May 30, 2013, 4:07 pm - Surely we have died and gone to heaven! We’re parked in Site #1 at a TVA dam tailwater campground that shall remain nameless so we can keep it all to ourselves. Well shaded spot…cool grass underfoot…mere inches from green, deep flowing water’s edge…poplars and hemlocks tower on steep granite cliffs across the way…nesting bald eagles. Small hint: about a 100-mile drive from HVL; location: eastern Tennessee. So, to back up: Davidson River CG, NC, for a 9-day stay without hookups sure was a challenge--battery was almost fried…dirty water holding tanks were pretty darned full…had to drive 30 miles just to get to HVL. But here’s the good news: lots of walking pathways…plenty of trees but sun for our traveling petunia…grrrreat public showers…locals Jimmy and Irene, camp hosts. Shhhhh, it’s nightfall and the campfire’s turned to charcoal…we’re ready for bed. Gotta stop writing. Miss Kitty is calling us inside. We gotta be outta here by 9 am (I really mean it!) May 31, 2013 - And, you thought we’d (I) never be on the road by 9--sillyyyyy. We’re now on our way to Watoga State Park, WV. So, we’re moving along at about 40 mph (with over 200 miles to go)--scenic US 219. Being rewarded with outstanding scenery: high, rolling hills & mountains (4,000‘)…tight curves, banked just right and our truck handled the 9% grades like they were sandhills. Hundreds of acres of hayfields. Big gardens with rows & rows of potato hills. Miles of roadsides covered with purple and white dame’s rocket--do you suppose they grow wild or does WVDOT sprinkle the seeds like Johnny Appleseed. By 2 pm, we think it’s pretty hot in these mountains: 86 degrees. For all its beauty, there’s nostalgia: once erect and painted red, the farm barns are now weather-beaten and abandoned. This makes me sad for I remember my grandfather’s “living” barn with her downstairs stalls filled with mooing milk cows and upstairs lofts filled with sweet-smelling hay. My great-grandfather’s name “Charles A. Lewis” and the date she was built were printed over the double barn doors. Pretty much bygone scenes and cultures now. Yup, US219 really did slow us down--didn’t get to Watoga ‘til about 4:30pm. Friday so CG is pretty full ‘cept for 3 crowded sites. But there’s power! And, we’re right next to the guy with the loud radio! Wellllllllll, suffice it to say that the CG at Watoga was accommodating but didn’t earn our “come-back” star. I guess the hard-working campers appreciated their cool weekend off. June 1 (already?) 2013 Still West VA! ‘Round every bend there’s a tiny, old frame church--I figure it’s ‘cause the roads are so damned narrow and windin’ that folks need be prayin’ lots and mighty! Came close! My eyes were shut…teeth clenched…suckin’ air. Woo hoo, this scenery is fantastic!!! All this beauty and the slow going takes its toll…we head for the Interstate. After all, we do need to make Morgantown, WV and Confluence, PA, before dark. Arrived Tub Run CG, Youghiogheny River Lake 4:30 pm. Hot and sticky. Backed into our site. Trees, birds, chipmunks and a babbling brook right off the living room. Electric only but showers & johns are just up the short hill ‘cross the way. Trust me, after all day on the road plus this stinkin’ humidity, even I welcomed the climb. June 2, 2013 Met the neighbors…great, they’re as crazy as we. Checked out other sites--waterfront--but decided we like ours better. June 3, 2013 Threatening rain clouds, but chilly temperatures with us all day. Short road trip to Ohiopyle Falls and a bridge portion of the Greater Allegheny Passage (150-mile Rail-to-Trail) biking/hiking trail running over the Y. River. Stopped and talked with Miss Vicki…born here…before the Park Service took over the 2,000 acres of forest land made it a biking/hiking tourist town…before, when it was a thriving rail/logging/mining town. Only 35 human residents now…down from about 150. Countless derelict buildings, few of which are residences…the rest are cycle and kayak shops, cheek-to-jowl with sandwich shops and a bakery. Not enough tax revenue to support the infrastructure…they got a grant to rebuilt the sewer lines. But the place is overrun by fun-loving tourists on the weekends. CSX trains maintain active rail lines along the river, on the edge of town. June 4, 2013 Not far from Ohiopyle, just up US381 a bit, is Architect Frank Lloyd Wright’s “Fallingwater”. Earlier, we’d seen photos of this interesting “house built over a waterfalls somewhere in western PA”. Then the local storeowner highly recommended we pay the $23 admission to what’s now a museum. What the heck, it’s only money, so today we became members of Tour Group #18. For an hour and a half we were immersed in an architectural uniqueness that has earned the home this year’s nomination as one of the 8 wonders of world. Fallingwater, built in the late 1930s, was a summer home to the owner of Kaufman’s Department Store in Pittsburgh. Holy Cow was it worth every minute of our time. June 5/6, 2013 Chores Days…and we found the best Verizon internet signal at the top of Youghiogheny Dam. Planning where we’ll be traveling until we return to NJ in September: NY? ME? More PA?
Posted on: Fri, 07 Jun 2013 20:54:31 +0000
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