We left Cleveland, Ohio on a frosty morning in March and headed to Alum Creek State Park located north of Columbus. Operating under winter conditions, only a few of the campsite loops were open for reservations in this large campground. No matter, though, as there were plenty of available sites to select. Each site in the park is separated by trees with plenty of space to park both rig and tow vehicle.

We only used the electric hook up since the water and sewer part of the sites are not available until later in the season when the danger of freezing temperatures is past. Several nights during our stay were in the 20’s, and the little electric fireplace/heater did a great job of keeping us warm enough.

We are keeping Lil Sebastian winterized until we are sure that the days and nights stay above freezing. That means that we are only using containers of water and use the park’s open and heated shower/bathhouse. Our stove is run by propane so we are able to cook our meals and, most importantly, make coffee!!!

Alum Creek Lake is only a short walk along the campground road and has the distinction of offering the largest inland beach in Ohio. The only toes in the sand at this time of year, though, are of the web-footed variety. We were fascinated to find the beach areas covered in hundreds of tracks going every which way.

Presumably they were from Canadian geese as we saw a few each day either flying overhead or gliding on the lake. However, once the weather warms, this area, reportedly, becomes a boaters’ paradise with areas for both paddling and motorized watercraft. I think I prefer the quiet stillness of an early March day in the park.

As our stay progressed, the weather warmed up to the 60’s and 70’s during the day. We enjoyed exploring the park’s trails and little streams which were easily accessible from the campsite. We saw hawks, returning songbirds, and, Ohio’s heralders of Spring…the Buzzards (otherwise known as turkey vultures). The sound of spring peepers began to fill the air, too, signaling the beech-maple forest was waking up from its long winter nap.

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This first stop on our journey was planned to provide a chance to get organized and settled into our home-on-wheels. We are so pleased with the storage available in this little travel trailer. And the addition of the rack at the back hitch has given us extra space for a couple of bins to hold some of the larger and more cumbersome items we need to carry. Although there is more than enough space for everything in Lil Sebastian, “Now, where did I put __________?” has become our most frequent question of the week. Thank goodness we found the marshmallows!

• Lil Sebastian
• Nature
• Travels