The Adventure Starts!
The first trip is complete, and it proved every bit as enjoyable as I had hoped. There were only five planned stops on this initial trip, selected for being on a route from Iowa (where I was visiting) back to my home in Florida.
I ended up visiting six sites, adding Gauley River National Recreation Area to the list. I had overlooked this site, which is a mere thirty minutes from New River Gorge National Park in West Virginia but was reminded of it when visiting a friend in Ohio.
The weather was mostly cooperative, though I had a little rain and overcast skies in Congaree National Park, and extreme heat in Hopewell Culture National Historical Park. Still, I’ll take this weather on every trip over constant rain.
I had visited the Hoover NHS once before on a family vacation, and the New River Gorge many times over 50 years, having lived for a while in West Virginia. The other sites were new and I learned something new at each (including the two previously visited).
This “shakedown” trip was a big success and has me already looking forward to my next trip – hopefully in a few months. I need to complete my overall planning and get a website up, but those tasks will help keep me focused on my goals.
Steve
