Big Oak National Wildlife Refuge in Indiana
April 30, 2007
We drove around town, the city square where the county courthouse stands in the center and the City County building stands on a corner. The town has a few murals. The post office was attached to the Federal Building.
Kathy brought a bag of things to be mailed. The clerk said, “ you can’t mail it like this; you will have to put it in a bag.” Patiently Kathy replied, “Yes, it can be mailed as it is.” The clerk went to the supervisor who suggested it be put in a bag. Kathy declined the offer and requested it be mailed as is.”Fine, but we are not responsible if it is damaged.” “Oh, if something you mail gets damaged is the post office responsible?” “Well, not if it is not insured.” “I will mail these just as they are then.” The clerk said that more tape would be needed to ensure the edges not come up or the ends open; she wanted to wrap tape around and around the items. Kathy smiled and said that was not necessary, but agreed to put another piece of tape across the edges.
The clerk said about a hundred times that the package might get damaged to which Kathy calmly replied that she would take her chances. The clerk said for the one hundred and first time that the packages might get damages. Kathy told her she could go ahead and damage it if she wanted to prove herself right, but that she had mailed many a package and they have always gotten to their destination in good condition. The clerk put the postage on the packages and Kathy paid her bill. Just so you know when you go to mail something unusual it may cost a few cents more because they have to hand cancel the item, but the post office can mail just about anything.
We drove around town, the city square where the county courthouse stands in the center and the City County building stands on a corner. The town has a few murals. The post office was attached to the Federal Building.Kathy brought a bag of things to be mailed. The clerk said, “ you can’t mail it like this; you will have to put it in a bag.” Patiently Kathy replied, “Yes, it can be mailed as it is.” The clerk went to the supervisor who suggested it be put in a bag. Kathy declined the offer and requested it be mailed as is.”Fine, but we are not responsible if it is damaged.” “Oh, if something you mail gets damaged is the post office responsible?” “Well, not if it is not insured.” “I will mail these just as they are then.” The clerk said that more tape would be needed to ensure the edges not come up or the ends open; she wanted to wrap tape around and around the items. Kathy smiled and said that was not necessary, but agreed to put another piece of tape across the edges.
The clerk said about a hundred times that the package might get damaged to which Kathy calmly replied that she would take her chances. The clerk said for the one hundred and first time that the packages might get damages. Kathy told her she could go ahead and damage it if she wanted to prove herself right, but that she had mailed many a package and they have always gotten to their destination in good condition. The clerk put the postage on the packages and Kathy paid her bill. Just so you know when you go to mail something unusual it may cost a few cents more because they have to hand cancel the item, but the post office can mail just about anything.Cliffty Falls State Park had an observation tower a short hike from the parking lot; it was an old metal tower with open wooden steps and decking-scary. We walked up to the top and took a few pictures of the treetops that blocked the view of the river.
Madison was a quaint town on the Ohio River. It was here that we did our constitutional for the day. The old mansion of the Lanier family was donated in 1917 and today is a museum.
Recently designated a National Wildlife Refuge, Big Oak is located on 50,000 acres of the former Jefferson Proving Ground. There are unexploded items laying around so you have to sit through a safety film which pretty much
says do not touch any metal object nine different ways. From the office are the daytime use area is a 15-mile drive on gravel roads. We decided to save it for another day and stopped at the little county park just inside the gate. We made lunch and watched the Canadian geese; they had chicks with them. We also saw a Henslow’s sparrow. Merrill, they have a lottery here for hunting.
We drove out and made our way north east, past the Ohio River in Auora and got on the interstate around Cincinnati and north to Miamiburg. We are definitely in the east now…traffic and more traffic. People everywhere moving fast. Open space is covered with building litter,
housing developments of tickie-tack homes that all look alike, fast foods on every corner and in-between retail shops of every name. Signs read: Open 24 hours Plan accordingly. Our hearts are pumping faster.
We found the Discount Tire and close by the Waldorf where we watched the ending to Close Encounters of the Third Kind while the moon rose above.
Madison was a quaint town on the Ohio River. It was here that we did our constitutional for the day. The old mansion of the Lanier family was donated in 1917 and today is a museum.Recently designated a National Wildlife Refuge, Big Oak is located on 50,000 acres of the former Jefferson Proving Ground. There are unexploded items laying around so you have to sit through a safety film which pretty much
says do not touch any metal object nine different ways. From the office are the daytime use area is a 15-mile drive on gravel roads. We decided to save it for another day and stopped at the little county park just inside the gate. We made lunch and watched the Canadian geese; they had chicks with them. We also saw a Henslow’s sparrow. Merrill, they have a lottery here for hunting.We drove out and made our way north east, past the Ohio River in Auora and got on the interstate around Cincinnati and north to Miamiburg. We are definitely in the east now…traffic and more traffic. People everywhere moving fast. Open space is covered with building litter,
housing developments of tickie-tack homes that all look alike, fast foods on every corner and in-between retail shops of every name. Signs read: Open 24 hours Plan accordingly. Our hearts are pumping faster.We found the Discount Tire and close by the Waldorf where we watched the ending to Close Encounters of the Third Kind while the moon rose above.
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