|
US-60, US-35, and I-71 carried me home with each representing a step down
in the level of scenery.
Today I reached the third and final West Virginia state park lodge of the
trip. I enjoyed my Christmas Day meal at Hawks Nest Park then checked out
bridges old and new at nearby New River Gorge.
My day was made better by some cool roads, a nice Grinch, a decorated
fence, and a glorious sunset.
The wild and wonderful part of the trip began today. Not many pictures
were taken along the way but I made up for it once I reached Chief Logan
State Park.
The entire day was spent in Marietta by visiting a museum, a cemetery, a
ceremonial mound, and a brewery.
I started the day at sunrise and ended it at sunset although I did not get
the view of the shortest day's end that I hoped for. In between, I got a
picture of the actual solstice although it's kind of hard to tell at 91.4
million miles.
Its been eight years since I've had an officially wild and wonderful
Christmas and two years since I've had a Christmas Escape Run of any sort.
Last year's lack of travel needs only a one word explanation: COVID-19.
The reason that I've only had unofficial wild and wonderful experiences in
recent years is that 2013 was the only time I've spent Christmas in West
Virginia which uses "Wild and Wonderful" in its official welcome slogan.
The full slogan is "Almost Heaven - West Virginia - Wild and Wonderful".
It was officially adopted by the state legislature after "Wild and
Wonderful" and "Almost Heaven" finished first and second in a 2007
statewide poll.
Unlike 2013, I won't be spending every night in West Virginia. My first
overnight will be in Marietta, Ohio, for Winter Solstice. I'll then enjoy
three nights and a Christmas Day buffet in West Virginia state parks.
|