What a difference a day makes! June 21 was a glorious day, low humidity and plenty of sunshine. All we could hope for was low temps to go with it. We deserve it after the past week or so! We stopped at Fort Monroe National Monument just off I-64 in Hampton first. Fort Monroe was a strategic fort during the Civil War that was never in the hands of the Confederates. Situated at the entrance to the Hampton Roads and the James River from the Chesapeake Bay, its importance during the war ensured it stayed under Union control. Fort Monroe was also the site where Jefferson Davis spent time locked up after his capture. Also onsite is the house where President Lincoln stayed to plan the attack and capture of Norfolk in 1862. Today, Fort Monroe is a fort you can actually live in! Apartments and houses are available to rent both within the fort and on the grounds outside the mote. Pretty cool!
We left Fort Monroe with our eyes set on the higher elevations and cooler temperatures of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Straight out I-64 for about 170 miles, we entered Skyline Drive at Waynesboro. The drive out I-64 was perfect! Low 80’s, sun to our backs and little humidity made the drive wonderful. We set the cruise for 65 mph (5 under) and enjoyed tooling along as everyone else sped by trying to get home from their weekend holiday. Once on the Drive, the speed limit drops pretty low to 35 mph and it always seems so much slower after spending hours at 65!. By the time we got to Big Meadows campground, it was time to get off a while and enjoy the day at camp in the cool mountains. Big Meadows is just that, a big meadow. Lots of deer abound and the bears roam the area too so food storage is a must. This is a really nice campground with a visitor center in the area that also has nightly entertainment at an adjoining building!
Monday, June 22 was another pleasant day and we got started early so we could have time to enjoy the Drive (about 50 more miles) and stop at Cedar Creek and Belle Grove National Historical Park just off I-81 about 30 miles from Front Royal. Front Royal being the terminus of our ride on Skyline Drive. This Park is another Civil War site that involved the famous Confederate General Jubal Early and Union General Philip Sheridan. This part of Virginia is really pretty nestled between two mountain ranges in the Shenandoah Valley. Rolling hills, small quant towns and an unhurried atmosphere is very appealing. We left the Historical Park and decided to stay in the mountains and head west a bit into West Virginia. Our plan was to connect with US 50 at Winchester and camp out in West Virginia within striking distance of two more Federal parks in southeast Pennsylvania, just over the Maryland State line. If you get in this area, do yourself a favor and include as much of US 50 as you can (for our friends in NV, this is the eastern part of the ‘Loneliest Road’!). Sometimes the 55 mph speed limit seemed excessive! Pay attention to the ‘Safe Speed’ signs at each of the many turns. They mean it! By the time we rolled into Romney, WV, our plan changed to include 2 nights in Deep Creek Lake State Park in western Maryland. When I was younger, this park was a favorite ride and place to camp, only about 170 miles from Baltimore. We arrived fairly early and got a camp spot easily since it was a Monday and it was not too far from the lake, though not our customary waterfront camp. If you plan to be here on a weekend, make reservations.
By morning on June 23, it was looking pretty ominous with rain threatening. Since our stops in Pennsylvania were only about 50 miles away and the whole loop back to the camp about 100, we thought we better get moving to enjoy a ride sans rain. Our first stop was Fort Necessity National Battlefield just off US 40 (the first nationally funded highway and called the National Road) about 30 miles east of Uniontown, PA. Fort Necessity was the site where George Washington suffered his only surrender in his military career. In what was known as the Braddock Campaign where General Braddock was killed, the French who were contesting British claims to the Ohio Valley surrounded the fort and forced Washington to surrender. The park today includes other sites including the Mount Washington Tavern, Jumonville Glen (the site of the first attack on the French forces) and Braddock’s grave site. While we were at the visitor center, two fellow BMW riders pulled in. We had a grand chat with them discussing our travels, the finer points of motorcycle traveling and I tried to sell them on upgrading to the GTL! It was another time that meeting new folks was really a pleasure. Something we always seek out. Since the weather was still threatening, we jumped back on US 40 on a short trip to Friendship Hill National Historical Site.
This was another one of those lesser visited parks that presented a surprising history not many people know about (we didn’t!). Friendship Hill is the site of Albert Gallatin’s home of 1786. Don’t know who Albert Gallatin is? We didn’t either though we have seen his name in Montana (Lewis and Clark named a tributary of the Missouri after him) and all over Pennsylvania as National Forests in both states. The fourth Secretary of the Treasury for 13 years (the longest serving secretary), Gallatin is credited with reducing the US debt from the Revolution, financing the Lewis and Clark Expedition and putting in place many of the processes within the Treasury Department that still exist today (i.e. the Ways and Means Committee). Also a negotiator for the Treaty of Ghent (ending the War of 1812), he was a pretty spectacular guy that we didn’t know hardly anything about. Yet another great park and a truly unexpected history lesson!
We headed back to our camp at Deep Creek Lake just in time to be sequestered into our tent for some pretty heavy rains that even brought a ranger out to warn us of possible tornados in the area. I lived in Maryland a long time and to say tornados aren’t very common is an understatement so we elected not to assemble at the washhouse like most other campers did. It wasn’t hot nor was there a breath of wind. We were right, no wind and no tornados, but did it rain!
By morning on June 24, it was cleared off and we took our time packing to make sure everything was as dry as possible. We headed east to Baltimore via I-68 and I-70 and were in town early afternoon. We elected to camp out two days and hotel it another two nights since I needed to fly to Newfoundland for a few days to take care of business. Cynthia planned to stay at my mom’s.
June ended with us clocking 4,143 miles the month, bringing our total to 16,620 so far this year. We added 8 new states to bring our total to 16 (9 more to go) and added 29 new parks bringing that total to 80 (well beyond the required 50). The motorcycle has been running flawlessly bringing in mileage in the low 40’s though we have been in the upper 30’s more this year than last. I figure it is the combination of more stuff (funny how that happens) meaning more weight and the fact that we have a big bag on top of the trailer and that creates drag we didn’t have last year. For sure we have been driving slower almost never exceeding 65 mph (at least on the Interstates). We find it WAY more relaxing to be at or just under the speed limit because you never really have to pass anyone!
Before we leave Baltimore, we headed to REI (great store for everything outdoors) and Bass Pro (second to REI as far as we’re concerned). By the time we left REI, we bought some new gear that enabled us to eliminate the bag on top of the trailer and reduce weight by a significant amount. We were even able to purchase a 10x10 screened canopy that only weighs a few pounds thus ending the bug, sun and rain issues that have plagued us. Now we can sit outside the tent in foul weather and put the canopy over the picnic table to be able to cook too. It was a lot of adjustment to our equipment we needed to do. At Bass Pro, it was tire time for the trailer and we fitted those when we got back to the hotel.
I made a change to our title, shortening National Parks Tour to NPT and sorry, no pictures this chapter…. There will be a lull in our reporting before the trip continues up into New England in July with stops in New York City, Boston and a few days in Acadia National Park with a few other sites sprinkled in for fun! Then we head back south and our plan is to cut the US right through the middle and explore the midsection of our country we did not get to last year while going west on our 2015 National Parks Tour. Stay tuned, much more to come! Greg & Cynthia.