Traveling at Mach 0.012

Tuesday May 20, 2014

Start – Monaca
Destination – Streetsboro
Day total miles – 81
Journey total miles – 640

Losing 40 pounds overnight (great diet, get rid of 3 panniers and most of the weight in the 4th), made a world of difference. Joe and I were off at dawn and riding the last parts of PA to Ohio. Our intended goal is West Branch State Park for a night of camping. More on that later.

I actually got my bike into the largest chainring and was pedaling easy. Up the highway we went and onto a part of the road with construction. This was a 4-lane divided highway and one lane was sectioned off with barrels. The road was smooth and no real construction apparent. We maneuvered through the barrels and had our own expressway. At some points we were passing cars that had slowed for lights or turning vehicles. 5 miles of our own lane – all for a bridge construction project near the end. Even that was passable for us. I think we averaged over 20mph for that stretch. Into OH, we stopped for the pictures and found EK. Next challenge, breakfast. EK found the M&S Truck Stop, not sure what town. Interesting place, not the atmosphere for the draw or the ambiance. But there were lots of cars and the dining room busy. One waitress covering about 15 tables and she was keeping up; been doing it for years. Good meal and then off again. The rest of the day would see rolling hills and some surprises.

First surprise was my front shifter was not doing its job. could not shift into the larger chainring anymore. Now that I have new found speed, really need the extra gears on the higher end. Some on the road adjustments allowed for the use of either the middle and larger or middle and smaller chainrings. So, for the moment, I choose the larger. Off we go again.

Let me diverge a little more on a criticism of the mapping program. While it is easy to use and pretty flexible, it does not give any indications of the road surface (prefer paved to unpaved) or the kind of bike trail (paved, gravel, or my favorite – mountain bike). Into the park we go to try to meet EK. He has scoped it out and we have some options for the night. The forecast is for rain and storms, so a campsite may not be the ideal. The alternative is 10 extra miles and a hotel in Streetsboro. We go for it. America’s Best Value Inn and Suites – may be more of these in our future. Not extravagant, but so far have been clean and convenient. Oh, yeah, into the park we go and the “trail” is really a dirt trail intended more for hikers and mountain bikes. And, the bridge is out, meaning we have to go for a work around. The flat parts reminded me of the C&O tow path. But the hills… and remember, no little chainring thanks to the shifting issue and my makeshift solution. Thank goodness for no heavy load. The detour is the next challenge. I think Joe’s comment summed it up. “DO you think your bike can swim?” Backtracking to a point to meet EK we went. More hills and a tough climb, but made it. Stopped at a place with cell service and rerouted my directions to end up in Streetsboro. Rolled in around 2 and hit the showers. Clean, but having a less than ideal bike, the next job was for a repair.

Eddy’s Bike store in Stowe OH was the place. I should have gotten his name, but the mechanic was great. Fiddled and poked, prodded and adjusted. A new cable some turns of screws and there you have it… the shifter is fixed. I have failed, well only sort of, in being able to do my own repairs. The only sort of part was that I was able to keep things going. I think the mechanic summed it up “that was one way to fix the problem, not how I would do it, but it got you where you needed to go” Also, had him change the rear tube, which had an apparent slow leak issue. Picked up a helmet mirror too (more on that later).

Back to Streetsboro, dinner and then to bed. My sleeping patterns are now get up or at least wake around 330 and then to bed around 8 or 9. At least I feel rested each day.

Wednesday May 21, 2014

Start – Streetsboro
Destination – Norwalk and Chesterville
Day total miles – 68
Journey total miles – 708
(ok, not sure if all these numbers add up, but the day totals are what is on my Garmin Edge 500 and the journey total is on the Garmin 62s). For them to be really accurate one presumes that both run all day with no battery issues and that I turn them on.)

