Out of Hanover Pennsylvania heading for Front Royale and the start of the Skyline Drive through the Shenandoah National Park. Getting there was a work of art with the GPS having me head to Washington DC (southeast) and I wanting to head west. I finally just shut the GPS down and reverted to the old standby, the bloody map.
The weather for the day started out overcast and wet and stayed this way into Virginia. Once on the Skyline Drive you had to contend with fog and rain. Stopped at the first campsite on the route, which just about sits at 3000 feet. The same bugs I left in Muncy have moved in mass to this one particular site only!!!!
And Starbucks Coffee is only minutes away. Heavy dew from the night before but since I am back to sleeping in the Goatmobile, life is good. After spending the last week or so sleeping in a bed, eating food that is digestible, taking showers nightly it is good to get back to the Spartan life style of energy bars, bananas and peeling hard-boiled eggs on the road.
First night was at Mathews Arm, 2nd at Lewis Mountain and the third at Loft Mountain. Total mileage between the 3 is around 80 miles. Believe me I have never in this whole trip putted around, covered so little miles as I have in the last 3 days. Could it be that it is only costing me $7.50 per night and after leaving my last bar of soap in Hanover, the next 15 days I could be just a bit ripe when I pull into Hawaii next month.
The Skyline drive is worth every mile of travel. Did climb down the trail to Dark Hollow Falls. I should have known better then to even think that the falls would have any water flowing at this time of the year. Spring when the snow melts would be the time to view the falls. Anyway down you go, get to the bottom, take picture, and the comely National Park Ranger informs you to think of climbing a 44 story building going back up. Being in the shape of a slug riding in a vehicle for the last 4.5 months, no problem! No comment as to when I finally reached the top.
From Skyline Drive to the Blue Ridge Parkway was just a coffee cup away. Fog was the biggest problem as I headed south but as I was in the leisure cruise mod, getting to the next campsite was no worries. Campsite for the night was the Roanoke Mountain just off the parkway. Another $8.00 night and within 4 miles is the YMCA where a shower is to be had for a $1.00 including a towel.
Leaving Roanoke the next morning heading south. First off hitting fog and rain and more fog. Finally stopped off at a National Park Station and the good word was that I could expect fog and rain for the next 4=5 days and wouldn’t clear up until I reached the Great Smokey Mountains National Park 200 miles south. The speed limit on the Blue Ridge Parkway was 45 mph with the fog as an added factor, your speed dropped down to 25-35 mph. It was at this point I decided that I had had enough so with reluctance turned north. Found a campsite for the night and would wait for morning before deciding where I would head next.
Well its by-god West Virginia and a step back 20 years in time. I believe the whole state lives in a time capsule that keeps everyone and things in a 1950 time frame. If you want to get away from it all, West Virginia is where it’s at plus being in the middle of the Bible belt. After spending a night at a state park it was north to view the New River Gorge Bridge just off route 19. The site is run by the National Park Service, so all of your questions are at a fingertip away. Once you climb down to the viewing platform you realize that it’s also going to be an incredible spot to be once the change of colors happen to the trees that line the gorge.
Back on Rt 19 going north then catch 39 East until you get to the Cranberry Recreation Area within the Monongahela National Forest. Gravel roads but numerous campsites and just about empty for this time of year. And getting close to being bug free, but not quite………And for $5.00 per night, other sites within the area are even down to $2.50. Generally most sites have a long drop, trash bins, potable water (maybe), and picnic table. Tomorrow we continue east with a visit to the Cranberry Glades Botanical Area and the Pearl Buck (Goggle) Museum.
Tomorrow it is and the first stop is the Cranberry Glades, a ½ mile walk along a boardwalk with information kiosk at various stops. Next stop was at the visitor center where the first cuppa of the day was to be had. Leaving the visitors center we head north on Route 150 which takes us through some of the most brilliant colors I’ve seen to date for the changing of the leaves. Just maybe West Virginia is a bit ahead of everyone else with the foliage coloring. Get on Route 219 to Pearl Buck museum, no cameras inside but it was interesting to see where she was born and I believe lived until the age of 3 yrs before moving back to China
North is was on Rt 219 to Rt 33 and finally Route 32 to Blackwater State Park; remember now we are still in West Virginia. It was a long day but the colors of the foliage were just spectacular all of the way. Another 2 weeks and you would not want to leave for the kaleidoscope of colors that the leaves will bring out.
