Tuesday, April 2, 2013

Day 034 - New Concord to Pleasant Grove OH

The temps were in the 30's. It was partly cloudy with a steady 10 mph headwind. The terrain was gentle rolling hills.

The day started with the faint scent of a distant skunk spray for the first mile. I was on the phone for a half hour interview just before getting to New Concord. I went over to the B&O tracks to get away from the traffic noise. Two Canadian geese seemed fascinated by me standing there.

New Concord is the birthplace of John Glenn the first American to orbit the earth. It is also home to Muskimgum College a highly rated college which an aunt and two cousins attended.

I mentioned that I had done all seven National Road walks sponsored by the Ohio AVA clubs. On the way back to PA last July I did the Cambridge and New Concord walks.

The US 40 picture was of the S-Bridge over Fox Creek. When the National Road was built bridges were built out of stone. It was cheaper and more practical to build them perpendicular to the stream. The road would usually be at an angle thus the curves on each side creating the "S". I've passed quite a few on the walk.

In 1983 the Vale's took the picture from a different spot due to a "carpet of poison ivy ... on the heavily overgrown bank". I would have thought it was too early to get poison ivy but Tom Jackson had said that wasn't the case when we were walking on the C&O canal. I carefully took the picture and hope I don't get poison ivy on top of my NRS rash.

The S-Bridge had some reconstruction since 1983. Bollards had been added to prevent traffic from crossing and the bricks that had been added to the entire National Road to support military vehicles had been exposed. There was a sign identifying the five modes of transpotation to the west that could be seen from the location. From south to north they were: Zane's Trace, Interstate 70, B&O Railroad, US 40 and the National Road.

I arrived at the National Road / Zane Grey Museum in Norwich where Joan most likely bought me the book that was instrumental in me going on the walk to find out they don't open until May. I noticed a bunch of construction vehicles. Kathryn Miller said they were doing remodeling before their opening. She gave me the book "The Historic National Road in Ohio". How cool to have the museum to myself to see oversized pictures and displays of all the things I've walked past the last 460 miles.

I walked past the hotel Joan had stayed in when she took a bus trip with friends to your the Longaberger
Basket factory and pottery shops she had visited on our last trip to see my family.







2 comments:

  1. Hi Dave! I came to your blog rather late. I read the whole blog a few nights ago to catch up. I think it's so cool that nearly every day you have come across some place that you can link to your personal history! Fels Naptha soap dries up poison ivy really fast. Don't know if it will help that NRS rash ;-) Vaya con Dios!

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  2. I am learning so much along your walk ! Stay away from that poison ivy !

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