We rolled out of Streetsboro early in the morning. Started out as rolling hills with our journey to Norwalk for the day. As I reviewed the elevation profile on the computer, I thought that should not be too bad. Have some hills when we go through Cuyahoga Valley National Park, but after that it is flat. Ok let me tell you, these made Pittsburgh look easy. The first climb was long and a challenge, but achievable. Then the pavement turned to a milled surface. Must be planning on resurfacing, wish they would have hurried this along. Could have handled just the milled surface. A bit bouncy and makes your teeth chatter, but not too bad. When you add in monster hills, the journey becomes a real challenge. I swear that one was strait up and 10 miles long. Ok, really it was steep and long. Had to push the bike up the hill. No ability to get a running start, and with the milled surface combined with no shoulder and some traffic, not a good riding situation. The backside was no joy either. Going down a steep incline with a milled surface was no fun at all. I couldn’t even close my eyes and wait for it to be over. Toughed it out and made it back to unmilled pavement, but not exactly smooth). Our stop was in the town of Richfield for breakfast. Nothing like the previous days, so the choices were chain restaurants, which of course were on the other side of the road. Decided on Panera. Since it was not a planned and scoped out ahead, it does not count toward my record of perfection (more to come). Fueled up with a good bagel and muffin (and coffee of course). The weather report was for rain showers and some storms. The radar showed a line approaching and it even rained for a brief period. But almost magically, the storm seemed to separate where we were and provide us with a “not raining” pathway.

Our destination was Norwalk and we had a special treat in store. Joe’s cousin, Tom, invited us to spend the night at his place in Chesterville. With that in mind, we had lots of time on our hands to finish the ride for the day. Tom would meet us in Norwalk sometime after 4 to take us to his place.

Along the way, the roads flattened out and the ride became most enjoyable. The signs ahead warned of a detour because of construction. Lets pedal on and see what we can do. Joe has a special way of dealing with these situations and convinced the equipment operators to allow us to pass. Off the bike and pushing it thru the construction area, all of a sudden the wheels lock up and the bike is sliding away from me. What??? Oh, mud. And my feet feel like I added 10 pounds to them. I am sure the construction guys were openly laughing at us… some shortcut.

Now to get all of this sticky mud off of me and the bike. Oh and I forgot about the other repair I made to my bike in Monaca. My front fender is way too close to the tire at the front of the fender. The rack restricts its ability to be moved further away from the tire. This creates a rubbing of the fender on the tire, especially when a little mud or sand gets in there. Pedaling with the fender rubbing and the accumulation of stuff up there got old fast. The fix – a hacksaw blade from an auto parts store. Take off the front tire, saw, saw and saw and now there is about 2 inches less fender. Pulled up the fender about a ½ inch and now have lots of clearance. Back to the mud. Tried puddles to use water to get it off, scraping in the grass… some success but not really. We approach a farm and Joe is off to see about a hose. He disappears for some time. Not sure if he got lost, kidnapped or what. Every once in a while I think I can hear him, but seems like forever. Then I am faced with the dilemma of do I wait or go try to find him. With all of the time invested in waiting, he would surely be out soon. Sort of like waiting for an elevator that is not arriving. Do you wait or take the stairs. What about all of the time invested in waiting. It will surely come as soon as the door to the stairs closes behind you. Waiting for Joe to reappear became the similar challenge. Finally. He reappears following a farmer. The disappear into the milking room of the barn. The farmer is letting us use his hose in the milking room to clean up our bikes and shoes. Great! Bonus, the water is warm. The mud disappears down the drain and the bike is rideable again. Shoes are clean too. Turns out Keith, the farmer and his son Jake were cleaning out a stall area and also keeping a herd of steers in the area during the clean out. So that is what took so long. In the end, we (ok mostly Joe) knew the family farming history and all about other farmers in the area. The non-detour turned out to be a success after all.

As the day proceeded, we encountered more and more headwinds. Ugh! The route took us to US Route 220 that was to take us into Norwalk. Wrong. Between the headwind and the truck traffic passing at speeds approaching that of light, this was not a good option, at least to me. Up ahead was an intersection. Right we turned and into some shelter from the wind. My guess was that we were facing 20mph + headwinds. Hard riding, but good practice for more to come. Yeah, right. Thanks to cell service, I could pick a new route to town. As we headed north towards the next cross road, there was a bike trail crossing. Looks good, so we hopped on. What a great way to finish the ride into Norwalk. Sometime you just have to be lucky in your choices.

Along the way, we met a man walking his dog. Joe inquired about lunch and we were directed to Berrys Restaurant. That is the place where we would surely find out all there is to know about Norwalk. Lunch was really good. New treat – sauerkraut balls. I remember them from my days in Ohio. Golfball sized batter and sauerkraut deep fried and served with horseradish sauce. Pretty tasty. We still had time to kill, so after a stroll around town, ended up at a local bike store to window shop. The owners told us about the trail we were on, it goes on for miles in the direction we were headed (I had it mapped from Norwalk already, but good to know that I was on the right path). A recommendation for coffee (Sherri’s) turned out good and we settled in for another hour’s wait. Good coffee, WIFI, and lots of local activity made the time pass quickly.

