Roanoke, Virginia to Allentown, Pennsylvania

The second day out was a pleasant rolling adventure up along the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains in Virginia, bits of West Virginia and Maryland, and then into Pennsylvania.  While most of the time was spent on interstate highways, I did take a side trip along back roads between Lexington, Virginia and Staunton, Virginia. This part is in the storied Shenandoah Valley.

Anyone who has read much Civil War history is familiar with the Shenandoah Valley. It was the breadbasket for the Army of Northern Virginia, which made it the subject of running battles starting in 1862. The final battle in 1864 involved Union General Phillip Sheridan against Confederate General Jubal Early, won by the Yanks who adopted a scortched-earth approach to end the valley's usefulness to the Rebs.

The back road drive was beautiful, coursing along a succession of small valleys with creeks running through the bottoms, and abundant cultivation of hay and corn. I was reminded of the song "Oh Shenandoah." It is a traditional folk song. The melody (but not the lyrics) was adopted by the Virginia Legislature in 2015 as the traditional state song (renamed "Our Great Virginia"). The original song appears to have come from fur trappers along the Missouri River, and Shenandoah refers to an Indian chief rather than a river or valley. Nevertheless, it is a beautiful tune and it seems to fit right in with the surroundings in the Shenandoah Valley.

Mileage: 415. Cumulative mileage: 780

Hiawassee, Georgia to Roanoke, Virginia

This is the first day on my Atlantic Canada trek. For the first five days I will be traveling to Halifax, Nova Scotia, to meet with Julie, who is flying there on Monday. We will spend five days touring Halifax and the southwestern peninsula of Nova Scotia, and Juilie will return home and I will continue on my own. Roanoke has the distinction of being the site of Donald Trump's last rally before "The Debate." I speculate that this is where he got the sniffles. I will monitor my own health accordingly.

There is not much to report, and no photographs to display. Very little sign of fall foliage so far.

I will use this low-information opportunity to review my reading matter for the trip.

I have two travel guides that I am bringing with me:
"Moon's Atlantic Canada," by Andrew Hempstead. I like the format of the Moon travel publications, so it was the one I chose for this trip.
"Scenic Driving, Atlantic Canada" by Chloe Ernst. I bought this thinking it would take me to some scenic drives, but mostly it seems to be a guide to some interesting, touristy day trips. I'll use is as a secondary source to the Moon guide.

I have these books that I am reading (simultaneously, of course) on my Kindle:
"John Henry Days", by Colson Whitehead. He is the author of the new best-seller "Underground Railway, A Novel", which I have read. He is an excellent writer who won a McArthur Fellowship in 2002.
"The Last Days of Night: A Novel", by Graham Moore. This is about the light bulb patent battle between Thomas Edison and George Westinghouse, as portrayed through the eyes of Westinghouse's attorney, Paul Cravath.
"The Wildnerness Warrior: Theodore Roosevelt and the Crusade for America", by David Brinkley. The story of TR, starting from childhood, chronicling his interest in nature and natural history.
"The Great Escape: Health, Wealth and the Origins of Inequality" by Angus Deaton. He is the 2016 winner of the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economics. It discusses poverty as a social and economic force.
"The Collected Novels of Jack London: 22 Books" This is an ongoing project that has already spanned about three years. I am about one-third of the way through.
"Yuge!: 30 Years of Doonesbury on Trump" by Gary Trudeau. Why not?

Mileage: 365. 

Fall Trek - Atlantic Canada

A new trek is on the horizon, starting September 28th. I intend to take a good look at Canada's maritime and Atlantic provinces--New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and a little bit of Labrador. Julie will fly to Halifax, Nova Scotia, and join me for six days, but the rest of the time I will be on my own. I am taking my camping gear and will try to camp some of the time (though not with Julie). The trek will take 30 to 40 days and involve about 7000 miles of driving.


I  tuned up for the trip by spending a week at the work camp at Red Bird Mission in Beverly, Kentucky. A total of 17 of us from the Towns-Union Connection of United Methodist Church drove 250 miles north to the mission site. Half the team worked on building a deck and ramp for a family that has two wheelchair-bound members. The other half of the team did repair and rehab work on a housing unit for a teacher at the mission school. We had three hefty meals a day and we slept in an air-conditioned bunk house. The evenings were spent in Christian fellowship. I'm sore and stiff, but it was a week well spent.

Here is a map of my projected Atlantic Canada trip. The eastern route to Canada is going north.