TRIP HEADING HOME

SUNDAY JUNE 11th 2017

Oh No - not again - bright warm sunshine.

Finished our packing and spent some time with Vince and Barb before we hit the road.

I was chatting with Vince and Mike went out to El Campista.  When he wandered back in the house he announced "We're stuck here forever, El Campista won't start."

I think it scared Vince, as he quickly got the booster cables out and helped Mike boost our camper.  Which, luckily, started immediately.  So now our quick good byes, as we didn't want to turn the engine off.

It was just before 10 a.m. and the roads were not very busy.  At the NC Welcome Centre we stopped to check the battery situation.  It turned out the water level was quite low, so we topped that up, hoped for the best and got on our way again.

Next stop was for gas around Statesville.  Of course this time we had to turn the engine off.   But low and behold, it started right up.  Now, fingers crossed it remains that way.

As we entered VA the mountains were there waiting for us.  Such a pretty drive.

And so onto Wytheville VA, to the KOA park there.  We have stayed there a few times now, and it's a very nice park.

We took site #43, and could see the mountains from the site.

Spent some time planning our route for the rest of the week.  Which is not cast in stone, and can certainly be changed if necessary.

The rest of the evening was spent around the camp fire.

There we a good number of fireflies enjoying the evening too.

MONDAY JUNE 12th 2017

Woke to sunshine.   BBQ breakfast and packed ready to be on the road at a good time.  It was a really comfortable temperature this morning, 68f and no humidity.

Today we had decided we would do a fair bit of the travelling via the interstate.

As we made our way the mountains became considerably larger.

Instead of going over the mountains here we went through them.

Big Walker Mountain Tunnel was the first.

Today the tunnel was quite busy.

Pictures of mountains are the topic of the day.

This is the view we had as we pulled out of the tunnel.

It started to rain as we pulled up to The East River Mountain Tunnel

East River Tunnel was much quieter than the previous tunnel.

Once through the tunnel we entered into West Virginia.

New River Gorge looked as picturesque as ever.

A few miles along we found a great Look Out Point to pull into to.

We were surrounded by hazy mountains.

Time to get back on to the road.  El Campista has had a rest.

We had a lot of mountains to climb as we made our way to Black Water Falls SP.

It was not a huge park, but very pretty and extremely friendly.

We took site #29.  It was a nice shady site.

Today the park was not overly busy.

It felt good to wander around the park for a while, and well worth the walk.  Although not a great deal of miles were travelled today, it did seem like a long tiring day.

My Chef did his usual BBQ magic and we were then revitalised for a relaxing evening in the cool of the mountains.

TUESDAY JUNE 13th 2017.

Bright sunshine blasting through the windows this morning, so no sleeping in for us.  It was really warm and sunny outside too.  The squirrels and chipmunks were scurrying around the campsite hoping for some of our breakfast.

Today's plan of travel is to Parker Dam PA.  We have been there before, and found it to be a really good park.

All ready to be on the road by 10.15 a.m.   Which gives us a not quite so hurried day, as the park is approximately 4 1/2 hours away in PA.

The road leaving the park looked more like a hiking trail than a roadway.

Next we came up on Mt. Grove on Hwy 219.
Yes, Mike and "The Lady Dog" had decided 219 was a good route for today -no I-77.

Lake Maryland was also on 219, and was a very pretty area.

From there on to Mt Henry.     Mt Henry was quite a large tourist area.  With both the Lake for summer boating, and the mountains for skiing in the winter.

The scenery around Mt. Henry was really quite breath taking.

When we reached  Negro Mountain, we were lucky enough to be able to pull into the Look Out Point

Where we got out stretched our legs and took pictures.

A very nice break.

We had just reached the summit of Negro Mountain, 2785 ft. and  had to "use left lane only"

as there was construction in the area.   Consequently we did not think anything of being stopped for 10 - 15 minutes.   But still no one was moving, and we could not see any reason for the stop from our point, as we had a car in front of us, and a truck in front of the car.

Then we heard a truck driver on the west side of the road, on his CB radio, informing us that "two cars and a construction vehicle in a wreck and it is a huge mess.  It appears the delay will be a lengthy one."

So now what?  Cannot turn around and go back, as there is a large median between the east and west side.   We turned our engine off, opened all the window and doors we possibly could.  It was 85f, very sunny, hardly a breeze and NO shade.   It didn't seem feasible to run the engine and air conditioner at this point.

It didn't take too long before we heard the sirens.  First one ambulance, followed by two fire trucks, two rescue truck  two more ambulance and three state troopers.  It turned out we were only four vehicles from the wreck.

I dread to think what might have happened if we had not stopped at the Look Out Point.

A few more minutes and two more fire and rescue trucks , two more ambulance and another four police vehicles arrived at the scene.  Yes it appears it is quite the wreck

Then the west side of the highway was closed down, and we could hear the Air Ambulance on it's way, circling to find a good landing spot.

It did land on the west side  of the highway.   From where we were we could not see what was going on.  I believe that was a good thing.

It took about 45 minutes for the helicopter to be ready to leave.  Then the west side of the highway was re-opened.

Approximately 5 minutes later we could hear and see helicopter #2 circling around waiting for the landing spot.

So, once again the west side of the highway was closed to allow for the landing area. 

As the helicopter landed there seemed to be a lot of movement way behind us in the traffic line up.

