PA, WV, OH, and WV again…and RAIN

Thursday June 27, 2013

Heavy rain soon after we awoke at 8 AM…change of plan.. we quickly dressed, broke camp, and headed to somewhere dry for coffee. We can easily make coffee and cook in the Sprinter – in fact do it everyday – but we were out of most breakfast food and not looking forward to sitting around in the rain when we had a long day ahead… we were on the road by 8:30!

We found coffee in Chaulkhill – right where the road from Ohiopyle joins UW 40. Ate the pastries we had gotten yesterday in Ohiopyle and off we went. We stopped for only two interesting sites – first was the Searight Toll House named for William Searight who was commissioner of the National Road for many years and the author of “The National Pike” which is the most comprehensive history of the road.

Searight Toll Booth

The second and last interesting remnant of the road in PA was the “s” bridge. Unique in that it is built in the shape of an “s”. This was an architectural feat in the day. Luckily the rain had diminished to only a drizzle for our short hike to the bridge. Note in the photograph the road markers – these follow the road mile by mile. Also the Inn on the far side of the bridge is from the 1800’s. Looks as it is a private home today.

Then we watched and watched for our entry into WV and never did see a welcome sign. We had been seeing evidence of oil wells and fracking as we came through western PA and it was even more evident in WV. There were makeshift RV lots where the workers were staying in many places.

Wheeling arrived soon – the National Road only lasts for 18 miles in WV. The original section extended from Cumberland to Wheeling.

Wheeling did not much interest us so we headed on across the Ohio River into Ohio. The two road signs for WV and Ohio are posted below but the WV is not very clear through the rain…

 

It is now nearly 1 PM and we are getting hungry. Trip Advisor sent us to the Bear’s Den in Cambridge and had a fantastic steak sandwich. We were stuffed but noting the desserts when we left made us wish we had enough space for one!

We got on I 77 and headed south towards Charleston WV. Nothing to report along this route but more rain….and we are now listening to another CD book. This time Collateral Damage by Robert B. Parker.

5 Pm we arrive at a Day’s Inn – no camping in the rain for us! We watched FOX news for the first time in a week and had dinner at a nearby Cracker Barrel. Today has been the only really poor travel day of our trip.