ones around town to varying degrees depending on how long I estimate we'll be out) I pack: snacks, water, lunch box with ice pack for cold items (yogurt, cheese sticks, tuna fish...), activity bag for the drive, a baby carrier or stroller (or both), extra clothes for the kids (I never think to grab extra clothes for me and yet I always wish I had because I always manage to get pooped or spit up on, today it was poop. Lots of it.) Today I went above and beyond. I pre-made the kids' favorite muffins (they're pumpkin chocolate chip) and cookies (chocolate chip) to go along with the plethora of other food items we had. We only ate about half of the food I brought, drank a third of the water, and didn't even use the stroller. I did pack both baby carriers. I have a Solly Wrap and an Ergo. Baby #3 can fit in the wrap or the Ergo (I don't bother with the infant insert, babies do just fine without all that noise). The Ergo was more for if Little Viking Girl was having problems and the stroller was for Hulk. As we were preparing to leave the car and start walking I was debating on how much to bring.

We have an amazing Bob stroller that my mother-in-law bought for us just before Hulk was born. I have put more miles into that stroller than some people drive in a month. And it is still in great condition. One of the tires has six bike patches on it because Oregon has A TON of black berries and I am pro at running over them but the patches are holding up well. Really, I could just buy a new inner-tube but who's got time for that? Fun fact, one of my uncle's designed the original Bob but sold the copyright (so no, he's not rolling in the Benjamins). But when the stroller was first produced my grandparents bought a stroller for each of their kids as a way to show support for my uncle. My dad wore that thing to the ground. He would pile all of us kids on it when he went out for runs. I remember standing on the rear axel and holding onto the handle bar while my younger siblings sat either on the handle bar or in the stroller (at the time there were four of us).


Anyways, I am familiar enough with Ohio trails (and crazy enough) to know that I could handle it but I decided that I wasn't going to give Hulk the option of wimping out (because he totally would). So as we were initially walking away from the car I had Baby #3 in the wrap, Little Viking Girl and Hulk were walking with Hulk carrying a small osprey pack with water, a few snacks, and the trail map. But I didn't feel comfortable with the set-up and went back for the Ergo. Call it a prompting because shortly after we hit the trail Little Viking Girl had had enough and wanted to be carried. After awhile she fell asleep on my back.

There were a ton of campers. The campsites seemed spacious and clean but were very open. In Oregon there are a lot more trees which isolate camp sites a bit. The campsites are in the middle of the state park with the trails looping around the outside. From the map I was given I wanted to find the Furnace Trail and avoid the Stone Steps (because hiking up 100 steps with three small kids did not sound like fun).


We managed one of those things.

Part way up the stone steps

The furnace

The trails were well maintained, they weren't extensive and crossed back and forth a bit. We came across another hiker who seemed concerned for our safety (or maybe my mental health?). He warned us that it was easy to get lost and if we didn't know where we were just hike up hill and that would take us in the direction of the campsites. I thanked him and we went our separate ways. Honestly, I was not concerned about where exactly we were. It's a small park. We managed to see the stone furnace (Hulk really liked it), Link managed to get wet in the river (and we managed to stay dry), we didn't get lost, no one complained too loudly, I did end up carrying the water pack because Hulk became tired of it, and we (or I since I was carrying two kids and a water pack) survived the Stone Steps.

It was beautiful but still very green (I was hoping that the leaves would be changing color by now). Baby #3 slept the whole time, Hulk hiked the whole time without complaint, and Little Viking Girl was fussy but settled down and fell asleep. Once I get back into running 20+ miles I can see myself returning for my long runs (sans stroller). I do want to go back and try to visit the Raptor Center.