Tom arrived on schedule, the bikes were loaded into the back of his truck and we were off to the cabin. What a great place and such a great host. Steaks and potatoes, veggies and some nice wine. A warm shower and bed was ready after a wonderful evening of talking and getting to know about Tom and his family. I can’t thank Tom enough for providing such an enjoyable evening.

Sunday May 18, 2014
Start – Perryopolis
Destination – Monaca
Day total miles – 76
Journey total miles – 559

Its pronounced “Mow-naa-ka”

Waking up to a cool Sunday morning, I put on most of my clothes- 2 shirts, bike shorts (contemplated the rain pants), down vest and rain jacket. Only hands were cold and that did not last too long. Onto the GAP trail to finish it off this morning and heading into Pittsburgh. It has become apparent that my duties include map-making, navigation, and finder of all good things breakfast. West Newton looked to be the first decent sized town at about 20 miles or so into the trip. Gary’s Chuckwagon had some good reviews. Stopped short of the turnoff to wait for the group to reassemble and Joe talked to some local residents. Their recommendation was Gary’s and it was great.

Seems like half of what I think about now is food and what to eat next. I am sure this theme will continue.

Back on the bikes and winding into Pittsburgh. So exciting, the big Garmin shows 500 miles approaching. As we get closer to the city, we are greeted with several welcome to Pittsburgh shout outs. This will prove to be a blessing and then not so much. Hit the 500 mile mark just short of the Round house museum point where there is a farmers market and lots of bikers milling around. We stop to stretch and get some photos. Being fully loaded, we are engaged in many conversations about where we are headed (“Oh, you did not just finish here in beautiful Pittsburgh?”). We eat, drink and snap a few pictures. Then it is off to downtown.

Our endpoint and rest stop is Monaca, where we have rooms for 2 nights and some rest. Little did we know that there are hills separating us. We follow the bike trail to its end, or at least some trail. Then the map has us going thru town to the other side…

These are not just hills, these are mountains. Now I don’t have a whole bunch of faith in the grade indication on the bike computer, but 25% pops up and stays. I know, that it probably was not exactly 25%, but it sure felt like strait up to me. Not just a short blip either, a big, long, winding hill with cars and side walks, and interesting neighborhoods, and more hill up there. Made the climbs on the first ones. But it is taking its toll. All of the clothes I put on early were mostly off, down to the bike shorts and shirt, still sweating like mad. Glad it was not 97 degrees or something ridiculous. I look at the map on my phone and see that we are going back down to a river and following the river. It has to be flatter.

At one point in the snaking ride through the city, we are zig-zagging (a thing my maps do a lot of) through the streets and I pass a city police car. The officer rolls her window down and asks what I am doing. My canned response, riding cross country of course. She just shakes her head and mutters “be careful around here”

The route takes us all over and through small towns, past shady establishments and into industrial areas. Glad it is a Sunday and no truck traffic. The ride is actually pretty good for now. Not great scenery, but an easy pedal. Of course, the final push to Monaca, we encounter a final set of mountains to cross. When pedaling up them, it seems that I can get into a rhythm in the lowest of gears and just push it through to the top. Have even mastered getting the heart rate into a respectable range so that at the top I am not gasping for air and wanting to curl up into the fetal position on the side of the road. Finally, there it is, the “Inn at Monaca” And for good measure it is on the downhill.

Catching up and through Michigan.

Daily total miles – 60.2
Journey total miles – 1156 miles

Quick note to let everyone know we are pedaling away and ready to leave Michigan. Tomorrow we leave on a ferry to cross Lake Michigan and will ride into Wisconsin. Looking forward to cheese and getting away from dirt roads. More to come.

