From mid-Indiana through Ohio, it was gusty winds and rain,...

rain...

and more rain.

The Cuyahoga Valley National Park (CVNP) south of Cleveland, Ohio, follows the Cuyahoga River...

 

...and parts of the Ohio and Erie Canal.  The canal was built in the 1820s/1830s to transport goods from Akron to the Cuyahoga River near the river's outlet into Lake Erie.  It was one of many canals dug in order to provide easy access to shipping, and was instrumental in making Ohio the third most populous state by the mid-1800s.  Parts of the canal are still accessible in the park.

A checkerboard used on one of the tow barges.  Raised sections of the board prevented pieces from sliding off the table.

Jim driving tow mules pulling a barge of....

Adjacent to the CVNP is the Jain Center of Greater Cleveland.  Jainism is an ancient Indian religion whose followers believe the function of souls is to help one another.

Ohio is also home to several ski resorts, two of them near the CVNP.  We stopped at the Boston Mills Resort, and although it's closed for the season, the slopes are still snow covered.

We drove through the small town of Kinsman, Ohio, (pop. 616) where we stopped to see the home of Clarence Darrow.  He was a lawyer who defended many high-profile clients in the early 20th century, including teacher John T. Scopes.  In the Scopes "monkey" trial, Scopes was accused of unlawfully teaching human evolution in a public school in Tennessee.  

Darrow's home in Kinsman is one of twenty-five surviving octagon houses in the country, and is in the process of being restored.