Rain it did for the night along with the No-see-ums; how any bug so small can cause such grief! Next morn its north to Pennsylvania for another stay with folks in Hanover. Next day it was back to Gettysburg, purchased an audio CD that takes you on an auto tour of the battlefield. There are a total of 15 stops you make with the CD and it covers the battle from start to finish. A must if you ever get to the area and do it during the week, forget weekends and summer as its busy, busy, busy.
Hanover then to Muncy, Pennsylvania where the Goatmobile will be left for the winter.
Norm
The Greynomad
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
09/16/09 Pennsylvania
To Muncy, Pennsylvania to stay with old friends from Hawaii. A bit of an old/odd couple, both in their 70’s running an organic farm for the state’s correctional (prison) system. My first day there and they have me shoveling horse manure, tons of it, for the solar wind powered consolidation fermentation plant. Of course they have volunteers showing up all week long helping, one in particular wears an electronic band around her ankle, shaved head with biker’s tattoo’s and a large letter D on her head.
Having had a pretty much a sedate life for the past months, working on a farm definitely had me looking for the scotch bottle and the biggest Motrin (ibuprofen) pill ever at the end of each day. This lasted for a bit and of course with a pretty high bug count, my legs looked terrible. Found relief in shucking onions and garlic for the rest of the time. Of course your hands smelled like the whatever’s at the end of the day.
South to Hanover, Pennsylvania for a few days and the number one priority is getting the front windscreen replaced from numerous dings and cracks (Yukon). Also had friends in the area that used to be neighbors in the townhouse complex in Hawaii back in the 1980’s. Got a tour at the Harley-Davidson motorcycle factory and the Hersey Chocolate Factory.
The Hersey Factory tour is a must for all of you chocolate lovers out there; Stay away during the summer and any holiday as its tours and kids to the max. And do they like to hand out free samples……………The day before was touring a potatoes chip factory. I’ve never had such excitement as I’ve had these past 2 days. Tomorrow it is touring Gettysburg (Civil War) for the day.
When I left Muncy for Hanover (3hrs) thinking that I had everything in hand. Well after getting to Hanover I find my dirty laundry, clean clothes (minimum) and toilet kit is missing. So we sit here with one set of clothes, toothbrush without bristles, and a case of used motor oil. I feel the neeeeeeeeed for Wal-Mart…!
Gettysburg it is for the day and there is everything there to keep you busy for days, especially if you are Civil War enthusiasts.
This pretty well sums it up for Pennsylvania, tomorrow its south to the Blue Ridge Parkway, which crosses Virginia, North Carolina and Tennessee
Norm
The Grey Nomad
Having had a pretty much a sedate life for the past months, working on a farm definitely had me looking for the scotch bottle and the biggest Motrin (ibuprofen) pill ever at the end of each day. This lasted for a bit and of course with a pretty high bug count, my legs looked terrible. Found relief in shucking onions and garlic for the rest of the time. Of course your hands smelled like the whatever’s at the end of the day.
South to Hanover, Pennsylvania for a few days and the number one priority is getting the front windscreen replaced from numerous dings and cracks (Yukon). Also had friends in the area that used to be neighbors in the townhouse complex in Hawaii back in the 1980’s. Got a tour at the Harley-Davidson motorcycle factory and the Hersey Chocolate Factory.
The Hersey Factory tour is a must for all of you chocolate lovers out there; Stay away during the summer and any holiday as its tours and kids to the max. And do they like to hand out free samples……………The day before was touring a potatoes chip factory. I’ve never had such excitement as I’ve had these past 2 days. Tomorrow it is touring Gettysburg (Civil War) for the day.
When I left Muncy for Hanover (3hrs) thinking that I had everything in hand. Well after getting to Hanover I find my dirty laundry, clean clothes (minimum) and toilet kit is missing. So we sit here with one set of clothes, toothbrush without bristles, and a case of used motor oil. I feel the neeeeeeeeed for Wal-Mart…!
Gettysburg it is for the day and there is everything there to keep you busy for days, especially if you are Civil War enthusiasts.
This pretty well sums it up for Pennsylvania, tomorrow its south to the Blue Ridge Parkway, which crosses Virginia, North Carolina and Tennessee
Norm
The Grey Nomad
Friday, September 11, 2009
09/11/09 New Brunswick-Maine-New Hampshire –Vermont-Connecticut
Well after leaving Prince Edward Island, it was to Moncton, New Brunswick for juice, hummus and bloody well nothing else. Route 126 north to Barnaby River then Route 108 to Plaster Rock (are we getting all of this?)…. Into Plaster Rock for the night and the young thing at the campsite actually thought that I was too young to qualify for the Senior Discount. Well its small black flies for the night and I seem to acquire a black Labrador dog for a best buddy. It must be the smell of my 5-day-old socks that brings on the loving feeling with the females. Plaster Rock has one pulp mill that has been shut down for the last 8 months. Due to open within weeks and is scheduled to run only 14 weeks. If the mill closes permanently as most of the pulp mills have across the US and Canada, Plaster Rock will become another ghost town.
