Last night we were in New Philadelphia at this Knights Inn and got a good start this AM in order to get through the mountains in good time. We knew that the roads in West Virginia had been slick in spots but maybe by the afternoon they would be just wet. After a heart breakfast, away we went.
At the southern end of Ohio is the Ohio River that is the border for many states (Can you name 7 of them?) In the southern portion of Ohio the Appalachian rise begins to take place. These are the oldest mountains in the North American Continent and are rather undulating and "worn down", not like the newer Rockies, archeologically anyway. So in this portion the road begins to wind some as it snakes through the valleys and small "hollers".
A trip would not be complete without some road work even in November. I-77 had some and a bridge that was being repaired provided a look at some of the "back country" in this part of the country with it's mules, small barns, cabins, and quaint houses tucked in corners, and on ridges high above the road. By the side of the detour road was a 1930's style gas station with the four pillars out front, pumps long gone, and the white brick still standing to give a definite silhouette of what it once was. (It was vacant) This detour took all traffic from I-77 and trailed some 20 miles through the country side. Hey, it was raining and the picture was through the window...Right Ruth?
Into West Virginia the twist and turns get really serious and the long grades stretch for miles ending in some of those "truck runaway" embankments up a hill from time to time. They are scary, but must work. We stopped in Charleston, the WV capitol to both view the Capitol and its beautiful rotunda from a few blocks away, and to get gasoline. It looks a bit like NotreDame's 'Golden Dome' , eh? Gas here was running about $3.39/gal and it got a bit cheaper but not much.
When we got to the place where Cathy could see the snow on the mountains we stopped in a park where she was able to take some pictures with her camera. It still was chilly at 37 F where the temp had been all day. The rain never stopped from when we left Grand Rapids, until we were well into North Carolina. At 2:17 PM the sun peeked through and we saw blue sky for the first time. It was a welcome sight for sure. The temperature got to 53F
As we got closer to the pass in WV near the VA border, the snow accumulation was evident. This is three days after the storm hit and they had had rain and temps in the high 30's so it was melting during the day. Charleston had 10 inches, but there was none on the ground this day. This shot was from the toll plaza at the end of the toll road (I-77). The tips of the trees on the VA side were awesome, but from a distance (see next pics) they were not as remarkable.
All along the road for 50 miles there was lots of snow on all sides and in the trees.
This is one of the shots with the tips of the trees that are covered from 2-3 miles away. Fortunately only the oaks still had leaves so tree damage here was minimnal.
After arriving in Winston Salem, we were met be my daugter Therese (see below) who joined us for dinner here. The ladies had steak (sirloin and rib eye) and I had 1/2 rack of ribs. Great food.
All in all the day was good and aside from a 20 minute, one lane delay coming into Winston Salem, and the detour earlier, we moved along smoothly. The roads were wet , but fine. Cathy wanted me to mention that we actually could smell the tobacco coming from the W/S factories by the road. Very strong and it weren't no orange blossoms, honey! (Maybe we will get that in FL?
This is daughter Therese who is a PhD candidate at UNC Greensboro. Therese lives just about 25 miles from where we are stayng and it was great to be able to share with her for a few hours. Note the clear sky!
See ya tomorrow from Georgia!
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