It turned out that all cars and small vans were going to be turned around and sent back along the west side of the highway before they actually re-opened the highway.  Apparently it looked as if the east side would be closed for several more hours.  We had already been stopped there for 2 hours.

And so back on the road, naturally taking a different route for some  of the time, until we could safely get back on 219, and continue our journey.

Due to the delay we decided to go to Prince Gallitzin SP,  instead of Parker Dam.  It already felt as if we had been on the road for 24 hours.

It turned out to be  good park, and a good site, although not a very large site.  Just nice to sit in the quiet and relax.  Until the Tornado warning siren went off, and the sky went really black, while the wind started howling and the lightening brightening everything up all around us.   The thunder was so loud bouncing of the mountains you could not hear yourself talk.  And all the while we were sitting outside, under the awning and under a small forest of trees.  But there was no where else to go.

I guess it lasted about 20 minutes, the wind died down and the sun appeared again.  This really has turned out to be a very adventurous day.  I do believe it is the "13th"!

For the remainder of the day, we hope to be able to sit and relax around the campsite.

We did manage to do just that.                                                                                          

WEDNESDAY JUNE 14th                                                                      164211

I wonder what is in store for us today.

Our plan is to be at Lake Erie S.P.  NY this afternoon.  The last leg of our USA leg of the trip.  It certainly has not been a boring trip.

It was a good temperature for travelling this morning.  I did do a silly thing and let Mike and The Lady Dog plan the route.  Guess what route they picked - yes you got it 219, almost all of the way.

Just a short drive from the park we passed a lot of farm land in the Carrollton area.  All the farms were very well laid out and quite picturesque with mountains as back drops.

219 N takes us through a lot of small PA towns.   Always fun to look at along the way.

I'm not really sure how it happened but it seemed every 15 - 20 minutes of travelling Mike was saying according to the GPS estimated time of arrival keeps changing and getting later and later.

That indicated to me we were heading way out of our way to get to our destination.

So I had to take action and tell The Lady Dog what I thought of her, and I became The Famous "M.R.P." once again.  You all remember "The Map Reading Person"  I am sure.

Yes 219 N certainly went north, but too far east for us.   So I suggested we got on to the Interstate for a short distance , as soon as possible.  Then get onto 62N.   That was another drive that took us through several small towns.

It was a very pretty drive along the Alleghany River.  Still a lot of mountains every which way we looked.

Guess what?   We were now heading in the right direction.

After a few miles Mike said "OK, we've gained 25 minutes on our E.T.A. "  I didn't say "Go figure" or anything like that.  I just smiled sweetly and kept quiet.

And so we made our way to Lake Erie State Park. NY without any further incidents and arrived at virtually the time that was originally stated.

Not only did we arrive at a good time, we were even lucky enough to be able to take our favorite #7 site.

Once we had set up and spent a while relaxing we decided we should take a walk to the Lake.

I could have taken many pictures, but I refrained as I knew I wanted some sunset pictures a little later.

Lake Erie Sunset.

I managed to take a good number of sunset shots, while my Chef cooked my dinner.  What a charmed life I lead!

The fire was perfect, as was the rest of the evening.

THURSDAY JUNE 15th 2017                                                                        164552

We had a couple of dandy storms through the night, but it wasn't too bad when we got up to face the day.

Today we cross back into Ontario, and head straight to Ridgeway for our annual visit with Grant and Myrna.

We took a different route from the park into Buffalo.  It was quite interesting and a very easy drive.   Hopefully we will remember it next visit.

Arrived at the border with only about 6 vehicles a head of us.

It took no time at all to clear customs, but I would like to know how come we have so many good looking guys as customs officers?

Myrna and Grant we waiting for us as we arrived about 12.15 p.m.

We spent an hour or so catching up on the years happenings.  Had a delicious lunch - thank you so much Myrna and Grant.   Then back to spending time with more stories before we had to head out.  Once again it was a great visit and always fun.

We had decided to stay over night in the area, so made our way to Rock Point Provincial Park.

We took site #129, which was a really great site.   And that is where we spent the rest of a very relaxing evening around the camp fire.

FRIDAY JUNE 16th 2017                                                               164711

After breakfast we wandered down to the beach to take pictures of Lake Erie on the Canadian side of the Lake.  It was a great day, warm and sunny.

All packed and ready to head home about 11.30 a.m.

It seemed strange to travel along land that was so flat after all the mountains and hills we had encountered during the past three weeks.

We did manage to find Victoria Road South again, just north of Hamilton.  Once again a very quiet easy drive.

When we reached Guelph it was a little after 1 p.m.  So time for lunch, at our favorite spot, The Shakespeare Arms.

Friday's special is Fish N Chips - a perfect way to wind down a wonderful trip.   We were in  no hurry, so relaxed over lunch and spent some time chatting with Terry (the owner).  We've known Terry for many years, always good to be able to spend time with him.

Then we wandered off to Durham.  Arriving about 4 p.m.                             164926.

Natalie and Elijah stopped by for a visit.  Natalie had just bought a NEW car - very nice!

The lovely cat that adopted us a few years ago was nowhere to be seen.  Then about 6.30 , while we were all sitting on the front porch, she came running up the steps purring so loudly.  Actually, I think she purred all night - well it certainly seemed like that.

And that bought the trip to an end.  Only the laundry to catch up on now - then we are ready to hit the road again.

We had managed to travel 3951 km - approximately 2455 very enjoyable, not at all boring miles.