Sunday, September 30, 2007

Western New York State

Letchworth State Park
September 26, 2007

A pretty drive South on Highway 98. Bluffs along the Tonawonda River were covered with trees. Fall colored leaves in "neon" colors, dairy farms, roadside markets selling pumpkins, squash, vegetables and of course, Maple Syrup! An unusual sight was semi loads of silage. Doeblers Hybrid Corn, Beans and Alalfa was advertised. The highway into Warsaw was unusually steep, rocky and scenic.

The Letchworth State Park is about 36 miles south of Rochester, New York. It follows a 17 mile stretch of the Genesee Rier between Mt. Morris and Portageville. It is referred to as "New York's Grand Canyon" because of the awesome gorge in the center of the park. You will see 600 feet sheer rock walls and three major waterfalls as you drive through. It has trails, walkways, areas for picnicking and camping, and wildlife including deer.

Interstate 86 along the southern border of New York is a scenic drive, too. We spent a rainy evening in Jamestown as we headed back home.

Utica, Illinois
September 28, 2007

The I & M Canal was built between 1836 and 1848 to make navigation possible from the Gulf of Mexico to the Great Lakes. The canal was dug from Chicago to LaSelle, Illinois on the Illinois River. This enabled produce to be moved to the east and opened up migration to the west. The 96 mile long canal had paths on each side for the mules to tow the boats. After the railroads were built the canal was closed in 1933. Now there is a hiking/biking trail along the canal.

The Illinois River was made navigable with a series of locks and dams. The Army Core of Engineers have a visitor center and observation deck at the lock just south of Utica, Illinois. The tug, Ralph Plagge, was taking part of its load through when we were there. It had to split its line of barges in order to fit in the lock. It took over half-hour for the pumps to raise the water level so that they could go through the lock and hook up with the rest of the barges. It takes time to move products on the river! One of the barges was half filled with pieces of metal, but it was heavy enough to make a barge load!

Inside the Visitor center is the history of the canal and the River. A pilot house from a tug boat with all the instruments. It included a Mark Twain Fathometer! The size of the ropes and cables indicate that those working on the barges are "strong". We use a road atlas all the time, there is a river atlas that shows each portion of the river channel for the boat pilots to use.

Back on the Prairie
September 29, 2007

A stay with daughter and family to attend a homecoming high school football game,(grandson was a king candidate) gave us an opportunity to see some family before we arrived home.


Thanking the Lord for traveling safety and the opportunity to see His creation and how He has given us the ability to use it make life easier.
Prairie Schooners

Friday, September 28, 2007

Niagara Falls for 47 1/2 year Anniversary!

September 26, 2007

With our area map from the motel in hand we headed east to the Falls. A breakfast stop at Denny's and a visit with the waitress about the area and her home in Nova Scotia gave us some ideas on where to go. As we drove nearer following the signs we could see the cloud of fog/mist rising above the falls. The street across from the falls is lined with motels advertising "walk to the falls". Several "high rise" hotels have restaurants and rooms with windows overlooking the falls.
We found a place to park our car and a groundsman pointed us to the mile + walk to the falls. (We did not find the area where the shuttle buses pick you up.) It river flows over rocks making rapids leading to the actual falls. You walk past large cement buildings that were originally power plants. There was an empty barge grounded on the rocks in one area of the river. In the distance you can see the bridge crossing into the US.
You can hear the roar of the water for quite a distance. It is Awesome! Spectacular! Powerful! It is a blessing to be able to see God's Handiwork! Some of the water has a turquoise green color, but mostly is is white foam. From the Canadian side you can see the smaller falls on the US side.
The tour busses unload in this viewing area so a lot of people. We found a couple from Alabama that would take our picture! It was a cloudy day, but did not rain until we were sitting in line to get across the border into New York.

Monday, September 24, 2007

Smithville, Ontario CA


Unit Chosen & Picked Up
Friday, September 21

From the website we chose a unit to deliver to Smithville, Ontario. It is a 38 ft Winnebego Adventurer with a gas Workhorse chasis. This would be an easy unit to keep! Has a washer/dryer, sleep number bed, mocha frost paint and interior done in cool jazz/ocean blue with Southern maple wood trim and cabinets, a video camera system and leather adjustable driver & passenger seats. But it is already sold to a Canadian customer!!
We parked it on our Prairie while we enjoyed a couple of days with our daughter and her children.
Harvest Look to Countryside
Monday, September 24

With the Saturn hooked up for towing and the unit loaded we headed east, watching the sun rise over the the midwest prairie lands, driving past fields of beans and corn ready to harvest. Further east the combines and pickers are running. Trucks of ear corn mean that seed corn is being picked. An ethanol plant is being constructed--another market for corn.
The ditches are like a still life painting of God's creation with the yellow golden rod, purple & white asters, and wine red clover contrasting with the various shades of brown seed heads on the mature grasses set in the still green grass.

