Ohio is home to several major effigy mounds. Online research and my brother’s copy of The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Native American Mounds and Earthworks gave me interest in visiting Ohio’s earthworks for myself.

Yesterday I set off on a whim for two locations I’ve been meaning to visit: Eagle Mound within the Great Circle at the Newark Earthworks and Alligator Mound. I brought along a few strains to review in the process!

The first major milestone I reached was passing the 7-story Longaberger building. It is the former headquarters of the Longaberger Company who were famous for producing wooden baskets. The now-defunct building is shaped like a gigantic basket.

My original intention was to visit Alligator Mound before I visited Eagle Mound within the Great Circle. However, when I stopped to get gas, I realized I was only 8 minutes away from Eagle Mound. So off to the Great Circle I went!

As soon as I parked I could see the gigantic, circular 1,200-foot structure of earth. It rendered me awestruck.

The Great Circle is one of the largest circular earthworks in both North and South America. There is a giant moat-like pit contained inside of the walls, not in front of them. Near the middle of the circle lies a giant eagle effigy mound.

What is an effigy? According to The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Native American Mounds and Earthworks by Gregory L. Little:

An effigy is an image or representation of a person, animal or object. Many pottery vessels were made to represent animals and human heads. Effigy mounds are earthworks deliberately shaped to represent animals, humans, and even in a few cases, specific symbolic artifacts. Mounds have been found that were formed into snakes, birds, panthers, water creatures, shaman and ceremonial axes.

I got out of the car to take in the scenery. There were crows flying above the Great Circle. It was a remarkably beautiful day with no rain and lots of sunshine.

I walked around to the right side of the structure. There was a stone bridge that lead to the Great Circle’s interior, where you were able to walk around. I made my way towards the Eagle Mound, which is located right at the center of the circle.

In front of Eagle Mound was a sign that explained what is known about the earthwork. I walked around Eagle Mound and could see the shape, but from the ground it was kind of hard to tell what it was. You could definitely see the wings and head, but to me it wasn’t exactly clear what the shape of the structure was from the ground. I might not have caught onto the fact it was shaped like an eagle had I not known already.

I noticed that there were lots of other really small mounds or hills in the landscape around the eagle. I walked back across the stone bridge to exit the Great Circle. I then ran a lap around the Great Circle! I became winded and had to stop a few times throughout the jaunt.

It was now time for the first of two strain reviews: the Frozen Bananas 16.4% THC one gram hybrid pre-roll from Pure Ohio Wellness. It was packed in an opaque white tube. I didn’t see any stems or junk in the joint, which was nice.

The flower was wrapped in unbleached hemp paper. The cone’s tip had a Pure Ohio logo on it. It had a light, slightly fruity scent to it, which did remind me of banana a bit. The dry hit tasted like it smelled.

I stood outside of the Great Circle and faced directly towards Eagle Mound. I sparked the Frozen Bananas joint with a Bic lighter while fighting a slight breeze.

There was a bit of a run right off the rip, which may have had to do with the wind. I re-lit as necessary and puffed the piff. The ash was very light colored and the smoke was far from harsh. I liked the clean taste, which did remind me a bit of banana. It wasn’t a sharp fruity taste like citrus or strawberry, it was more of a muted fruit flavor.

The airflow quality diminished about 3/4ths of the way through the joint. I had to roll the joint’s tip and remaining flower to loosen it up. This actually fixed the airflow and the rest of the joint burned slow and even.

There were a few relights throughout the burn to fix slight runs, but overall this was not a bad joint at all. It lasted about 10 minutes. The medical effects were relaxing, but not overwhelming, and lasted about 45 minutes. As I waited for the effects to wear off, I sat within the Great Circle and meditated.

I gave the Frozen Bananas 16.4% THC one gram hybrid pre-roll a 7/10 for taste, 4/10 for harshness, 6/10 for strength, 6/10 for smell strength and 45 minutes for length of medical effects.

Ingredients: cannabis plant material, rolling paper (wood fiber), filter (cardboard).

Total THC 16.4%, Delta-9 THC 0.20%, Delta-9 THCA 18.5%. Total CBD 0.04%.

Terpenes: d-Limonene 0.45%, a-Pinene 0.33%, b-Caryophyllene 0.20%, b-Pinene 0.16%.

Harvested by Pure Ohio Wellness on 07/01/2025, tested by North Coast on 08/26/2025, packaged 09/03/2025, consumed 09/29/2025, expires 08/19/2026.

As I was leaving the Great Circle to head to Alligator Mound, I noticed a sign that said “only a few miles to visit Flint Ridge Ancient Quarries!” On a whim, I went off on a tangent to visit the ancient flint quarries. When would I ever be back in this area any time soon? I might as well explore as much as I possibly can.

