On Monday morning I took the time to hike down to the falls at Blackwater Falls. It's such a beautiful spot but enough of a hike to start the day a little sweaty. I got the camera out and snapped a few pics then hit the road again.
I turned south thru Seneca Rocks headed toward highway 250 under a sunny sky with clouds gathering on the horizon. The roads for the rest of West Virginia were fast and winding with a little bit of a washboard ripple to the asphalt from the trucks. I climbed one mountain with a tanker truck behind me and when I saw the sign that said 10% grade next 3 miles it made me nervous to know he was somewhere back behind me. With the good weather, I had my gps out. It's a car gps so it sits in the glove box when it rains. It's a headache to enter routes into it but I love having it on a windy road to get a glimpse of what is coming around the next corner.
As soon as I crossed into Virginia the clouds rolled in. I suitied up and rode in the rain for the next few hours. I drive a lot more cautiously in the rain and with the reduced visibility I was pleased to find myself behind two dump trucks. It's great to have a pace car for the turns and twists of the mountain roads. I don't think I would have dared to go any faster than they were going.
The sky cleared by the time I made it to Staunton so I wandered to town to find some food. Shenandoah Pizza had a table outside and I had a great slice of pepperoni and a sandwich while watching people walk by. Staunton has a nicely preserved historic downtown.
The theme for the day is underestimating how long it takes to cover the miles in the mountains. I made it to the entrance of the Shenandoah park at around 4 in the afternoon. With 105 miles to cover and more than 4 hours until sunset, I thought I would have no trouble making it to the Big Meadows campground and have the tent set up before the sun set. I did make it, but there were a few complications. First, I had forgotten to get cash before going into the park and didn't have the $20 in cash for the late registration. Second, I saw the warning signs about bear country and the need for proper food storage. Something I hadn't considered when cramming clif bars in every available gap in the luggage.
The nearest exit from the park was another 10 miles or so down the road so I pushed thru. The original plan was to find my way to the town of Luray and an ATM then return to set up the tent by headlight again.
I spotted a bear crossing the road less than half a mile from the campground. Headed towards the campground. Right then changed my plan to blow the budget one more time and find a dive hotel for the night. On the way out of the park, I had to stop for deer in the road at least six times. I had to slow down for them at least another dozen times more. One of them didn't move even when I stopped five feet away from him. I yelled BOO and he got a little skittish and I got spooked realizing I was out in the open near a very big wild animal. Luckily, he decided against confrontation.
I found a crappy hotel in the Luray valley for 50 bucks. It smelled of smoke and was a bit run down but it didn't hurt the budget much.
I got an early start on day five and headed back up into the park. The weather was great again and this time I made sure to put on plenty of sunscreen. I love that park and made a point of pulling off at every overlook.
I headed northeast to DC. I had plans of a photo op parked at the national mall with the Washington Monument as a backdrop. The heat, the crowds, and the construction dissuaded me from my plans and I continued on down highway 50. I snapped a few pics as I crossed the bridge over the Chesapeake Bay and headed north up the Delaware peninsula. The ride was fairly uneventful but very hot. Why, why, why did I leave my mesh jacket at home? I was prepared to ride all day in the rain at 50 degrees but hadn't considered that I would see the temp readout on my dash to creep up to 104 Fahrenheit.
Things turned a little bad when I took met rush hour traffic outside Wilmington and went a little worse after a wrong turn. Garmin was trying to direct me to highway 95 and I was determined to avoid it. To my misfortune every road I tried seemed to be creeping along at less than 5 mph. I probably could have gotten to my sister's apartment an hour earlier than I did If I had obeyed the gps and the rush hour traffic would probably have been going at speeds that I could manage. Oh well, I made it, tired and dehydrated, but I made it.
The first day was mostly recovery. We had a nice picnic at Valley Forge park and toured the grounds. Yesterday, we took the train into the city center and checked out the Philadelphia Art Museum. Very nice. We then took a walk into the local Chinatown for dinner, checked out a bakery and a gift shop.
Today I was on my own. I took the scooter into the city and visited the Philly Vespa dealer. They had a lot of scooters in inventory and were pleasant to chat with. I had thought about getting an oil change and a new rear tire but I think that both can wait until Montreal.
With the holiday weekend, I don't have confidence in finding an available campsite Sunday night. I'll wait to leave on Monday morning.
No comments:
Post a Comment