City Travel
Interstate 80 makes going around Chicago easy, but still a lot of traffic to deal with and the ever necessary road construction. There is a huge gravel/rock pit cut out of an area on either side of the Interstate in this area. It is large enough to be called an open pit mine!
We are thankful for safe passage thru this area. The traffic was not as thick as sometimes.

Michigan
As we follow Interstate 94 north into Michigan we see the leaves on the trees starting to turn various shades of yellow and red. There are orchards, vineyards and fields of ripe pumpkins. One vineyard had a machine helping with the harvesting of the grapes.

Elusive Ambassador Bridge
September 25, 2007

The Ambassador Bridge from Detroit, Michigan into Windsor, Ontario, Canada eluded us again!! It is so frustrating to see the bridge and not know how to get to it because the printed directions that come from the unit do not match the actual roads available or the signs. We were the morning entertainment for one neighborhood when we followed signs to "bridge" and had to unhitch the Saturn, back up, and rehitch on the street. We could not get a 12' high Winnebago under a 10'8" overpass!! Our recommendation is to go to Mapquest and follow their directions using the Interstate.

Ontario, Canada

Queen's Highway 401 is a nice road where the construction is finished. Traveling in Canada gives you a French lesson, since all signs are in both English & French. The Queen's Highway has a crown around the number. Distance is in kilometers, speed limits are posted as kilometres/hour, and temperature is in Celsius. (Fahreneheit equals (9/5 X C) + 32) Gas is sold in liters. 100 kilometres equals 62.5 mph. 3.8 liters equals 1 US gal and was selling for 94.5 to 99.5 per liter making it $3.59 to $3.80 a gal. (for those who are interested we averaged about 7 mpg with the unit) We did have a tail wind to help with the gas mileage!

It is an agriculture area near Windsor. We drive through a narrow arm of land between Lake Huron and Lake Erie in this area. Soybeans and corn look ready to harvest. Some land is worked and was rye or wheat a month ago when we came through. The Leamington area is the "Tomato Capitol of Canada". We saw semis heaped with ripe tomatoes headed to a processing plant.

We are back in Tim Horton country! They sell a variety of flavors of coffee, pastries and sandwiches. Last year we stopped at one for a late lunch and had a dry bun and lukewarm meat in our sandwich. We could not understand why they are always busy, especially in the mornings when there is a solid line going through the drive-thru! We did stop on this trip for a coffee and danish to see if we liked it any better! Danish was excellent, coffee seemed strong and bitter. We decided we had developed a palet for "service station" coffee!!

The leaves are beautiful shades of yellow with some orange and red. The farmers plant rows of trees at the edges of their fields for windbreaks making the colorful "fences" a backdrop for their farmsteads and golden corn and bean fields. There is a Highway 3 that runs parallel to the coast of Lake Erie and we are tempted to take it, but the 4-lane will make better time and definately be "safer" for the big rig.

We meet hundreds of loaded car carriers with new Chrysler cars headed to the US. (There are Chrysler plants in Windsor and Brampton.) Tobacco fields were a surprise to us. We tend to think of them in the South in the US. Several fields had a short green plant growing under a black covering stretched on 4 ft high posts. We have not been able to find out what they were. The Grand River area was really pretty when the sun came out making the leaf colors vibrant.

Delivery

Smithville is in the country on Highway 20. We did a "scenic tour" because of another mistake in printed directions. This trip Papa really amazed me with his talent for turning the big rig around on a dime with a nickel left over! We are both thankful for the God-given ability to problem solve!!! After washing the rig having it inspected and doing the paper work we were in the Saturn and headed for Niagara Falls!

As we head east we drive through a dry area. The soil is a light brown color. Many large two-story chicken houses and many dairies. Orchards, vineyards, and pumpkins. Many roadside stands.