I quickly found out that “Only a few miles” was eight miles of long, winding, hilly country roads with fast speed limits. Sometimes, cars would fly up and over these hills at an incredible rate of speed. All you could do was pray that they didn’t stray left to center.

I asked myself, how could you possibly drive these roads in the winter, with ice and snow? I determined that the answer to that question is you cannot drive these roads in the winter. It would be impassible and impossible.

After parking and getting settled, I headed into the Flint Ridge Quarries museum. I talked to the attendant and got a small tour of the facility. I learned that flint is a quartz rock. I learned about some of the many uses of flint.

I left the museum and began walking the .75 mile Quarry Trail, which is surrounded by flint quarries.

The Quarry Trail was a hilly hike! I have hiked lots of Ohio trails and this one gave me a particular workout with its uneven terrain. It was fun to run up and down these steep, root-laced hills.

I had a joint of Mixtape, grown by a friend right here in Ohio. I will be making a point to review more homegrown Ohio strains now that it is legal to grow cannabis in this state.

Here is what the grower had to say about their Mixtape strain: “With its varied lineage, this happy little accident I stumbled upon has quickly become a fan favorite.”

The Mixtape had a very fresh, myrcene-heavy smell. It was pungent and aromatic. It smelled enticing. The strong smell was on the earthier side but I could detect slight fruitiness, maybe from the myrcene. It smelled really good!

The buds had nice greens and oranges in them with minimal stemmage. The Mixtape bag given to me contained small buds, so the nugs weren’t giant, but they were plenty smokeable and still looked great.

The buds were not overly dry and they stuck to my fingers as I broke them down. Through a grinder they did not turn to dust, which was awesome. The Mixtape nugs ground down to a nice fluffy consistency that was easy to pack and roll.

After enjoying a few tasty dry hits, I sparked the Mixtape joint within a flint quarry pit.

The joint burned pretty slow, lasting around 10 minutes total. It produced white ash and tasted just like it smelled: earthy, fruity and gassy. It tasted awesome! I looked forward to each smooth draw.

For me, the Mixtape’s medical effects were hybrid-leaning. My body felt relaxed yet my mind was motivated. The aches and pains produced by the the day’s driving and hiking melted from my mind. The effects lasted about an hour or so.

I gave the Ohio Mixtape an 8/10 for taste, 3/10 for harshness, 8/10 for strength, 8/10 for smell strength and over 60 minutes for length of medical effects. I am definitely looking forward to reviewing some more Ohio homegrown cannabis! You can’t beat the freshness and taste.

After walking around and waiting a while it was time to head to Alligator Mound, which is a 25 minute drive from the Flint Ridge Quarries. The effigy mound itself is built atop a gigantic hill. In modern times there is an upscale housing development built all the way up this hill. The only way to reach the effigy is to drive five minutes up a long, winding residential road.

Once I plodded up the hill I reached the day’s ultimate destination: Alligator Mound.

There is no good place to park at Alligator Mound. There is only one small, thin road that circles the effigy. I parked as far to the side of the road as I could near the right side of the effigy.

Unlike Serpent Mound and Eagle Mound, you are allowed to walk on Alligator Mound. There is even one of those “PUP” Pick Up Poop doggie bag stations at the foot of the mound. Somebody is clearly cutting the grass atop the effigy, probably one of the nearby residents. How cool would it be to live right next to Alligator Mound and see it every day out of your window?

I sparked the final Mixtape joint and stood in awe at the incredible view. Crows circled above.

If I didn’t know what I was looking for I might not have noticed the effigy animal’s form while standing atop the structure. I might have just thought it was a hilly area. Maybe long ago it was easier to see the shape in the earth. Who knows what kind of animal it might actually represent? Probably not an alligator.

The view atop Alligator Mound was jaw-dropping, serene and beautiful, despite the painful eyesore of all the huge houses everywhere. It was damn near silent up there. I imagined what the view must have looked like before all of the “progress” and residential development.

I felt a calming energy as the crows quietly circled above. I sat atop Alligator Mound and appreciated the fact I existed and was even able to travel here in the first place.

I felt so high up atop the earth that it seemed like I could touch the clouds. This effigy was definitely built in this spot for a reason. I stayed as long as I could before I had to get in the car and leave the breathtaking area.

After visiting Serpent Mound, Eagle Mound and Alligator Mound, I can say for certain that it is very difficult and near impossible to see the shape of these structures from the ground. You have to be elevated up somehow in order to view them in full.