June 8, 2010 – Start of our SE Ohio tour and 42nd wedding anniversary celebration. After short stops in Columbus, we arrived at the Longaberger Basket corporate office building outside Newark OH. The building is seven stories high and shaped like a basket.
It was then a short drive to Frazeyburg, the Longaberger Homestead and the factory. The world’s largest apple basket (apples 4 ft in diameter) welcomed us and we did a self tour of the factory.
After another short drive, we were in Dresden to see the world’s largest basket – made from 10 maple trees!
We stopped in Zanesville for lunch and ice cream at “Tom’s Ice Cream Bowl,” rated #1 in the country for a scoop of ice cream by USA Today. We also had to drive over the famous “Y Bridge” before we left town on U.S. 40 heading east on “the national road.” The next stop was Zanesville Pottery. Helen has wanted to stop here for 30 years but was not impressed and we were out of there in 15 minutes.
After a quick stop at the “S Bridge,” on route 40,
we arrived at our destination, the Wilds. Covering about 14 square miles, the Wilds is one of the largest wildlife conservation centers in the world. It is an open range habitat that is home to rare and endangered animals from around the world. We took the last Open-Air Safari tour of the day.
Bactrian Camel and Persian Onagers in background
Dhole – SE Asia Wild Dog
Cheetah
African Wild Dogs
Sichuan Takin
Fringed-Eared Oryx
Southern White Rhino
Giraffes
Humans
Helen pointing at yurt
Afterward, we checked into the Grand Yurt on Nomad Ridge (a 5 star tent?!) with sweeping views of the Wilds.
After some cheese and crackers and a bit of Apricot brandy, we had dinner and then made our own dessert. Though cloudy with a few drops of rain, we got out our roasting sticks and made “Smores” at the fire pit – roasted marshmallows placed on chocolate between two graham crackers.
The Tradition Continues!
June 9, 2010 – after breakfast, we drove to Cambridge OH and toured the Degenhart Paperweight and Glass Museum, the National Museum of Cambridge Glass AND the Hopalong Cassidy Museum! We had dinner with the Fischers in Columbus on the way home.
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