Prince Edward Island only employee related work is either fishing or potatoes. And of course the income from fishing is barely making it so it’s either potatoes, go on unemployment or travel to the mainland looking for work.
From Plaster Rock it’s following the US/Canadian border all the way to Fort Kent (US). Of course the US Immigration officer couldn’t make any sense out of my Hawaiian License plate so it was over to the side for a vehicle search. Biggest problem was my eggs, but it was a go once they understood that they were hard-boiled. Is this getting too exciting here or what? Next I pull into the information center and lock the keys in the vehicle for the first time in 4 months. Luckily I had an extra key taped to the vehicle body.
Down the road it is to Baxter State Park and a drive through its 40+ miles of roads. Single lane, gravel and pretty much a miss as the only open areas to view were at the campsites. The time to be at Baxter is within the next 2 weeks when the leaves start changing colors. Out of Baxter to Greenville and one misable gravel road at that. Thinking that I was finally rid of the gravel dust for the next 2 months; wrong, everything is coated and I am back to square one.
The next morning has us out of Maine crossing New Hampshire, which is only a blip on the radar screen as the state is very narrow at the top. Vermont, the state that boasts more Subaru cars then sheep, up scale yuppies that drink the coffee that is chewed by the Cocoa Monkey’s out of Panama under a triple canopy of Butternut Squash………
Its covered bridges following Route 100 down the full length of Vermont. As it happens in Vermont there just had to be a major bicycle race down Route 100 on the holiday weekend. So with GPS in hand it was dirt side roads trying to get ahead of the race. Failed on two attempts but the third go around I managed to get around the race and back to covered bridges.
Being that I had a low life relative within 100 miles, it was to the south of Connecticut I went. Spent 2 nights there which entailed drinking their one bottle of 12 year old scotch and explaining the virtues of Rush Limbaugh………….(talk show idiot of many).
To the dismay of many, I had to wash my clothes and sleeping bag. The sleeping bag turned the inside of the washing machine black, me thinks that my feet might have had something to do with it.
Next leg of this journey is south to Pennsylvania.
Norm
The Greynomad
Prince Edward Island only employee related work is either fishing or potatoes. And of course the income from fishing is barely making it so it’s either potatoes, go on unemployment or travel to the mainland looking for work.
From Plaster Rock it’s following the US/Canadian border all the way to Fort Kent (US). Of course the US Immigration officer couldn’t make any sense out of my Hawaiian License plate so it was over to the side for a vehicle search. Biggest problem was my eggs, but it was a go once they understood that they were hard-boiled. Is this getting too exciting here or what? Next I pull into the information center and lock the keys in the vehicle for the first time in 4 months. Luckily I had an extra key taped to the vehicle body.
Down the road it is to Baxter State Park and a drive through its 40+ miles of roads. Single lane, gravel and pretty much a miss as the only open areas to view were at the campsites. The time to be at Baxter is within the next 2 weeks when the leaves start changing colors. Out of Baxter to Greenville and one misable gravel road at that. Thinking that I was finally rid of the gravel dust for the next 2 months; wrong, everything is coated and I am back to square one.
The next morning has us out of Maine crossing New Hampshire, which is only a blip on the radar screen as the state is very narrow at the top. Vermont, the state that boasts more Subaru cars then sheep, up scale yuppies that drink the coffee that is chewed by the Cocoa Monkey’s out of Panama under a triple canopy of Butternut Squash………
Its covered bridges following Route 100 down the full length of Vermont. As it happens in Vermont there just had to be a major bicycle race down Route 100 on the holiday weekend. So with GPS in hand it was dirt side roads trying to get ahead of the race. Failed on two attempts but the third go around I managed to get around the race and back to covered bridges.
Being that I had a low life relative within 100 miles, it was to the south of Connecticut I went. Spent 2 nights there which entailed drinking their one bottle of 12 year old scotch and explaining the virtues of Rush Limbaugh………….(talk show idiot of many).
To the dismay of many, I had to wash my clothes and sleeping bag. The sleeping bag turned the inside of the washing machine black, me thinks that my feet might have had something to do with it.
Next leg of this journey is south to Pennsylvania.
