Trading Green for Blue

After nearly a year of traveling around the US, debating pros and cons of relocating to any one of many desirable locations, we have finally decided that Albuquerque, NM, will be our new home.  As we are making our way this week from the East Coast to the southwest we have had the opportunity to enjoy colorful scenery along the way.  Besides seeing the trees change to their autumn color we have also marvelled at the bright green fields and lawns that we pass here in the east and midwest.  After some days of rain the skies today are clearing and the bright, blue canopy of a Midwestern sky sparkles overhead.  It occurs to me that a destination of the American Southwest will mean many days of sunny, blue skies.  But it will also mean brown, sparse desert vistas instead of bright green forests and trees.  We are trading green for blue.
I remember many years ago when I left home in Michigan after college to move to New Mexico that there was a period of adjustment getting used to the dry climate.  But when I would go back to Michigan to visit my family I remember how suffocated and closed in I felt by all the trees.  I really missed the wide open spaces of the West, not to mention how much I missed the endless stretches of days with no rain or clouds in sight.  I would tell everyone that I planned to never live anywhere east of the Mississippi.
Life has a way of making us eat our "I will never..." statements.  I couldn't have imagined in those days that I would end up spending nearly 20 years living in Virginia.  Or that I would fall so in love with Virginia's rivers, hills, forests and those awesome Blue Ridge Mountains.  But that's what happened.  And now that we make this change of residence from Virginia to New Mexico I will once again face a period of adjustment.  Virginia was so green precisely because of its moist climate.  But that means there were many days of hazy, overcast skies.  I'm anxious to once again bask in New Mexico's sunshine but I know that means a dearth of lush greenery.  Sometimes I wish we could keep circling the US endlessly so we wouldn't have to miss any of the special beauty each place offers.  But I've learned to make myself at home one day at a time and be thankful for what each day offers.  This day we get both a bright blue sky and a fresh, green landscape.

Just the Beginning

Looks like an awful mess of "stuff" to get organized and this is just the beginning!  These were boxes of collected papers that Lee had mailed to his brother's house as we traveled around the country.  Now we are retrieving it all on our way to Albuquerque.  It's only the tip of the iceberg when you consider how much is in the POD that will have to be added to this collection and reasonably organized somewhere in our new digs.

Fall Colors

It's a good time of year to be traveling in the southeastern and midwestern states.  Although maybe not the best year for fall colors, we have had opportunities at various times to view some of nature's splendid displays.  The weather was overcast and rainy 2 or 3 days, but there were also days of crisp, cloudless mornings with deep blue skies and warm sunshine in the afternoons.  Today is one of those sunny days.

We are driving from Bedford, Pennsylvania, to Bowling Green, Ohio.  In our leisurely mode of travel we don't get a very early start in the mornings.  In the old days a trip of this distance might not have taken all day and we could have stopped somewhere along the way for a walk in the woods.  But as long as this day is going to be spent on the road, it's uplifting to see forested mountains and hillsides along the way displaying the bright orange, yellow and red fall colors.

The day before yesterday when we were still in Virginia we had the pleasure of sharing an outing with our friends, the Marshall's, at Prince William Forest Park.  It was cool and mostly overcast; a good day for hiking but hard to get any pictures that captured the true beauty of the autumn woods.

We drove 2 cars so that we could do a shuttle and then be able to trek further along the Occoquan River as it meanders through the park.  I have done quite a few hikes in this park over the years but never knew that there was a lake there.  We followed the South Ridge Trail, finding a spot in view of the lake where we ate lunch, before continuing the rest of the way to the parking lot where we had left a car.  A good time was had by all.

Hike at Sky Meadows

We are visiting our friend, Wayne, for the weekend.  One of our favorite hiking spots in the Manassas area is Sky Meadows State Park.  It is a shorter drive than most other hikes and for a day like yesterday when we didn't have a lot of time, it's an ideal choice.

There were some fall colors, but just the beginnings.  The morning was sunny and warm but by lunchtime dark clouds had gathered and it started to sprinkle.  The possibility of a storm urged us to move quickly back down from the ridge.  By the time we got back to the Visitor Center, though, it had cleared off.

Because it was Farm Festival weekend there was a lot of activity around the Visitor Center.  We sat on some straw bales to listen to several songs by a group playing on the porch.  It was a good way to wrap up a thoroughly enjoyable day in the outdoors.

Dancing Leaves

Kelly's car kicks up a tail of dancing leaves as she leads the way over winding West Virginia country roads.  We are going out for a short hike at Seneca State Forest on a gorgeous autumn day.

The pictures that we took on the hike and on the drive back to Virginia are posted.

Off the Beaten Path

Our exploration adventure phase may be over but we are still finding ways to venture off the beaten path.  We left Saratoga Springs, NY, after lunch yesterday with the next destination being Culpeper, VA, by Saturday afternoon.  In the days before retirement a trip from upstate New York to northern Virginia would have been done in one day on the interstate to get the trip over as soon as possible.  But now we can travel at a more leisurly pace, taking side trips and driving on local highways. 

We drove on Highway 9W in New York yesterday, a scenic route that I had never been on.  It was a beautiful autumn day to drive south with the Hudson River on one side and the Catskill Mountains on the other.  At Kingston we got on Highway 209 South, heading for Port Jervis, the last town in New York before crossing into Pennslyvania.

The Delaware Water Gap Recreation area along the Delaware River was in our minds as a possible place to camp for the night.  But we decided to believe the weather forecast, which was calling for rain.  Instead of camping we got a motel in Stroudsburg, PA.  Wise decision.

This morning dawned gray and drizzly.  It was supposed to clear up later in the day.  We figured if we kept driving through Pennslyvania there would be places along the way where we could stop for a hike if the weather cleared.  And that's exactly what happened.

At lunch time we found ourselves on Interstate 81 near Carlisle.  From there it would be a short detour to drive south to Pine Grove Furnace State Park.  We took the detour, stopped at the Visitor Center, learned some of the history behind the iron furnace, and enjoyed a nice hike up to Sunset Rocks overlook.  The Appalachian Trail goes through the park.  Most of the hike was on the AT, with a short side trail to climb up the rocks.

Sunset Rocks at Pine Grove Furnace State Park, PA

After our hike we continued our travels on Highway 30 west, ending the day at a motel in Chambersburg, PA.  That's not many miles for 2 days on the road but it's all part of the fun of seeing what awaits when you go off the beaten path.

Evening sunset from motel balcony, Chambersburg, PA