Home at last! - #52-23

September 15, 2005 (Thu)
Dillon State Park, Zanesville, OH #85 elec. $21.00 A

Indianapolis, ID to Zanesville, OH (221/13231 miles) Q024945

We said a reluctant and tearful good-by to Frannie and got off at 8:15 (68.9° cloudy). A half hour later it came to us that we'd forgotten the package of Lee's elk sausage that he'd given us to take home. What a disappointment not to have this special treat and reminder of our visit!

At 9:10 we pulled into the Spiceland, IN Flying J to refuel and to dump Q's holding tanks. Rather than get back onto I-70 with all the trucks competing for roadway space, we dropped down to US-40 (The National Road) running parallel to the south. This road goes through every town it comes near but was much more interesting than the Interstate would have been - and it had much less traffic. But the cities of Springfield and Columbus were more than we wanted to tackle, so back to I-70. The Interstate also has rest areas - we were ready to stop for lunch - that US-40 does not. The two we passed were closed for rebuilding so we were pretty hungry by the time we ate lunch in the campground at 3:00!
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September 16, 2005 (Fri)
Camp Flying J, Carlisle, PA

Zanesville, OH to Carlisle, PA (293/13546 miles) Q025260

Up at 7:00 (71.4°) off at 8:15 (71.9°) It rained most of the night but this morning it was foggy and hazy with some blue sky above. We switched back and forth between US-40 and I-70 depending on the road conditions. - we tended to go to I-70 to bypass the larger cities. We got gas ($2.79) in West Virginia just before crossing over into Pennsylvania.

For lunch we decided on Kentucky Fried Chicken. Getting to the place was a nightmare! We sat for 10 minutes trying to make a left turn off the interstate ramp. (in frustration, a fellow pulled around us and into the path of one of the 18 wheelers holding us up. He made it, but barely. We finally turned right and made a U turn. When we got the the KFC it was blocked with a bar announcing "No Trucks Clearance 10 ft 6 in". We decided to find a nearby lot and walk there but found a back way in. We managed to place our order just before the place was overwhelmed by tour bus (that also found the back way in) passengers.

On the road again we passed fall colors in the hills, a wind farm (6 wind mills), and a motor home size Oscar Meyers hot dog (westbound).

License plate: Hi Ho Ag (Ag being the atomic symbol for silver)

We are camped at Ed's favorite - could it be the donut shop just down the road? - Flying J Truck Stop in Carlisle, PA. It's as noisy as all of them are, but we'll see. There is a Walmart 5 miles south if we need to stop in this area again.
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September 17, 2005 (Sat)
Home

Carlisle, PA to Home (193/13739 miles) Q025453
117 days and 13739 miles later we are home. It was a great trip! We would definitely like to do it again - once we've seen the rest of the country and if the price of gas comes down.

The traffic and truck stop noise wasn't as bad as we expected. Even so, if we need a free stop in this area again, we'll probably head for one of the two Walmarts in the area. It rained some last night and was still cloudy this morning. We got gas ($2.79) and dumped and flushed Q's tanks before hitting the road at 7:30 (72.9°) Our last-day-on-the-road breakfast was from McDonalds about 5 miles North on I-81. (A Red Robin restaurant and the other Walmart are there too.)

Two motorcycles with teddy bears in goggles as passengers passed us shortly after we got back on I-81. The Cabela's store in Hamburg, PA (we stopped to check it out) does not allow overnight parking. Most other stores allow it though. They said it is by town ordinance because people were taking advantage - loud parties!

We crossed the state line into New Jersey on I-78 at 11:15. Home at 12:40.