We packed up camp a little quicker today and were on the road by 9:00 AM.  It started out a little chilly again, but we will be wishing for these crisp mornings later on when we are driving through New Mexico and Texas, I am sure.

Kind of morbid, but we saw our first possum road kill as we were leaving our campground.  Definitely, getting farther south now.

Today was a day of interstates – holy I-79 to unholy I-64, as Jeremy has dubbed them.  I-79 was beautiful driving along the edge of the Monongahela National Forest and West Virginia’s section of the Allegheny Mountains, but I-64 just wore us down.  We had intended to cover 696 KM today and reach Louisville, Kentucky.   We thought that we could cover more distance via the interstate, but we thought wrong.  We seem to cover more distance when we have more variety in what we are seeing and the roads we are driving on.  When your mind has something else to occupy its time then thinking about the aches and pains and how much further you have to go, its amazing how far you can go and not even realize it.

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Today started off a little on the chilly side.  It was overcast and the wind added an extra chill to the ride.  We had a cup of coffee at Tea Table Lookout at Letchworth State Park before heading out – one more last look at “The Grand Canyon of the East.”

We found some beautiful roads through the Allegheny National Forest and Amish Country. We saw lots of signs warning of Amish horse and buggy areas but did not see one anywhere.  I was a little disappointed but the farms and scenery certainly well made up for it.  The Amish have the most beautiful rolling farmland I have ever seen.  At one point we were at 698 M above sea level, our highest point riding our motorcycles . . . so, far, that is.

One thing we did see lots of was gun stores.  Every little town seemed to have one.     They seem to like to combine gun sales with some other commercial venture, sometimes related like “Dogs ‘n Guns” (if you are a hunter) and sometimes completely unrelated like “Pools and Guns.”   We did not think we would see stores like this until we hit Texas!

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Our road trip began as all Ross-Cole trips begin – in a storm.    We set off in the rain hoping, as the satellite weather predicted, to drive out of the rain into sunshine.   It rained for most of the first leg of our journey (but now we know our rainsuits work).  And no wet boots for Jenny too!

We crossed into the United States at Gananoque without any problems and got a bird’s eye view of the Thousands Islands from the bridge.  Too bad we could not stop to take a picture.

We drove through a nice stretch of New York.  Jenny was entertained watching all the cars speed up to pass and then slam on the breaks, thinking Jeremy was a cop.  The white motorcycle and helmet were a good idea.

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