McBroom Cemetery

On our way to and from Cantwell Cliffs we passed this little cemetery that caught our eyes from the side of the road. J, being the amazing boyfriend that he is, insisted on stopping. It might have been more of him wanting to test out his new truck off-road than being a good boyfriend, but I digress. I only found one blog post about the cemetery and it was fascinating. In the early 1800s Nancy Cantwell's father, Josiah, was a land speculator. Robert McBroom (the cemetery namesake) and Nancy met and got married. They were given some land as a wedding present, and the land actually included the Cantwell Cliffs! In a nut shell, the McBrooms had a lot of land around the area and had several cemeteries, one of which I assume is the one in these photos. If you want to read a more in depth piece about the family history, go here and read Carrol's piece. I won't take the credit.

The cemetery was small but cute. We didn't spend much time there because there wasn't much to see. If you plan on visiting, there isn't a place to park, even off the road, because there's either a ditch or you're parking on the road and I don't recommend that. There's a slight grassy path, but I don't suggest taking it unless you have 4 wheel drive or it's completely dry. We got stuck, but luckily J's truck has 4 wheel drive and he got us out, but not without getting his truck all muddy.

Cantwell Cliffs

I mentioned in a previous post that over winter break J and I went back to Hocking Hills for a little r&r. We loved our cabin and the variety of trails we could walk on, and thought it would be nice to take advantage of a hot tub in the middle of winter (as well as not dehydrate walking the trails). Our first trip we visited Old Man's Cave, Ash Cave, and the Rock House. This trip we wanted to try new tails, so we chose to walk Cantwell Cliffs. It was an excellent choice, because the walk was relatively easy compared to Ash Cave, and the scenery was absolutely stunning. I'm a sucker for moss and stairs that are added to nature, so this was the trail for me. There isn't much to say about it other than the pictures speak for themselves. 

It was so much nicer walking in the winter because you didn't have the humidity blanketing you from the tree canopy above. It still get pretty hot at some points because it was a nice winter day, but it was not nearly as bad as going in the summer. We really enjoyed this hike because there was a lot to see. There were also several look outs at the top and a beautiful stone bridge, although we didn't get to spend time at the lookouts because other people were already there with dogs. I did get mad at J, though, because he'll always use the excuse that he grew up in El Salvador to do stupid stunts like climb boulders and jump over valleys. That sort of stuff terrifies me, and I told him I didn't care if he did them as long as I wasn't around. I hope I'm not alone in thinking that, but I guess I'm not a risk taker. I like feeling comfortable.

Have you been to Hocking Hills? Which is your favorite trail?