Welland Canal

We drove over the Welland Canal on a lift bridge. This 26 mile long canal links Lake Ontario and Lake Erie. It has 7 lift locks and 1 guard lock that brings ocean and lake ships up 325 ft from one lake to another. It allows the ships to avoid Niagara Falls! The Canal is a vital link in the St. Lawrence Seaway passage from the Atlantic Ocean to midwestern Canada and the US. There are several lift bridges over it. As I was looking up some information and history on the Canal there is an article about a time that the bridge hit a ship causing it to burn.

Quaint Motel

Found a quaint motel along Highway 20, America's Best Value Inn. Clean with all the necessary amenities. (No! we did not get the heart shaped jacuzzi.) Drove on into the "strip" which is the commercial part of this area and had supper at the Swiss Chalet. It is a Applebee, wannabee! Delicious ribs and rotissorie chicken with multigrain rolls. An apple tart dessert that melted in your mouth. And warm lemon water finger bowls!

As we looked out the window by our table, we saw Gale's Gas advertised as Full Service. It was 4 pumps in a line with a small, room for one person building with lots of windows at the end. There was one lane on each side of the pumps. A gentlemen was kept busy filling cars with gas. Sometimes all 4 pumps were being used at the same time! and the price was the same as the other stations in the area.

Wednesday, September 5, 2007

Rural Hall, North Carolina Delivery

Starting:
After picking up the Winnebago View at the factory in Forest City, Iowa we hooked up the Saturn, packed our bags and ice chest and headed east to Rural Hall, North Carolina. It was foggy in the marshy area this morning. You could only see the tops of the trees.
Trying to find a local radio station is always interesting in the new units. This one has a combination AM/FM radio, CD player, and IPod input. The front is removable to prevent theft, but be sure the key to the ignition is removed or an alarm will sound! We made use of the CD player and listened to the audio book, The Widow of the South. This is the story of the Canton Plantation in Franklin,Tennessee that we visited on one of our earlier trips. Because we had toured the plantation we can visualize the places in our minds as they tell the story. In the interview with the author we found out that the house was closed up for many years and then the last owners offered to sell it for a tax break to the city/county. When they looked at it there were several rooms locked up and full of scrapbooks, correspondence, business papers, etc. The author took these and pieced together the story. It is fiction based on facts he found or heard about while living in the area and investigating the history of the Plantation.
Beautiful Day for a Drive
Fields of corn and soybeans everywhere you look along the Interstate in Iowa, Illinois and Indiana. They have been very dry in Indiana. As we drive through southern Ohio the ground is rolling hills. Highway 35 has very little truck traffic today and the sunny weather makes for another pleasant day on the road. There are not very many advertising signs along this highway, which is pleasant for viewing the scenery. But signs are necessary when traveling and needing gas(especially diesel), motel, food or rest stops!! The further east we get we notice that there are less warning signs, too. The exit sign means it is here not 1/2 mile up the road! We also learned that with this unit you do not do fast starts--It has to shift slow and steady through the series of gears, but it is an easy to drive unit.
Bob Evans Highway
This highway is called the Bob Evans Highway. We have eaten in many of his restaurants. There is a sign pointing to the Bob Evans Farm. It is interesting to know that he and his wife started making sausage, selling it, and then had a restaurant on their farm. Over the years the business has grown and includes restaurants all over the states plus their processed food is being sold in grocery stores. Bob Evans and his wife, Jewell, raised their six children in the large brick farmhouse known as the Homestead. The Homestead, now on the National Register of Historic Places, was once a stagecoach stop and an inn, so the spirit of hospitality is deeply embedded in our company's history. Today, the Homestead serves as a company museum and historical center.
Kanawha River Valley
We crossed over the Ohio River and into West Virginia. The Ohio is navigable and many barges are moving up and down the river or getting filled or unloaded along the banks. We are driving through low mountains. The local roads are called Lanes or Pikes!
Highway 35 winds along the Kanawha river valley. There are bluffs on both sides of the river. We see dairy farms, some corn & soybean fields, hay fields, and assortment of small homes, trailer houses, nice farms, abandoned buildings, small businesses, little churches, small towns , an occasional mansion, and tobacco fields that are in blossom. The older houses are two-story perfect rectangle shaped with windows all same size and in a horizontal and vertical line with a chimney on each end.
Since the Kanawha River is navigable we see navigation lights on the banks. Charlestown is built along the river. It is definitely an industrial city. We see piles of coal that has been delivered in railroad cars waiting to be loaded on barges.
