July 13, 2006

We departed Pittsburgh after dinner with Jayne about 6pm and started our trip on the Pennsylvania Turnpike to Sommerset and from there we continued on windy back roads. We found a great nightspot pulloff on route60 just a few miles outside Berlin, a quaint little town. Are Snyder Potatochips still manufactured there? After our movie we had to change the sheets as they were soaked;, must of had the window open during the recent downpours in Pittsburgh.

This morning Will woke up way early and worked a few puzzles. Kathy got up at the ususal 6:30-7ish and we continued south through Cumberland, Maryland. We pulled in at lock 73 along the Chesapeak & Ohio Canal National Historic Park and walked along the remains of the canal, had breakfast and watched the trains.

The roads are two laners, curvy and up and down hills weaving through the countryside. There are lots of hardwood trees and we pass through some of the Green Ridge State Forest.

Outside of PawPaw,( Wonder if there are PawPaw bushes?) West Virginia we stopped again along the C&O Canal NHP and walked to The Tunnel along the tow path. The Tunnel is almost a mile long and reminded us of Mammoth Cave without the stick people at the end of the group telling you to hurry along. At the halfway point walking through the tunnel you can put your hand in front of your face and see nothing! If you stand a while you begin to see a faint glow in the distance, the other end of the tunnel. We carried flashlights so didn't have to worry. We could see the roll of the tow path, the wooden rail, the brick walls of the tunnel, and the puddles formed from the constant drip of water filtering down through earth and morter. On the far side a piece of the brick had fallen away exposing the two foot walls and the rock behind. We stepped out to the boardwalk trail that continued alongside the remains of the canal. We had made it to the other side of the tunnel. We admired a bu!
g that fluttered like a hummingbird, but were not quick enough to ge its picture. Then we walked back through the blackness to our van. We had a snack then continued southeast. The little town of PawPaw, WV is on the otheside. it has B&Bs for bikers that will continue along the trail that we found connects from Pittsburgh!

Buffalo Wild Wings in Winchester was a relaxing stop. We played some trivia; the bar was on the big board in double digits twice! Hot wings was our junk food of choice. We left there and shopped at the local Walmart where we found a real bargain: crayons for ten cents! Kathy also found Stella a porcelain tea set so they could have tea parties while we are there.

Off and on the road again. We had been seeing signs for Skyline Caverns so when they were right there just a few miles off route we decided to take the tour. The underground temperature was a cmfortable 54 degrees. We were so surprized to learn two new things about caves: 1. Holes in the ceiling of the cave are formed when water attempting to equalize a level will try get through solid rock 2. Anthodites, found in just a few locaion on Earth are found here. They are like white flower crystal formations and it remains a mystery as to how they are formed. They were first discovered in this cave in 1937. We learned this and more from our knowledgeable guide, Jason. With icecream in hand we went out to the humid evening air.

The Shenandoah Skyline Drive began just down the road so we decided to drive along this ridge line road with no traffic signals for a while. After pausing at the Shenandoah Valley Overlook we parked at the Dickey Ridge Visitor Center where we spent the night.

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