Start – Frostburg
Destination – Perryopolis
Day total miles – 90
Journey total miles – 483

Starting the day, we decided to hit the Princess Restaurant for breakfast. Just as good as dinner. I think the cold and the hard day before led to a slow start. After breakfast, loaded up everything and finally headed out. About 10 miles up hill and then down hill (sort of) to Pittsburgh. Too bad the down hill is not as steep as the uphill. Passed from MD to PA, this makes 4 states (VA, MD, WV, and PA). About 930 AM we passed the continental divide. Oh the possibilities. Will the water flow to both watersheds? Met a group of 4 friends biking towards Cumberland. The day was slowly slipping away and we needed to make up some time. Onto the bikes and off to the next stop. The tunnels were fun and seemed brighter this time. Maybe it was optimism.

We wound around the countryside with the Casselman River led us to Meyersdale. This is the home to a railroad museum; friendly people and needed rest stop. Off again towards Rockwood and then to Confluence where the Youghiogeny River takes over. The trail is mostly fine gravel and sounds of crunch ring in my head. That and the fender rubbing the front wheel. I will fix this.

Along the way, had some little bits of rain and hail to taunt me. Had put away the parka long time ago, so do I wait or stop to put it on. Seems like every time I put it on, the sun came out and I was too hot again. Cold/hot…just not the picture perfect day.

The day wore on and we made it through to Confluence. I sure wish they would have fixed the Pinkerton Tunnel, more than a mile around for a mere 849 ft tunnel that is in disrepair. That extra distance just added to the day. I think we as a group were worn out from the previous few days on the canal tow path and now it was starting to show. I am doing the mental math in my head and hoping we would make it to Perryopolis before dark.

Lunch in Confluence gave us a break. Back on the bikes and down the path to Ohiopyle. More people as we got closer to the park. Moving on and then to a true downhill part of the day. Picking up speed as we descended down from Ohiopyle, the miles clicked off a little faster. Ugh, the tree across the trail was a nuisance. Duck under the leaves and then oh no, turn quick to miss the branches I did not see. And mud. Made it and kept on moving. Next stop Connelsville. Memories of the night there in the fall, the lean to shelters, the grocery store. No concert in the park this time, it was building the playground. The weekend builders looked tired and there appeared to be many more boards to install in the fence.

The last leg. On to the turnoff to Perryopolis. 8 or 9 miles down the path and we could head to the hotel for the night. Finally at the turnoff around mile 100 of the GAP trail. Looks ok so far. Then, there is the hill. Pulling out of the valley to get to the fabulous Perry-O Motel. One giant hill and then several rolling ones to a final downhill run and we were there. Ugh, no pictures too tired to think. Checking in. Now I have vague memories of the 70s and walking into the hotel office brought back some. The guy at the desk was definitely a throw-back and he was on a different timeline than the rest of the world. And we got real keys. My room was at the lower end of the OK scale. I did not see anything that I would not touch and the shower was warm to clean off the days grime.

Dinner plans are tough when you don’t have a car and are tired of riding all day. Next door was a pizza place; it would do. Trudging over, I fantasized of a cold beer, some food to feed the growl in my stomach and then back and to sleep. Fitting, they were not serving food, something about a gas leak. But they would sell us some beer. Hold the thought. Up the road a bit was a family restaurant, that would do. Across and up the highway. As we closed in on the front door, a woman emerged to tell us they closed at 7. It was 715 on a Saturday night and our next choice was a Dairy Queen or Subway? Consensus was beer and pizza delivery. Down to EK and Joe’s room for the feast??? Large pizza a few beers and a salad for me. Oh yeah, the beer from the closed kitchen place we started at. At least I did not have to drink Bud lIght.

Off to bed and then a 5 wake up to start a new day.

Monday has been a rest day. Spent time cleaning up, doing laundry, fixing the bike, and reorganizing. Have more posts to update and photos. will try to catch up this week.

Stay tuned.

Day 8 Monaca and Rest

Not too much time for rest. Have to resupply, discuss options for continuing with the group, clean the bike, get ready for another week.

Sunday was a day of decisions and changes that evolved into Monday. EK rethought his ability to make the trip in the same manner as we have proceeded during the past week. A combination of ailments is leaving him needing more rest and unable to continue to meet the pace we are setting to meet the goal of finishing in about 65 days. As a group, we weighed several options and came to the conclusion that renting a vehicle and having him drive point to point and work in rides at the start or finish of a day. He can start with Joe and I and then turn back at a point to retrieve the car and then hop to the day’s end point, or can go to the endpoint and ride around. In any case, it gives us more choices and the ability to be more flexible. So, now the mission is to find a vehicle for a reasonable price and that can accommodate our stuff. Enterprise came through. We can get an intermediate SUV and take it point to point. Dropping off in Portland. Reasonable rate and after some creative thinking on the part of the agent, we are ready to go.

