We Have Landed in Quacker Country

 This leg of our journey was not without a surprise. Our first stop of the day was getting filled up for the rest of the trip, that was not the surprise. Tooling down the road a bit farther, somewhere in the two hour time frame, we pulled into a station/minimart so that I could get food to sooth my agitated stomach; I took medication on an empty stomach. 

Anyway, we pulled into the station behind a truck pulling a horse trailer, one of the ladies came up to my window and asked me if I could help them with their truck.

I walked over to the truck to see what the issue was, and the other lady was on the phone with her husband describing the problem. I was listening to his response, and found the hose he was talking about; it was the air induction hose to the turbo charger. If you have ever owned a diesel engine you know what was happening, the engine loses power, and speed is limited.

Once we found the hose, it took a few minutes for us to get the engine air filter out. The nut I needed to loosen/tighten was directly under it. Now that I have made the short story longer, I'll finish. We fixed the problem, and tightened the retaining collar, and they were on their way. That was our surprise for the day, and it was a happy one.

I went into the minimart to clean up and get food as planned, and that brought a smile to several people's faces, including mine. After getting as much grease and grime off as possible, I walked over to the food counter and asked the woman for the basket of chicken and a breakfast burrito that were on display, and she gave me a funny look, so I explained it to her again... and her response... you can get them yourself. You may be thinking that she was being mean or rude, but that was not the case. You see, I am use to a plexiglass window in front of the food... not the story here... I reached down and picked up what I wanted, and we all laughed.

Our journey today took us through three states:

The real truth is that we did four states, if you want to count leaving Indiana. See that Ohio boarder sign, see the I-70 road underneath it, that wasn't Indiana I-70. My kidney and body were beat up traveling I-70 Indiana. We had only one patch of road similar to Indiana, it was about a 1/2 mile stretch in Pennsylvania.

There is one thing Carol and I have agreed on... I can surely pick some strange campgrounds.

We left the office after registering, and headed on a mountain expedition. The road to the sites is uphill, makes a left turn, and drops into the sites.

This campground looks like it was built on the side of a hill,

which means that the site at the bottom can be unlucky during rainstorms, which I hope we have some relief from for awhile.

With Carol's foot on the mend, we may stay calm during this stop as well.

TIME TO SMILE/LAUGH A BIT MORE.

A man was working for a casket company, and was sent out to make a delivery. While he was driving, the car started acting up, so he got out and tried to find the problem. After about an hour, and covered in grease and grime, he finally called a mechanic. The mechanic told him that it would be an hour before he could get to his location. While the driver was waiting, he called his boss to update him of his status. The boss' response was that his destination was close to where he broke down. 

Frustrated the driver grabbed the coffin and started dragging it down the road. As he was dragging the coffin down the road, a state trooper saw him, stopped him, and asked what he was doing.  Still frustrated, the drivers response to the trooper was... I'm moving, I don't like where they buried me.

OK, YOU CAN BE SERIOUS NOW.

Goody, Goody for me, it was laundry day. My philosophy is simple... if I can dirty it, I can wash it. While down at the laundry I had the opportunity to talk with our neighbor while she was doing theirs. This is their first time on the road, so I shared the Trip Wizard program with her. ... Laundry is done, and so am I until something else comes up.

Something else came up... we decided to take a drive and look for covered bridges. 

HUGHES BRIDGE

This bridge was constructed in 1889 to supposedly replace the previous bridge that was wash away during an 1888 flood.

BAILEY BRIDGE

This is another bridge that was constructed in 1889, by the Bailey brothers. The original bridge suffered fire damage and was restored in 1999. New materials were used except for the Burr arches and central cross timbers of each truss.

DAY BRIDGE

This is one of the older bridges, built in 1875. It was closed down back in 1999 because it could not meet the state-required weight code of three tons. They spent 2002-03 doing a complete restoration; repairs involved a new roof, deck, sidewalls, and the installation of steel support beams.

All 23 covered bridges are part of a bridge self-guided tour, and are broken into four regions. The three we saw today are in the same region. You may be getting the idea that all bridges look alike, and in this case you are correct. The Washington County Official Visitors Guide kind of mapped routes through each region. They also gave fair warning that many of the roads are narrow, and it was a good warning to heed.

During the scavenger hunt we came across this...

... a mining operation, and the roads around here lead to different mining operation areas. If you look center, left in the picture, you are looking at a conveyor belt delivering mined material to the processing area; we drove under that belt.

While Carol's foot is healing, I was allowed to go on a safari by myself. I mapped out a lengthy journey to Sam's Club first, then the Ford dealer I was taking the car to early next week. This extensive journey found me traveling great distances, totaling about 15 miles round trip. That was my afternoon of fun and adventure.

GODS PROMISE IN THE SKY

Before we had the rainbow, Carol and I went for another drive to find a couple of covered bridges that were different than the rest. 

We succeeded in finding one of our goals in Mc Donald, PA, about a 20 minute drive from the campground. That 20 minutes was almost 45 minutes for us, by the time we found the bridge.

WILSON MILL COVERED BRIDGE

Looks the same from both sides, the front is the side with the trash can by it; the difference here from the others is the interior was painted white.  It is the only one painted this way. 

Originally built in 1889, in a different county. Figure this one out. From 1978 to 2002 it was part of a flood control program, I guess it passed water through quicker than other bridges.  In 2011 the bridge was rebuilt in its current location, and doing so made it even more different than the others, it does not have cross-wise planking for the road. This bridge is now part of a walking, biking, and hiking trail, and the roadway is asphalt.

The next bridge we went to find... didn't happen. We drove everywhere Garmin and Carol's phone told us, but no bridge. I decided to look at the information book... what a hot idea. The book clearly says that it is at Meadowcroft Rockshelter & Historic Village. Have you ever heard of the saying about doing something multiple times expecting a different result each time, I think that was us this day. We drove by the facility, but is was closed, and it was still closed the second time we passed the facility. With this fiasco we headed back home, with our heads held as high as possible, considering the fact we didn't read the book.

The last day of our momentous stay in Pennsylvania was filled with maintenance on the truck, shopping at Walmart and Lowes, getting gas, and prepping for next day departure; just tryin' to stay ahead of the rain, if possible.

Our next leg of the venture will land us on the western side New York for several stops. Hopefully we'll get to Niagara Falls.