ARKiV's Appalachian Adventure

Today started out great, with the sun in a cloudless sky rising over the Shenandoah. Got underway after a quick wash of the car. (parking under a tree has it's bad moments) Off in the distance I could see the mountains I was about to pass through. After entering George Washington National Forest I pulled off for a moment and noticed an entrance to an off-road vehicle trail, so I backed up into the forest as far as I felt safe going, and sat for a moment with the engine off to listen to the sounds of nature. Once back on the road, it was about 20 minutes of straight and flat through the forest before dramatically changing to twisty mountain roads. No shortcuts today, but the road I took was more than satisfactory. The entire time between Harrisonburg and Columbus I was on US-33. Shortly after entering West Virginia I arrived at Seneca Rocks. This popular landmark is a major destination for rock climbers from all over, as well as day hikers and sightseers. Back on the road, more of the twisties lay ahead. Through West Virginia, US-33 is constantly switching from a two lane, switchback laden mountain highway to a smooth four lane expressway and then back again. The two lane portions were definitely quite exciting, with sections very much similar to four days ago. This time however, it went on for miles and miles and had a 55mph speed limit! Some of the sections were nearly as challenging as the roads I encountered three days earlier! Over the next few hours the road became ever straighter and eventually I arrived at the bridge over the Ohio River. Of course, as soon as you enter Ohio it's straight flat boring road. (not to mention the construction) I stopped off in Athens and spent some time at Casa Nueva's Bodega Cantina with a friend of mine who works there. He insisted on buying the meal, then we proceeded to dig in to 10 different salsas with blue corn chips and had a delicious quesadilla. (thx minDscrm!) Back on the road to Columbus I had a little time to think about what I had just accomplished. Seven days, six states, just a few clicks shy of 2200 miles, a multitude of fantastic destinations, excellent mountain roads, the ocean, the food, the people, the beers, the views... What an amazing time I had out on the road. The "Adventure" was a huge success, and thanks go out to everyone that helped make this trip the best vacation ever. While this is the end of this trip, it is hardly the end of my wanderlust. Author and Poet Ralph Waldo Emerson sums it up best: "Our life is an apprenticeship to the truth that around every circle another can be drawn; that there is no end in nature, but every end is a beginning, and under every deep a lower deep opens."