Hoping to skirt the latest winter storm, which was pummeling Missouri and would soon move into northern Illinois, Indiana and Ohio, we decided to take a southern route to return to Columbia. Driving SSE from Kent, Ohio, we entered the Muskingum River watershed within a few miles; this large network of streams and rivers drains most of the Appalachian Plateau in eastern Ohio, eventually entering the Ohio River.
Nearing Columbus, where highway signs warned of the approaching winter conditions, we entered the Scioto River watershed, another major tributary of the Ohio. Then, in southwest Ohio, we crossed the Little Miami Valley before reaching the Ohio, itself, in downtown Cincinnati. Once in Northern Kentucky, our route paralleled the Ohio River to the southwest as we undulated across the river hills, fording the Licking and Kentucky Rivers (southern tributaries of the Ohio) before reaching Louisville.
Cold rain developed halfway between Cincinnati and Louisville but it appears that we have safely avoided the snow and ice, at least for now. We'll spend the night in Louisville before continuing through the Ohio Valley across southern Indiana and Illinois. Eventually, we'll have to angle northwest to St. Louis and thence westward to Columbia but, hopefully, the roads will be clear by then.
Nearing Columbus, where highway signs warned of the approaching winter conditions, we entered the Scioto River watershed, another major tributary of the Ohio. Then, in southwest Ohio, we crossed the Little Miami Valley before reaching the Ohio, itself, in downtown Cincinnati. Once in Northern Kentucky, our route paralleled the Ohio River to the southwest as we undulated across the river hills, fording the Licking and Kentucky Rivers (southern tributaries of the Ohio) before reaching Louisville.
Cold rain developed halfway between Cincinnati and Louisville but it appears that we have safely avoided the snow and ice, at least for now. We'll spend the night in Louisville before continuing through the Ohio Valley across southern Indiana and Illinois. Eventually, we'll have to angle northwest to St. Louis and thence westward to Columbia but, hopefully, the roads will be clear by then.