What a difference a car makes. No longer are we restricted to places that we have to walk to for dinner. We can go shopping and pick up supplies. We can ride to a bike shop and get repairs made. Spent the rest of the day cleaning up the bikes, doing laundry, and resting some. Also replanning the events for the next few days.

Went to Snitger’s Bicycle Store in Beaver PA. Met the owner, Marlin who was a joy to talk with. Did you know that Beaver is a dry town? But Snitger’s will give a beer to go along with the very interesting conversation that Marlin engages us in. Go figure, someone with opinions and more vocal about them than me. We learned all about local politics (Marlin was on the town council) and a different perspective on fracking. Just to be clear, Marlin, a democrat, is likely in the minority around this part of the country.

Turns out that Marlin’s son brews craft beers and they also have on hand some other local beers. What is not to like about this? I have seen coffee shops and bike shops, but not beer and especially not as a give away. I encourage you to visit Marlin and Snitger’s when you are in beautiful Beaver; you can’t go wrong.

The last challenge for the day was to consider what to pack to carry on my bike now that we are in a supported ride mode. Ended up with a single rear pannier with all of the essentials (tools, spare parts, extra clothes…

Start – Hancock
Destination – Frostburg
Day total miles – 72
Journey total miles – 393

Hard day and lots of mud. Cumberland did not come soon enough. Need to cut off about 2 inches of the front fender and then I can raise it up to get more clearance. It got old fast clearing the wheel.

Up early at the bunkhouse, aka the chicken coop. We renamed it, but with only kind and thankful thoughts that it was there. Overall a good place to stay. Breakfast at the Park N Dine. Peddling up to the restaurant noticed that the rain must have been pretty intense last night. There were several places on the Main Street that had water flowing out onto the street, but we did not think much of it. At the diner, the conversation among the locals and wait staff centered on those who were stranded away from work and the local flooding. Looking out back, the Western MD rail trail, our starting point (paved and smooth rolling), the trail was under water. One of the waitresses told of the struggle to get to work and that she did not think we could make it too far.

Headed out, not raining anymore, but still overcast. Heading up the path not knowing what we would encounter, we found lots of evidence of flooding. However, nothing over our path, so on we went. The Potomac looked impressive and the canal full. Saw lots of water and mud. Closer to Cumberland, the mud got worse but passable. Oh, and the PawPaw tunnel was interesting. There were puddles to ford, waterfalls to the left and slick looking path into the tunnel. Walked my bike through the tunnel to be on the safe side.

Once in cumberland, pulled up to the local bike store. Refueled with gatorade and an ice cream sandwich. The bike store/beer making supplier was great. He pulled out a hose so we could clean off the bikes.

Onto the Greater Allegheny Passage Trail and a much better surface (not paved, but almost). About 15 miles up the trail and we were in Frostburg. The closest place to stay, the Trail Inn had a bunkroom that included showers and warmth. Clean up and off to dinner. Had to hurry, the recommended restaurant was closing soon. Got in with 15 mins to spare and, although I am sure staff wanted to leave, we were treated to a great meal. Met the owner – third generation running the Princess Restaurant. Seems to be getting tougher for small businesses like the Princess, glad to see the tradition is still going. A must stop when in Hancock.

Slept well in the warm bed.

I have pictures, I promise to upload.

Start – Brunswick
Destination – Hancock
Day total miles – 76
Journey total miles – 321

Thursday was a day entirely on the C&O canal tow path trail. Headed out early and encountered a cooler morning than yesterday. First stop was Shepherdstown for breakfast. We rolled off the tow path onto a parallel road to get some smoother riding in while we could. Then up a steep hill, not used to these yet. But the payoff was worth it. Found a little bakery in town. Coffee and a sausage roll plus a cookie (sorry, not the most nutritious, but tasted great and the cookie had oatmeal and other healthy stuff). The town was pretty laid back. Peddled down the street for some more gatorade and then back to the tow path. These miles were tough with much of the same scenery – trees and a seemingly endless path. The Potomac River on the left and the canal on the right.

This was a day for wildlife viewing:
1 turkey
2 owls
1 snapping turtle
frogs
1 copperhead (too late to turn, the camouflage worked to hide it too well; it was a small one, about a foot long)
deer
squirrles
geese
ducks

I know I forgot some.

