Leaving ABCon in Kentucky for Virginia and Georgia

Saying goodbye to everyone who gathered in our “friends playing with friends” group was hard for everyone and the buzz about next year’s gathering in Seattle was already starting. I was able to take a tour in the ATV with Ian around the farm before leaving Monday morning.  We drove through several fields seeing the various groups of cattle grazing.  The interesting thing was what you saw from Ian and Amy’s farmhouse was only a very small part of the farm.  It went past several hills, across a road and had multiple houses for family members, ponds, and different types of things growing. It was great seeing all the things happening on a working farm.

I’m leaving Kentucky for a drive to Virginia to see my oldest daughter and her family.  It has been way too long since I have seen them so it was a day of anticipation and a great feeling going into the Appalachia Mountains once again. The mountains in other parts of the country have a stark contrast with sharp edges, rocks above the timberline and vary greatly within the ranges.  The mountains of the South in the Blue Ridge have a much softer look with the trees covering the mountains and the clouds and soft hue of blue hanging over everything. It has a feel to it like coming home once again.  I spent a great deal of time in my youth in these mountains hiking, camping and flying hang gliders from many of the peaks in several states.  It always had a good feeling for me spending time here over the years. 

I decided to drive the interstate highways today and not the route my GPS was telling me to go. I wanted to make this an easy drive with little stops, small towns, or winding roads which is what the route looked like on my phone. I easily returned to I-75 south from the farm, only about a five minute drive then headed toward Lexington KY where I would turn east on I-64 towards West Virginia.

As I approached Ashland and Huntington Kentucky there was a huge Marathon Oil gas refinery which I was not expecting in this part of the country.  There were storage tanks on both sides of the road as well as the huge complex for the refinery.  Seeing these refineries in California, Texas, Louisiana, and Mississippi are what one would expect to see while driving but in this part of Kentucky I was expecting to see signs of coal processing or things relating to the coal industry.

Most of the interstate highways I have driven across the country are dedicated to veterans and are called the Purple Heart Trail. Most states I have traveled have had this or something similar to honor veterans sacrifice for this country.

The Alaska Highway from the Canadian border to Delta Junction, AK is designated the "Purple Heart Trail" in honor of our veterans and their sacrifice!

According to Wikipedia, The Purple Heart Trail system, established by the MOPH in 1992, is purposed to "create a symbolic and honorary system of roads, highways, bridges, and other monuments that give tribute to the men and women who have been awarded the Purple Heart medal." The program places, where legislation is passed, signs designed to remind motorists of the freedom of their country, and of those who have paid to keep it that way. The program designates bridges, sections of highways, and other roads as part of the trail. It forms non-continuous paths, and is present in 45 states and the territory of Guam.

As I drove Interstate 64 and made the turn south onto Interstate 77 into West Virginia I made my way through several toll booths, $2.00 each to arrive in Charleston, West Virginia.  American Hero General Chuck Yeager who lived close by had a bridge named for him. There are several places in West Virginia which have renamed things in honor of Yeager. Among them: Yeager Airport in Charleston, West Virginia, the Interstate 64/Interstate 77 bridge over the Kanawha River in Charleston is named in his honor. On October 19, 2006, the state of West Virginia also honored Yeager with a marker along Corridor G (part of U.S. 119) in his home Lincoln County, and also renamed part of the highway the Yeager Highway.

Aviation legends like Chuck Yeager are few and far between these days, having “The Right Stuff” to break the sound barrier or flying combat missions as well as one of the top test pilots in the world make fascinating reading of his exploits.  The rumor of his flying under the bridge in 1948 have gone on and been expanded over the years but being the home hero gave those proud to put his name over the bridge.

As I was near my exit from the interstate I was talking with my sister on the phone. Her last statement before hanging up was to text her that I had arrived at my daughter’s house.  I left the highway and had about forty miles to go before arriving. I looked at my GPS and saw it continuing to give me course changes and directions but then it gave me a message it was no longer connected to the server.  I looked at my phone, no service.  I arrived and found out that the county they live in only has Sprint and Verizon cell service and that AT&T has no towers anywhere around. It was a couple of days before I got to a place where I had cell service and could check in with everyone.  There were several concerned voice mails and texts that I hadn’t checked in like I told them I would.

We spent a family day on the river kayaking for about 12 miles where it was great spending time talking in such a beautiful setting.  The river with its different wildlife appearing as we made our way past was enjoyable and pretty incredible. A large heron would stop in front of our kayaks then as we approached within about 15 yards it would fly slowly down the river about hundred yards then land and wait for us to float closer.  He repeated this about five or six times before flying back up the river where we first saw him.  I was told by one of the guides that the heron had been doing that for several years as the different raft or kayak groups floated past his location.  Several deer jumped into the river ahead of us and swam across which was a nice surprise for everyone to see.  A rain shower rolled in just as we made our way to a large rock outcropping which had an overhang that we were able to put all four of our kayaks to sit out the heavy rain shower. We sat under the rock for about twenty minutes until the rain stopped and another set of floaters in our group who had been in the rain caught up with us.

I headed out Friday for Atlanta and back to my sister’s house driving almost an hour before I finally was back in range of any AT&T cell towers. There were many messages and texts from people making sure I was ok.  It is great to have friends and family support while I am on the road. There were several wrecks and construction delay’s but with a new phone app I was told in Kentucky called Waze it alerted me of the hazards or delays as well as give me alternate routes to go to continue to move and not just sit in traffic.  There were alerts for police, debris in the road, and even potholes along my route, it was great to use this application.

I arrived in the Atlanta area in the early evening and saw several of my family members before they headed home for the night.    My sister and I sat up talking and watching some television before she went up to sleep. Over the weekend there would be visits to other family members and friends.

Up next? Who knows but we will let you know shortly, until next time . . .

Ice