Norm
The Greynomad
Monday, September 7, 2009
09/07/09 Prince Edward Island (PEI)
Not wanting to cross the bridge to PEI from New Brunswick as the Canada Sport Games were still on. Decided to spend the night at Cape Tomindine, New Brunswick. Of course Tropical Storm Danny was to hit at the same time but being that I was sleeping in the Goatmobile, riding out the storm was a no-brainer. Well at 1800hrs the rain and wind was just getting started and for the rest of the night it was rock and roll time. The weather bureau had estimated a 100 millimeters of rain, it was double the number and gusts of wind up in the 50-60 knots at times.
Crossing the bridge this AM to PEI, everyone that I’ve talked was in no doubt that the strength of the rain and wind from the tropical storm was just unbelievable in comparison to Hurricane Bill the week before.
North Cape it was with a stop for the cuppa before heading north. The weather was over cast plus 60% chance of rain leaves no doubt that life is just going to get better as the day drags on. By afternoon there was threats of sunshine and another round of chasing lighthouses. Seems that there are other sad souls out there chasing the same rainbow. Imagine meeting up with couples that were at other lighthouses in July and can relate as well to the color of the Tim Horton’s coffee.
Heading for the East Cape and the whatever’s that just seem to pop up as we travel. Not to get off the subject but back when PEI had a railroad that ran through the middle of the island, running hot money from the tourist. The railroad in 1989 shut down and some how someone or group had the idea to make a hiking/bike trail from it. Just a brilliant idea that has worked so well and during the winter months Ski-doo’s use it. Another great place to visit is Iles de la Madeleine, a group of island’s that are a 5 hour boat ride from Souris, PEI. Haven’t been there but a great place from what I’d heard. Getting back to lighthouses, one of the best I’ve been to while in PEI has been St Peters Harbour. The road out to it is dirt, flooded with a solid base and a great ride. The beach is yours and the dunes are just magnificent. Just the kind of place to get lost and spend time.
East Cape lighthouse it is and after taking the necessary pictures, buying a PEI vehicle decal and looking somewhat interested in lighthouse number 275 we move on. The stop for the night is at another provincial campsite, shutting down after the 15th of this month, as are most places. Summer is over, the kids are back in school and the tourist are leaving town.
Next day pretty much the same routine, chasing lighthouses. Did you know that PEI has over 52 lighthouses on a very, very small island? I have countered over 30 myself and believe me I have no intensions to try to find any more. I have one more day on PEI, primarily getting through the capitol and onto the Confederation Bridge to New Brunswick
Norm
The Grey Nomad
Crossing the bridge this AM to PEI, everyone that I’ve talked was in no doubt that the strength of the rain and wind from the tropical storm was just unbelievable in comparison to Hurricane Bill the week before.
North Cape it was with a stop for the cuppa before heading north. The weather was over cast plus 60% chance of rain leaves no doubt that life is just going to get better as the day drags on. By afternoon there was threats of sunshine and another round of chasing lighthouses. Seems that there are other sad souls out there chasing the same rainbow. Imagine meeting up with couples that were at other lighthouses in July and can relate as well to the color of the Tim Horton’s coffee.
Heading for the East Cape and the whatever’s that just seem to pop up as we travel. Not to get off the subject but back when PEI had a railroad that ran through the middle of the island, running hot money from the tourist. The railroad in 1989 shut down and some how someone or group had the idea to make a hiking/bike trail from it. Just a brilliant idea that has worked so well and during the winter months Ski-doo’s use it. Another great place to visit is Iles de la Madeleine, a group of island’s that are a 5 hour boat ride from Souris, PEI. Haven’t been there but a great place from what I’d heard. Getting back to lighthouses, one of the best I’ve been to while in PEI has been St Peters Harbour. The road out to it is dirt, flooded with a solid base and a great ride. The beach is yours and the dunes are just magnificent. Just the kind of place to get lost and spend time.
East Cape lighthouse it is and after taking the necessary pictures, buying a PEI vehicle decal and looking somewhat interested in lighthouse number 275 we move on. The stop for the night is at another provincial campsite, shutting down after the 15th of this month, as are most places. Summer is over, the kids are back in school and the tourist are leaving town.
Next day pretty much the same routine, chasing lighthouses. Did you know that PEI has over 52 lighthouses on a very, very small island? I have countered over 30 myself and believe me I have no intensions to try to find any more. I have one more day on PEI, primarily getting through the capitol and onto the Confederation Bridge to New Brunswick
Norm
The Grey Nomad
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