After a night in Napoleon, Ohio, we continued our drive to Sandy Lake, in Portage County. The first half of the journey took us across the flat Lake Plain of northwestern Ohio, left behind by the periglacial lakes of Lake Maumee and Lake Warren; the latter was the larger predecessor of Lake Erie.
Most of this flat terrain is now covered by crop fields, laced by streams, marshes and their riparian woodlands. About halfway across the State, we encountered the foothills of the Appalachian Plateau, where the Ohio Turnpike is bordered primarily by forest. Just east of Interstate 71, the highway makes its climb onto the Glaciated Appalachian Plateau of northeastern Ohio, the realm of our final destination.
Sandy Lake, southwest of Ravenna, is a kettle lake, since modified by distribution canals that connect it with other regional lakes and waterways. Our cottage is on its north shore and a fine trail leads around its perimeter. Reports from this pleasant retreat will follow in the coming days.
