We spent a delightful Saturday late morning and afternoon in Zanesville, Ohio (where the author, Zane Grey was born) and some surrounding areas. Starting our day off with an early lunch at Muddy Miser’s Restaurant along the Muskingum River, was a great way to kick off our Saturday. Grilled chicken sandwiches with grilled onions, jalapeño mayo with fries and sautéed mushrooms were satisfying along with the homemade peanut butter pie for dessert. The restaurant was named after a fisherman, who Zane looked to for encouragement and advice over a span of five years. Zane Grey experienced abuse by his father, which caused Zane to seek counsel from the older man, Muddy Miser. This is our second visit to the Muddy Miser’s Restaurant, and we will be back!

Just a brief few minutes of a drive away, we stopped into Geminis Eclectic Emporium, which offers a mix of products: stones, jewelry, books, décor, plants, etc. Varieties of agate, jasper, quartz and local Ohio flint may also be found. The colors of the stones were gorgeous. We selected some rough amethyst, smoked amethyst, moss agate, agate, and tiger-eye. One of the clerks shared that they actually tumble their own stones in the basement. The same clerk was quite knowledgeable about the stones and her excitement and interest in the subject was most evident. Upstairs, loads of books are on shelves high and low with plenty of seating and hangout space. The building was originally Clossman Hardware Co. in 1876 and was an antique shop prior to becoming the current business, Gemini’s. The shallow shelving compartments throughout the store really standout with the new products and colorful stones. In a sense, to wish prosperity in the future, customers are encouraged to ring a hanging bell located above the register after purchasing from the store. A dancing solar “Jesus” looks on, standing underneath the bell. Along the sidewalk, just outside the entrance are many colorful sidewalk chalk drawings from customers. The chalk is appropriately located near the entrance/exit. Geminis Eclectic Emporium provides a whimsical, laidback, and friendly environment for customers to discover.

Our next destination was the Zanesville & Western Scenic Railroad in Mt. Perry, Ohio. A passenger train, which consists of a caboose and cars from the 1940s and 1950s, is a scenic and historical rail line known as the Glass Rock Spur. All aboard passengers may choose to sit in an open gondola car or sit in the coach with views of the cornfield countryside of Perry County. Upon our arrival, we had a conversation with the railroad conductor, who shared some interesting nuggets of information with us about the train history in Ohio. The special event on the train during this visit was Grassman/Bigfoot Stories and Sightings in Southeast Ohio presented by Doug Waller, author of a handful of books, of which we picked up a couple. Doug and his assistant shared in the train coach, as the train stopped for their session. A generous amount of informational papers, books, pictures, and large footprint castings were on display. It was a short, but interesting ride with some memorable conversations.
We wrapped our outing up by stopping at Countryside Bulk Foods located at 4230 W Pike, Zanesville, Ohio. Right away, we were amazed with the perfectly shaped and beautiful variety of mums for the low price of $9.50! They sell mums a fourth of the size for $14.50 at other businesses. We snatched a burgundy mum up as a gift for a loved one, selected a black pumpkin for $1.00, a white pumpkin for $2.75, and a large green gourd/pumpkin that reminds us of Frankenstein’s Monster for $7.50. We also picked out a couple jugs of 100% pure apple cider, baked goods, frozen fruits, dehydrated veggie mix, and a variety of cheeses; the prices and the quality were most impressive! We plan to return to this gem of a find. What a lovely time!

Last Saturday, we took a little trip to Logan, Ohio to experience the second annual Hocking Hills Bigfoot Festival, which ran for two days: August 04, 2023 – August 05, 2023. Hundreds of vendors lined Main St. in downtown Logan and even spilled over into two side streets. It was packed with a crowd of people, many who arrived in Jeeps or Ford Broncos sporting Bigfoot decals in their vehicle windows or on their tire covers. Of course, a plethora of Bigfoot t-shirts made up for many people’s attire in attendance including myself. Some of the vendors who stood out to us especially were a talented mask maker (Bigfoot and the Creator from the Black Lagoon were my favorites), a company with all kinds of unique items from They Live air fresheners to funky cryptid art, Doug Waller with books containing Bigfoot stories, and Dave Spinks and illustrator team selling a uniquely cool cookbook! Also, with all of the authors and speakers there, one gentleman informed us of the Beast of Gevaudan in France during the 1700s, so we watched a documentary about that after we got home later in the evening.

Walking on our way back to the car, we stopped in a local shop, Vintage en Vogue, and purchased a handmade mouse dressed as Bigfoot: a one of a kind creative find. We plan to print the photos we took at the festival with Bigfoot himself and frame them to display alongside our Bigfoot mouse. We also stopped at a tent with several Bigfoot footprint casts and were informed of free tours with HCCR Tours available in the area.

At this point, we were hot and hungry and took a 7 minute drive to the Olde Dutch Restaurant located on OH-664, where we were given the name of “Medusa” to be called when our table was ready for us. We were tickled with that, as we have a Clash of the Titans display at our house and a Medusa planter is part of the collection. We found the restaurant’s lemonade and iced tea delightfully refreshing. A grilled chicken sandwich and a cheeseburger with fries were our main entree selections. The buffet provided was a popular choice we noticed. After our meal, we walked directly next door to the Logan Antique Mall. The place is packed with loads of interesting items. Browsing through the store was most enjoyable. It was a perfect way to wrap up our day trip to Logan.