Columbus environs

Although I am staying in Columbus, I really did not explore the city at all, just used it as a jumping off point for a couple of destinations in relatively close proximity.

But, first a lens update. The shipment was in fact received by the Canon repair facility today. But the one day delay really puts a wrench in the timing as all of the turn-around times are calculated on business days. So losing yesterday is making things difficult. The Canon rep I spoke to this evening put in a complicated if-then return plan. The challenge is we don’t know exactly when the repair will be completed, which determines where to ship the the lens back to me. Again, stay tuned.

Meanwhile, I headed out this morning to explore the Hopewell Culture National Historical Park . This park encompasses a number of different locations where the Hopewell people lived. If the name does not sound like a typical indigenous name, it is because it is not. Because the true tribal names of these people were lost over the millennia, they were named after Mordecai Hopewell, on whose farm the first mounds were found and excavated. From the web site: These ancient indigenous peoples were part of a cultural golden age that flourished in this region from A.D. 1 to 400. The monumental architecture and artifacts of the Hopewell culture reflect a pinnacle of achievement in the fields of art, astronomy, mathematics and engineering, the likes of which was seldom seen again in eastern North America.

Visible remnants of Hopewell culture are concentrated in the Scioto River valley near the present-day city of Chillicothe, Ohio. The most striking Hopewell sites contain earthworks in the form of circles, squares, and other geometric shapes. Many of these sites were built to a monumental scale, with earthen walls up to 12 feet high outlining geometric figures more than 1,000 feet across. Conical and loaf-shaped earthen mounds up to 30 feet high are often found in association with the geometric earthworks.

Archeologists have determined that no one actually lived at any of the earthwork sites. Artifacts found inside reveal that some of the mounds were built primarily to cover burials. The Hopewell also must have maintained a network of contacts with other groups across North America. This trade network allowed the Hopewell to amass a collection of materials found at these burial sites such as mica, shark's teeth, obsidian, copper, and marine shells that could not be found locally.

 I visited several of these sites, including walking the 2 mile interpretive trail around the Hopewell Mound Group . While the only visual markers are the mounds themselves, and in some cases even those have been reduced due to lack or recognition and preservation, the sites still feel sacred. The only sounds were the buzzing of cicadas and the chirping of birds. And, but for the power and phone lines, one could almost imagine the thriving civilization that lived, died, worked and played in this region. I probably spent a bit too much time walking these mounds, but it felt like time well-spent to honor and try to understand this long gone, but clearly highly advanced, civilization.

I had originally planned two additional destinations for this afternoon, but time constraints limited me to only one of them. I drove out to the Dairy Barn Art Center to view the Quilt National ’23 exhibition. This turned out to be a good choice and well worthwhile. As I learned from the quilt exhibit at the Clinton Library in Little Rock, modern quilting has progressed far from the square patches sewn together by our grandmother’s generation. It has become a textile art form that rivals any other visual art. The designs are complex, diverse and thoughtful. It was a treat to spend an hour viewing the many quilts on display. Although the title suggests this is a national exhibit, the artists hailed from all over the world, and the designs reflected their personal experiences. It was a nice complement to my morning among the mounds.

Tomorrow I continue to Cincinnati, at the Southernmost border of Ohio.