As I am somewhat of a railroad fan, I decided to take one final detour before I made it home, and that was to the Horseshoe Curve near Altoona, PA. This was about an hour out of my way, so no big deal, plus it was down a narrow twisty road, which I loved! There is a museum and a funicular there, but they did not open til later, so, unfortunately, my view-point of the curve was not so great. Here are a couple view that I was able to get.
This is the tunnel under the curve you have to pass through to get to the vantage point.
Just as I was leaving, waiting for the light to change to let me get through the one-way tunnel, I heard the unmistakeable sound of diesel engines struggling under the load. Unfortunately, my vantage point was not great, but I was able to get a couple pics of the Norfolk-Southern freight train as it rounded the curve. I believe there were 3 engines in front and 4 in the rear. Quite an impressive sight and sound!
So, it was then off to home, and the final tally:
Miles: 6,924.7
States: DE, MD, WV, OH, KY, IN, IL, MO, KS, CO, UT, NV, OR, ID, MT, ND, MN, WI, MI, PA (That's 20)
Provinces: AL, SK, MB (That's 3)
Days: 20
Gas Burned: Who knows??? Many, many gallons and litres
Bottles of Bombay Sapphire Consumed: 2, I think
National Parks Visited: 4
National Monuments Visited: 2
International Parks Visited: 1
New Soft Top: 1 (Thanks, Hardtopguy!)
Top Speed per Garmin: 109 MPH, but I think that's a GPS error
Amount of Fun Experienced: Impossible to count!
Thanks for riding along with me! There may be other trips on the horizon. Who knows! :)
Hi Gene,
ReplyDeletegreat write up and pictures.
We enjoyed riding along with you on this longer trip of yours.
Maybe next time we can join you like we did when we went to Tomcat and then headed down to Back of the Dragon and then on to S2KDays in Kentucky.
Hopefully a trip like that will be in the Fall during cooler weather.
Are there any words of advice you can give ?
Would you have taken an extra few days and stretch the trip out a bit more to drive a bit less each day ?
Would you have done the trip in cooler weather and go in Spring or Fall ?
What hotels did you mostly stay at ?
Good you made it Home safely.
All the best to you.
Veronica and Paul
Gene, thanks for posting the pictures and describing your daily rides. I found all interesting. The pictures were wonderful. Glad you are safely home. Spoke with Bea a few times while you gone. She and Daisy missed you. Love you, Linda
ReplyDeleteThanks, Linda!
DeleteIt's good to be home.
Thanks, Paul!
ReplyDeleteHope you and Veronica can join in on another journey. I'll try to briefly answer your questions.
I would like to have taken more time, but I had a few personal goals when I embarked on the trip that pretty much dictated the time. First, to get to Durango to attend S2K Days. The second, to visit the 5 states that I had never been to, and while at it, visit 3 Canadian provinces that I had also never been to. It would have been nice in cooler weather, but the dates of S2K Days prohibited that. I was sure blessed with perfect weather (except for one cloudy, drizzly day). I am a Hilton Honors member and try to stay at their hotels where possible, as I find them universally excellent and dependable. I used 2 free nights on this trip and earned enough points for a couple more free nights in the future!
Thanks for your comments and following along!
Gene
Thanks Gene,
DeleteLook forward to seeing you in September at Gettysburg !
Paul
Thanks for the pics and the narrative, I enjoyed it all.
ReplyDeleteBob