Shortly after leaving I saw a couple women that were walking really fast. They turned out to be regular walkers that think nothing of walking 8 miles in the hills of Wheeling. One had run four marathons including Pittsburgh twice (think hills). The other was 83 and her pace was faster than mine. After leaving them I passed the second Madonna of the Trail statue I've seen. It was in Wheeling Park and was identical to the one on the other side of Washington. It was being renovated.
At the top of Wheeling Hill the first thing I came to was the site of McColloch's Leap. This is where the Major escaped an overwhelming body of Indians by forcing his horse over the precipice. You have to see this one to believe it. Next is the statue of Mingo the Indian who was the original inhabitant of the valley. He extends greetings and peace to all wayfarers.
Next up it was time to take the US 40 picture looking down into the Ohio River Valley including the I-70 / US 40 bridge and the old suspension bridge. It took me awhile to figure out that the shots had been taken at Lincoln School which was a 40 step climb (which seemed appropriate). Trees have grown that would have obscured the view later in the season when they have leaves. One thing that is new on Wheeling Island since the first two pictures is the Wheeling Casino.
I then decided to take a detour to the Washington Visitor's center. It's a small world. I ran into Shelly Hanson who interviewed me yesterday in Tridelphia and her husband Scott. She said she also saw me yesterday driving in Bridgeport, Ohio. It's hard to hide in the hoodie.
The Visitor's Center is located where Meriwether Lewis started the first leg of his journey West heading down the Ohio River to join Clark on September 8, 1803. The visitor center has many interesting displays including an excellent one on the National Road. Nearby was the former site of the Wheeling Market where my grandparents who were dairy farmers delivered their goods each week. They traveled 25 miles partly on the National Road from Temperanceville, Ohio.
Wheeling was the terminus of the original section of the Natimal Rosd proposed by congress in 1806. Construction started in Cumberland MD in 1811 and was completed to Wheeling in 1818 where it provided a connection from the Ohio River to the Potomac. It was such a huge success that the raid was continued thru a number of additional states.
I walked across the old suspension bridge which crosses the Ohio River to Wheeling Island which is still part of West Virginia. The bridge was built in 1849 and for years was the longest clear-span bridge in the world. There is an inconspicuous concrete bridge that crosses the remainder of the Ohio River to provide passage to the Buckeye State.
I've spent one month on the road and just entered my sixth state. They start getting much wider. It will take me six and a half months to cross Ohio and the remaining eight states. In West Virginia similar to Delaware I just nicked the top of the state and only spent one day there.
Trivia answer
Joan was the oldest of four girls. I could not have done the walk without their help. Deb the second oldest is keeping a watch on the inside of my house. Sue next oldest is taking care if the outside of my house and babysitting the house plants. Diane the youngest is dealing with the mail and paying the bills. I also have great neighbors Richard and Jennine who always keep a lookout on the house to make sure everything is in order.
Additionally my niece Nicole and nephew Steve are completely running the Facebook portion of the walk. Nicole has spent over a year in Australia and South Korea. I am counting on her getting the blog page view counts up in that part of the world. True confessions - if you ask me a question on Facebook it's really Nicole answering.
Today's trivia question.
What makes the Ohio state flag different from every other state flag.
When you said you were taking a detour I thought for a moment you were headed to the casino LOL !
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