Meeting Butler County, Ohio

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I was invited to spend a long weekend in Butler County, Ohio, just after they became Wheel The World certified for accessibility. The tourism board wanted me to write about how wheelchair accessible the region is. I hadn’t been there before, and it sounded like an interesting area, so I made plans to go. My trip to Butler County turned out to be one of my most unusual adventures, with new experiences, and a lot of donuts!   I brought Teddy and my friend, Heather, along for the ride, about three and a half hours from home. We had a nice welcome basket waiting for us at the hotel. Our home base was the Marriott Cincinnati North in Westerville. I was happy at the start with a flat entrance and automatic doors. They didn’t have any accessible rooms, so we had two connecting rooms. Teddy loved going back and forth between the two rooms. Mine had plenty of space for me to wheel around, a well-equipped desk area I could reach, and a large bathroom with a shower chair. The handheld was...
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Last Day Exploring Wildlife Prairie Park

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My friend Joan and I had been enjoying Wildlife Prairie Park, just outside of Peoria, Illinois. It was a perfect post-pandemic trip with lots of space in the open air.

Brad Windsor, Volunteer Coordinator, and Sam Himegarner, Director of Hospitality, picked us up in the morning for another tour. The property is so big we still hadn’t seen it all between the first day tour and our previous day exploration.

Our first stop was to see Mike the bison. The 19-yer-old was once a movie star and now shares his home with Elsa the elk.

We took a look at the banquet hall. It can hold up to 200 people and the ability to both have a moonrise and sunrise over an open patio makes it an ideal wedding location.

I was impressed with Hazel’s Overlook. Beyond the spectacular views is Native American folklore plaques dedicated to Hazel Rutherford. She and her husband Bill were major benefactors of the park.

I was also happy to see the park is set up for accessibility in many areas. I was able to take my scooter on some of the trails and walkways.


Wildlife Prairie Park also has a Sculpture Garden. It is dedicated to blind children, who can “feel” sculptures to size of the actual animal.  The park also has a Touch Cabin that St. Jude Children’s Hospital set up for children with heart issues.

We also saw the Pioneer section, which has an original cabin and the actual one room schoolhouse used until 1959. Nearby there is a butterfly habitat which is worth a stop.

The park is a great place for locals to spend the day whenever they want, with a family membership of only $85 a year. Visitors from out of town should consider the accommodations for a few days, or even a week. You won’t get bored. They even have special events, including a Halloween Scary Park, throughout the year.

Joan and I bid farewell and headed into our Legacy Cabin to pack up. We were going to miss the new, spacious accommodation with a sunrise facing the bison pasture from the patio. It was fully furnished, including a modern kitchen.


Before heading home we stopped at  Trefzger’s Bakery, which has been making baked goods in Peoria for over 150 years. It didn’t not disappoint. It was really hard to choose what to get, but finally decided on a quiche, a raspberry cheese danish, their famous Thumbprint cookies, and a cinnamon bread that was perhaps the best I’ve ever had.


Location: Hanna City, IL 61536, USA

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