I bet you thought we forgot about the state parks, right? Especially since it's been more than a month since our last state park adventure. We haven't forgotten, and (fingers crossed) I think we can still meet our goal of visiting them all this year. We've just been busy with other stuff, and honestly a little travel weary. (Never thought I would say that, but it's true.)
In this installment, we visited Ouabache State Park near Bluffton. Area-wise, it's a pretty small state park, so we were able to explore most of it in one day. The only thing I feel like we missed out on was a ride on the bike trails, which are extensive and look like so much fun, but (a) one of us can't ride a two-wheeler with confidence yet and (b) our bike trailer situation is still very much up in the air. We've got to get going on both of those things.
One thing that sets Ouabache apart from other state parks is that it has a "wildlife exhibit," by which I mean that there are bison in vast fenced-in areas. Bison are HUGE, and it turns out that the boys really like watching them. Naturally, Henry was disappointed that we didn't see any of them stampede, but I think that's a "pleasure" best saved for viewing on video. Mostly they just meandered around and grazed. We did see one scratch its shoulder with its horn, which I had never before considered as something bison would do but makes perfect sense. We also observed plenty of trees stripped of their bark along the bottom few feet where the bison apparently used them as scratching posts. Who knew bison were so itchy?
After we got our fill of bison watching, we headed out on one of the other trails that wound through a forest of oak and hickory. It was a nice hike, very peaceful and quiet, and we didn't pass many other people along the way. It's always funny to me when that happens because it feels like the state parks were put there just for our little family to explore. Like they're some closely guarded secret that only a select few know about. I know that's not really the case, but when you don't run into anyone else for more than a mile or two, it feels like you're all alone in knowing about a place.
As far as rankings go, I would say Ouabache is somewhere in the middle. Aside from the bison, it didn't seem to have a ton of things we can't find anywhere else, but it still provided everything we look for in a state park adventure. We had a lovely day there, but I don't think it's on our "must visit again" list.
See also: SPP1, SPP2, SPP3, SPP4, SPP5, SPP6, SPP7, SPP8, SPP9, SPP10, SPP11,
SPP12, SPP13, SPP14.
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