The highlight of the day was the part of the trail that ran out to the river. Beautiful views and worth the journey.

The mud got progressively worse as we approached Hancock. Had to stop numerous times to dig mud out of the front fender. Need to modify the fender to allow more clearance. Thinking of ways to get the job done – have lots of miles to come up with a solution.

About a mile out of Hancock, the skies blackened and it started to rain a bit. Ugh, if not for those stops to clear the mud and I would have made it to the C&O Cycle shop and bunkhouse. Interesting place, A shed type building with bunks, an outdoor shower and a clean portable toilet. The three of us were later joined by two others pedaling from Cumberland to DC. One side of the building was exposed but covered with screens. Not quite inside but out of the rain. Dinner and then laundry. Clean clothes for the morning – yeah. Thanks to the owners of the coin-op for letting me finish drying the clothes. Settled in for the night and then the rain let loose. Took a little getting used to the tin roof.

Start – Aquia/Quantico
Destination – Brunswick
Day total miles – 83
Journey total miles – 245

The storms that rolled through Tuesday evening cooled things down. Riding was more enjoyable except for the hills. Started out on Garrisonville Rd with lots of traffic but soon transitioned to less traveled roads. Then, we were at the gate to Quantico. I was wandering what MCB 2 meant on the cue sheet. The ride through the base was good; lots of traffic, but all very respectful of our presence on the road. Out of the base, we were onto back roads that had some interesting traffic and some big hills to concur. This led to Rt 234 and on to Manassas. So this is what it is like to come into Manassas the back way.

Next we were off to concur Fairfax County. Let me rant a little. So, the program I am using, ridewithgps.com is really flexible and lets me pick some interesting routes. But, when I set it to give me bike trails, sometimes it thinks all trails are bike trails. Rocky Run trail was fun and interesting, but quite the challenge on a fully loaded bike. We zig zagged across the county to the Washington and Old Dominion trail. Back to familiar territory. With a tail wind and flat, paved and mostly vacant paths, we flew down to Leesburg. Saw geese at Goose creek.

A short hop to White’s Ferry and into Maryland. One state down. The ferry took us across the Potomac to the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal tow path, our route for a few days.

With some anxiety, we got back on the bikes and hit the path. Now, the WOD is a nice paved path, lots of crossings, but generally an easy passage. The canal tow path is a mostly gravel, often muddy and sometimes a challenge. Our pace slowed way down. We are averaging about 8 MPH compared to 12. The canal path is beautiful and well worth it. Our destination was the Brunswick Family Campground in beautiful Brunswick, MD. Ok, not sure about whether Brunswick is beautiful or not, we did not really get into Brunswick. The campground was great. For $5 we got to set our tents under a pavilion, take hot showers and enjoy the vistas over the Potomac. Ok, the light on all night in the pavilion took some getting used to and the trains were making noise all night, but overall a good stay. I slept well at least until the family with a trailer and at least 34 screaming teens, a bossy woman and apparently a truck/camper driver who needed lessons. The screaming teens decided to come over to our camp and check us out, at MAXIMUM VOLUME. And the woman directing the ill fated driver to back the camper into a spot let the world know about his inability to do anything right, including driving. I am sure his manly prowess must also be lacking to her. She may have screamed that at one point. Then we all settled in and went to sleep and lived happily ever after.

Oh and I can’t forget the best part. EK’s wife, Carol drove up with a resupply and dinner. Cold beer, roasted chicken, salad and dessert. After a long day riding, almost anything tastes good and will be eaten, but this was great. Thanks Carol!

Now about the turtles. I saw many turtles in the trek from Yorktown to Brunswick. Some were box turtles and others were what I call sliders. The tough part is that they don’t do so well on the roads. I think we need turtle crossing guards, or special turtle cross walks or maybe go high tech and breed them with flashers for their shells, glow in the dark and day glo yellow shells, or maybe titanium shells to withstand the pressure of cars running them over. So they next time you think you have it tough, think about the poor turtles.

Pictures to come. I promise, but it involves cables and that little memory card in my camera, and it is dark and raining…

White’s Ferry

working on catching up and being able to upload. Have pictures to post and more written. Need to check some facts and then will post.

Hey Logan, tell your mother we are ok.