#2: [14-Jun-06]

#1: [17-Jan-00]

03-Nov-2018 -- As I had been in the Ohio and Pennsylvania for six days, and as the visit had been focused around geotechnologies in education, and as the Degree Confluence Project is enabled through the history and technology of geography, and as this point I suspected would be doable on the way to the airport, I set out on a rainy Saturday morning to 41 North Latitude 81 West Longitude. It had been 12 years since the point was visited, and I was happy to oblige. I departed Kent State University, driving east to Ravenna, where I took a photo of a magnificent flagpole, and then proceeded due southeast along Ohio 14. It was my first time on this road, and I always enjoy seeing new vistas.

Anticipation mounted as I crossed one of the bridges over Berlin Lake. At North Benton, I turned north to Helsel Road. I pulled over and gathered supplies. It was raining again. Then I drove slowly toward the north. This area was a mixture of recreation cottages and full time homes, with a golf course and a lake nearby, it was understandable. I turned east on Leffingwell Road and parked at the intersection of it and Gallagher Road, always preferring to walk to points if possible. I walked east; the rain let up for a bit, though it was still gloomy for photographs. As I have seen in several other visits, the confluence field was for sale! After a few hundred meters walk, I turned north into a very wet part of the field, where low grasses were growing and also an old oil or gas storage tank was there with a pumping station.

The temperature stood at about 65 F under gray skies. It was a morning in mid-Autumn. The surrounding trees were at their magnificent peak of color. I had no trouble zeroing out the GPS unit. I was on site only five minutes as I was literally standing in water. It was my first time on this point, but I now have at least a half dozen Ohio confluence points; all over the state except the northwest corner. I had stood on 41 North several times, from Utah in the west to New Jersey on the east. I had also stood on 81 West a few times as well, in Georgia and Florida to the south. This was my last confluence for this work trip and I didn't want to leave. However, I had planned a hike in a nearby county park and was looking forward to it, even though I knew it would be very wet: It had rained the entire week I had been in Ohio.

As I neared the vehicle, one of the homeowners from Gallgher Road came out walking his dog. We had an amiable chat as I explained my mission; the homeowner used to be a dean at a university. I bade him farewell and drove out the way I came. It was a beautiful part of the state. My hike at West Branch State Park was excellent--very wet, I was the only one on the trail, but the trees were lovely in yellows, oranges, and reds. Then I drove to a library in Cleveland, worked for awhile, and then went to the airport. Get out there and explore the world!