DAY 39, 40, 41 AND HOME
COMMON YELLOWTHROAT NORTHERN NOCKINGBIRD
WILSON'S PHALAROPE
The last two days were about getting the bells stowed away and heading for home. But first we checked out of Morris Meadows., in Fairfield MD. (Great place to camp and close to Kathy and Steve but call ahead as they may be full). We turned in our “key” ($10.00 deposit) and headed out the short road to I-83 going north to PA 30 and then east. York is a very industrial town with the Harley Davidson motorcycle factory located there.Lancaster is the center of the Amish population. We never saw a person plowingf the field with a horse until we got far western PA. This road places the traveler in the middle of some great Revolutionary War sites including Valley Forge, Charlestown and Morristown, two of the places where George Washington stayed with his troops for two bitter winters. A little further on toward Philadelphia are the Hopewell Furnaces, and the Mercer Museum. (It is the magnificent “tile man’s" place now owned by the Moravians.)
Ruth found a direct route to Plumsteadville from the south so that helped and at 11:30 we were there. The bells were loaded (we moved a few of our belongings around.), ate lunch there in the parking lot and talked with the employees a bit. Seems they had their “first ever” layoffs this year. They had never laid anyone off before so the economic issues hit them, as well.
We backtracked a bit to 313 and headed NW to pick up I 496 N. Stopped a few times for stretch and once for gasoline (It’s getting higher at $2.39). Finally we reached I-80 and headed west.
Ruth found a direct route to Plumsteadville from the south so that helped and at 11:30 we were there. The bells were loaded (we moved a few of our belongings around.), ate lunch there in the parking lot and talked with the employees a bit. Seems they had their “first ever” layoffs this year. They had never laid anyone off before so the economic issues hit them, as well.
We backtracked a bit to 313 and headed NW to pick up I 496 N. Stopped a few times for stretch and once for gasoline (It’s getting higher at $2.39). Finally we reached I-80 and headed west.
Our goal was to get nearly through the Poconos that evening. The Poconos, although at 100,000,000 years old, and eroded quite a bit over those years, still have those long 3-4 mile rises and falls (on the road) that shows their ancient shape. The highest point on the highway (I-80) east of the Mississippi River is only 2, 080 feet above sea level, but the long inclines make them seem higher. The mountains are all covered with forests at this point and for hundreds of miles it is this way. There is no agriculture showing anywhere.
In this part of PA the LUK OIL CO (a Russian Company) and the “Wawa” Gas stations reappear. Also the Sheetz Co is very up to date with their buildings and property. They are quite attractive.
On one stretch of I-80 we passed over a very long section of highway test strips (for paint and rubber stripes). This was the longest one I have ever traveled over and it was somewhere between ¼ and ½ mile long. There were hundreds of strips placed there for testing. They sure will know which ones work best. We also saw a “Survey vehicle” that was testing the surface of the road and recording the results. There were some stretches of the road (particularly the cement ones) that really needed attention.
Bloomsburg, a town of 12,000 on the way, was center in the 19th century to a booming iron industry. It is on the Susquehanna River. We did continue on to Woodland which was in the heart of the Poconos, on the western edge. IT is exactly ½ way across I-80 from east to west. Nearby is Clearfield which has 6<000>
In this part of PA the LUK OIL CO (a Russian Company) and the “Wawa” Gas stations reappear. Also the Sheetz Co is very up to date with their buildings and property. They are quite attractive.
On one stretch of I-80 we passed over a very long section of highway test strips (for paint and rubber stripes). This was the longest one I have ever traveled over and it was somewhere between ¼ and ½ mile long. There were hundreds of strips placed there for testing. They sure will know which ones work best. We also saw a “Survey vehicle” that was testing the surface of the road and recording the results. There were some stretches of the road (particularly the cement ones) that really needed attention.
Bloomsburg, a town of 12,000 on the way, was center in the 19th century to a booming iron industry. It is on the Susquehanna River. We did continue on to Woodland which was in the heart of the Poconos, on the western edge. IT is exactly ½ way across I-80 from east to west. Nearby is Clearfield which has 6<000>
The next morning (Saturday) started as a bright and sunny day. We have not had that in more than a week. In the campground late that night came a Boy Scout troop from Pittsburgh. I talked with one of the men (Brad) and he told me that they were going to canoe the Susquehanna River for two days a night. Now the Susquehanna River is a might big river especially where I pointed out between York and Lancaster there are huge rocks in the river and many rapids. He assured me, however, that the portion near Woodland was the West Branch of the river and flowed much slower and was narrower. These 29 boys and leaders were efficient in the preparation of the morning, up on time and quickly, quiet and respectful of others and made quick preparation to leave. I was really impressed with the leaders and the boys. May they have a great day on the river?
We left camp at about 8:30 and got gasoline nearby at Clearfield where it had jumped to $2.59 a gallon. Diesel was still lower. Then the long climbs in the Poco9nos began again. As we drove west however, the hills became shorter and the number of them less. The forests were still all around as this part of PA is entirely forested and one sees no agriculture for hundreds of miles. IT is ideal hunting and camping country. Ran into (figuratively) a few drivers who had some really bad “roadside manners: \”. There were a number of those ”S” curves where the construction moves the traffic to other lanes for a short distance. At that point some drivers try to maneuver their car ahead of the person going under the speed limit to get around them before they get into it. IT happened more than once today. Yesterday we saw more than a half dozen police cars with drivers “in tow” so it must be a problem in places…that and speeding.
As we drove further west and were out of the Poconos, by the time we had about 50 miles in PA to go, the farms reappeared, the land leveled off and the hills almost disappeared. When we crossed over into Ohio the industrial towns popped up quickly, Y9oungstown, (a decrepit steel mill that had been closed for a while appeared as well), Warren and Portage. Along here on I-80 (toll road now) there are two large auto manufacturing plants . The one is the Lordsburg (east) GM facility and the other is a Chrysler facility. One wonders of on next Monday if they both will still be operating? As we mentioned tough economic times hit the Malmart Bell factory, what will happen to our largest industry? Pone of the best signs we saw near Southern Michigan…”TRY OUR BEEF JERKY” (We are not a Gas Station).
We phoned ahead for reservations in Dundee near the Cabela’s store. It was in the country and quiet with many families there for the weekend between Memorial Day and when school is out for many students.. We set up quickly and had a light supper (one frozen package of prepared Goulash was left.) Lots of campfires burning soothe smoke makes it a campfire night. Tomorrow we head up US 23 and west on I-96 for home .
The day promises to be a good one in many ways. It was ,and we had sun all the wqy home arriving at about 2:30 God watched over us on the trip, and we enjoyed the man Ysights and sounds He has provided for us in this great land. Amen.
