Tuesday, June 10, 2008

June 5 - Finally Settled


As we traveled east from Kansas it was interesting to see how green, lush and undulating everything became. About 50% of the fields have not yet been planted, but what is growing is looking good. By the time we got to Ohio most fields were partially flooded from the excessive rain during the last few weeks. We, luckily, have had mostly sun since Wednesday.

Picking up the camper was a good feeling. The anticipation of being in our own beds was good. We were also looking forward to being able to spread out in an unloaded car. We had to overcome a few problems, but found a wonderful Camping World RV center in Akron, OH. With all these unexpected obstacles we had to miss visiting the Amish. Oh well – just an excuse to come back to Ohio. We continued through to Pittsburgh to drop Rich off at the airport. Thank you Rich, for driving us 1600 miles and getting our holiday off to a safe start.

Traveling on the backcountry roads to Uniontown, PA made me feel like I was in the UK. Rolling fields and forests in every direction. The only things missing were the stone walls lining the lanes. We went through a town called “Scenery Hill” and it was just like Lookout Mountain, CO. There were signs everywhere deploring the erection of more transmission towers. The steep climb up out of Uniontown was nearly too much for the car. The temp indicator almost hit red. We used it as a good excuse to stop at a scenic overlook.

After turning off Hwy 40 towards Ohiopyle State Park our new and not yet trusty GPS directed us off the main drag down a narrow side road. My instinct was to not turn but I let it have the last say. As it got steeper I became more concerned because I could feel the brakes getting spongy. We finally managed to stop and continued to peer downhill through a thick cloud of smoke from the brakes. After an half hour layover we finally made it down into the valley below. After orientating ourselves and plotting a course to the campground we discovered it was at the top of the hill we had just navigated down! The campground exceeded my expectations. We were surrounded by forests and the tranquility was wonderful. The peace is only broken by the sound of the occasional train passing through the valley below.

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