Mountains
As we leave the city we are driving around tree covered mountains and through valleys. The
trees are not just pines, but an assortment of hard woods so will be a beautiful drive in the fall. We can see layers of coal in the rock cliffs that were dug through to make the highway. One of the towns advertises a Coal Mine Tour, but is closed for the summer.
We are in the Allegheny mountains. There are several tunnels to drive through and into the state of Virginia. Our stop for the night was the Super 8 Motel at Wytheville. Beautiful setting on top of a bluff above the interstate with mountains all around. Good Internet connection. A delicious supper at the Sage Brush Steak The ribs were exceptional. Some walking time around the large parking lot watching the pink/purple sunset.
Delivery
We drove south to North Carolina through the foggy valley of the Blue Ridge Mountains on our last leg of our delivery in the early morning. Beautiful views from the ridges. Rural Hall is just north of Winston Salem. The town is built in the mountains so all of the roads do not connect. If you miss an exit you cannot always get off at the next one and drive back. We are speaking from experience!!!
Delivery is complete. Dealer is happy with the unit. We have unpacked our stuff from unit and packed in the Saturn which has been unhooked.
Exploring on way home
We headed north and west on state highway #421 and kept on state highways through the countryside to the Combs Mountain Parkway in Kentucky. On the way we saw fields of corn planted on the side of the hills and being cut for silage. As we looked at the trees in the distance they appeared to be in bloom, until we were up close and saw that they were covered with tent caterpillars. We met many trucks with cut logs, heading to a lumber mill or wood chip processing plant. Over the Eastern Continental Divide, past the entrance to the Blue Ridge Parkway, crossed the Appalachian Trail, a coal train on a trestle bridge over the highway, a big blue tube over the highway that contained a conveyor to move coal from a mine to transportation, and saw hibiscus bushes are blooming in everyone’s yard. Interesting signs: Large Tracks of Mountain Land for Sale and an unusual combination, Blue Ridge Kung Fu.
The map said we were driving through Iron Mt's, Holston Mt's, and Appalachian Mt's. One of the the roads was a red line with dots and curves. As we drove the 20 miles of 2 lane blacktop road with no shoulders, we wound through a thick forest at 15 mph doing 45 degree and 90 degree turns. State highway # 23 in Kentucky is called the "Country Music Road". Many singers were born or grew up along this area and Bluegrass and Country Music originated in the mountains in this area.
The Combs Mt Parkway goes through the Daniel Boone National forest as we head to Lexington, horse country with miles of white fences around the pastures and stables. North to our Super 8 at Dry Ridge, Kentucky. Their breakfast rates high because they serve biscuits and gravy! This trip we used the points we had earned with the Trip Rewards program giving us several free motel stays.
The Creation Museum
The Creation Museum at Petersburg, Kentucky, which is just south of Cincinnati is our destination for today. We saw the billboard advertising it along I-75. See Why God Rested on the Seventh Day! Exit 11 on I-275
It is an impressive setting. The Nature Path winds around plants, flowers, bushes and over a couple of suspension bridges. There are water falls, a lovely pond, an area set up to be a rain forest, and covered picnic tables for a lunch or outdoor classes. The grounds are neat and clean and set up to handle large groups of people. The staff is friendly and helpful. We talked to a groundskeeper who identified several of the plants for us and explained the use of fog nozzles to create a rain forest area. It has only been open a few months. They are working on a map that will have the identity of each plant & tree for use as you walk the Nature Path.
The inside is also neat and clean with friendly staff and able to serve large groups of people. The latest technology is used to provide realistic displays, and easy to read and understand printed information. The Planetarium is a must see. We see only a small portion of what is in the heavens. Three theaters have programs running on the half hour all day. The Dragon Theater, The Last Adam Theater, and the Men In White Theater is a multi screen presentation that will engage all of your senses! Noah's Ark construction site is awesome. The Flood Geology Room gives scientific information proving the Flood including evidence in the Grand Canyon. Don't miss the Dinosaur Den! When did the ice age begin? How are fossils made?
We spent over 3 hours and did not have time to see everything. We talked to local people that come often and to summer vacation travelers who added this stop to their plans. The museum and grounds have some areas still under construction so new displays and programs will be offered. Check out their website http://www.creationmuseum.org/ .
Home
Back home dodging some severe weather and thanking the Lord for traveling safety, some beautiful "on the road" days and for the opportunity to see His Creation in another part of our country.

Thank-you for traveling with us! Watch for our next delivery destination!
Prairie Schooner Travelers