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Day 12 - Wednesday, July 9, 2003 Chatham, NJ to Waynesboro, VA 498 miles for the day, 5,188 miles traveled so far. 8:53 in the saddle, 11:45 total time check-out to check-in. Average speed while riding was 56.0 mph. Parks visited this day:
Stamps: Daily Journal: I left my cousin's house at 7:00. Rain was moving in and I wanted to get as much riding in as possible. I made my way to I-80 and headed west out of New Jersey. It started to rain as I approached the Pennsylvania border, so I stopped and put on the rain cover, my dry liner, and the glove covers. I had light rain off and on for the next few hours. I turned north on I-380 and then I-84 into Scranton. I-380 crosses the Poconos. I I remember growing up in New Jersey in the 60's and I was a long day trip to the Poconos and back when there weren't any freeways. Now it is an hour's drive. Stopped at Steamtown NHS in Scranton, arriving right as it opened at 9:00. As a railfan. I really wanted to go here. I didn't spend much time, the scattered drops threatened more rain and the way south looked clearer. The two pictures are from Steamtown. The one on the left is a Big Boy, the largest successful main line steam locomotive in North America. Of the 25 built, 8 survive and are on display. I am a docent at the So. Cal. chapter of the R&LHS and we have a Big Boy in our collection in Pomona, CA. The second photo was hurriedly taken from the parking lot looking at the museum buildings. I needed to get the camera away and the rain cover back on.
After Scranton, I actually got some sunshine as I headed south on I-81 and then getting onto US-15 in Harrisburg. At Gettysburg NMP, it seemed so nice, that I took off the glove covers and the dry liner. I decided to skip the Eisenhower NHS stamp. You need to take a shuttle bus to the site from the Gettysburg parking lot. The traffic and crowds at Gettysburg were driving me up the wall so much that I just wanted to get out of town ASAP. I had been to Gettysburg a few years ago, and even toured the battlefields in depth with a pre-recorded tape, so I wasn't really interested in staying to explore. Leaving town going south on US-15 Business, I did go by some of the many monuments to make Gettysburg a special place. The scattered drops of rain returned as I got to the Maryland border. In Maryland, I west west on MD-77 through Catoctin Mountain Park. The Camp David retreat is nearby. It was a pleasant ride through the park. At the VC, I talked to a couple about the stamps we each have collected. We swapped information with each other about where to find some of them (which can be tough). What I have been in the habit of doing is to walk into the VC, take about a 15 second scan of the room to see if I do see the station and if I don't, I immediately ask the ranger in charge where it is. I learned not to waste time. After I get the stamp and the passport book is securely in my pocket, then I relax and look around the VC and maybe explore a short trail outside. West of Catoctin, I crossed the Appalachian NST. I had been paralleling the trail's route, crossing it several times as it goes from Maine to Georgia. I wanted to walk a bit of it since I knew that I would be able to get the stamp either in Shenandoah NP or on the Blue Ridge Parkway. I continued west on MD-77, then south on MD-66 and then MD-34 to Sharpsburg. The drops had eased up, only to return just as I went into the Antietam NB parking lot. Antietam is the site of the bloodiest day of the Civil War. On September 17, 1862, over 23,000 men died and the battle had no decisive victor. As a result of the battle, President Lincoln did issue the Emancipation Proclamation, and Great Britain delayed recognition of the Confederate States. But the hesitation of the McClellan, leader of the Federal Army of the Potomac to pursue Lee's army is considered by many to have prolonged the war. From Sharpsburg, I made my way to the Potomac river and I found some locks of the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal. I followed small roads along the river and got to Harpers Ferry NHP. The stamp for the C&O Canal was here, too. It was lightly raining as I left Harpers Ferry. I still had the dry liner off, but it was too warm outside, and I forgot to put on the glove covers. I was soon to fid out that this was a big mistake. Somewhere between Harpers Ferry and Front Royal, on US-340, probably near Boyce, Virginia, I turned a corner and went directly into a wall of water. I just as it someone was pouring a bucket on me. I had no choice but to motor on, since it looked brighter in the direction I was going. My gloves without the covers were soaked through. Also I found out that while the windbreaker was ok for light rain, it let the water in during a heavy rain. Pools of water collected in the arms of the windbreaker. A large pool of water collected between my legs and the gas tank, leaking into the pants. (I wore my JR Ballistic pants 99.9% of the time that I was on the bike this trip, and I wore the JR Phoenix jacket 100% of the time.) The deluge quickly tapered off to a light rain and then it was scattered drops by the time I made it to Front Royal. I had planned on staying here for the night. It was 4:00 in the afternoon. Since the rain was light, I decided to head on up to milepost 5 of the Skyline Drive to get the Shenandoah NP stamp. It was great until milepost 4. Then I hit another wall of water. With less tahn a mile to go, and being already soaked, I went to the VC. Sheets of water were coming off of the roof of the VC. I got inside, dripping water all over (sorry), and then nice lady in the bookstore did the stamp for me. She also re-wrapped the passport book in a larger bag so it would stay dry. I left even though the rain hadn't let up. By milepost 3, the rain returned to a light drizzle. Well, I decided that to stay in Front Royal may not be the best, especially since it was still before 5:00, and to the south and west the skies looked brighter. So it was west on I-66 and then south on I-81 for me. The rain let up, except for a brief shower or two near Mount Jackson. In Staunton I went east on I-64 and stopped in Waynesboro at 6:45. I had stayed here 2 years prior. I even ate in the same buffet (a Western Sizzlin) that we ate in when I was here with my daughter. Everything on me was soaked. The excursion bag and its contents were dry, so that was the bright side. I spread my jackets and pants out to dry, cranked the A/C on full to dehumidify the room, and then I had to spread out the contents of my wallet since it got soaked. Some of the National Park brouchures that I had collected that dry were also soaked and needed drying. After everything was spread out, I went to eat. By the time I went to bed, everything was dry. Map: |
